The Pensions Act provides that where a person leaves employment, their accrued pension entitlement can be preserved in the pension scheme of their former employer or transferred to an overseas arrangement that provides for retirement benefits.
Such a transfer can be made provided that the trustees of the scheme or the Personal Retirement Savings Account provider as appropriate, have satisfied themselves that the benefits provided under the overseas arrangements are relevant benefits within the meaning of section 770(1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. Trustees and providers are required to obtain written confirmation to that effect from the trustees, administrators of the overseas arrangements to which the transfer is to be made.
The trustees of a pension scheme are required to provide full details of the rights and options available to a person on leaving the employment including the option to preserve pension benefits in the scheme or have a person's accrued pension rights transferred. A person can apply for a transfer payment within two years of termination of employment or longer if the scheme allows but before the preserved benefit becomes payable. Arrangements to make the transfer payment must be made by the scheme within three months of the application being received. Once the appropriate transfer payment is made, the trustees are discharged from any further obligation to provide benefits relating to the member's preserved benefit.