Finance Act 2025 receives Royal Assent

The Finance Act 2025, bringing into force measures announced in the October 30, 2024, Budget, has now come into force.

Its pensions provisions include:

• From Budget Day, removing the exemption from the 25 per cent overseas transfer charge for transfers to Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes established in the EEA and Gibraltar. The exemption is maintained where transfers were requested before October 30, 2024, and are made before April 30, 2025.
• From April 6, 2025, providing that Overseas Pension Schemes and Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes established in the EEA are aligned with those in the rest of the world. This means Overseas Pension Schemes established in the EEA must be regulated by a regulator in that country and Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes established in the EEA must be established in a country with which the UK has a double taxation agreement.
• From April 6, 2025, requiring scheme administrators of UK registered pension schemes to be UK resident.

HMRC will seek confirmation from relevant schemes that they meet these criteria.

The changes applying inheritance tax to unused pension funds are not included in this Finance Act.