Good news on pension exit fees

The Cayman Islands has a new governor following the announcement that Martyn Roper OBE, a career diplomat and corporate leadership veteran, has been appointed to the role. He takes over from Anwar Choudhury, who had recently faced a number of complaints regarding his conduct.

The move is largely thought to be positive step for financial management services in the Cayman Islands, as Roper has said he will make it a priority of his role to “listen and learn” from those around him.

Mr. Roper brings a wealth of experience to the job. He was most recently minister and deputy head of mission for the U.K. in Beijing, China, but has worked in other notable capacities, including as the UK Ambassador to Algeria, Deputy Head of Mission in Brasilia and, of particular interest to the financial management industry in the Cayman Islands, as First Secretary for Economics and Development with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

It has just become more straightforward for those looking to transfer their pensions into a QROPS in France, with many pension providers promising to drastically reduce their exit charges in the wake of comments from Chancellor George Osborne saying he will introduce legislation to cap costs.

This comes in the wake of concerns that some savers have been discouraged from making the most of flexible pensions access because of exit charges of between 5% and 10%.

Osbourne commented, “The government will not allow financial firms to rip off customers who have spent their working lives saving hard for retirement.”