Pensions

The Directive 2003/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 June 2003 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision, also referred to as the “Pensions Directive” provides primarily for the establishment of cross-border occupational pension schemes in Member States, subject to a minimum standard framework for the regulation and supervision of such schemes that must be applied in each Member State. This means that an occupational pension scheme authorised in any EU Member State or EEA State, including Malta, may receive contributions from employers   located in other EU Member States or EEA States and provide benefits to employees of the contributing employers.

While the Pensions Directive has been fully transposed into Maltese law through the Special Funds (Regulation) Act (“SFA”) which is the principal legislation regulating occupational pensions, this law also provides for the establishment of Retirement Funds which can be used as Pension-Pooling Vehicles. As in other areas of financial services, Malta’s approach to legislation and regulation in this sector aims at providing the necessary safeguards to ensure the smooth operation of pension schemes and pension funds established under its jurisdiction.

Apart from providing an efficient and user-friendly regulatory environment, Malta also provides the required professional expertise, administrative skills and support services, as well as very competitive cost structures.

The pensions industry also benefits from synergies with other expanding sectors of the economy such as insurance and investment services.

In December 2009 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the United Kingdom confirmed that pension schemes established in Malta and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) may be considered on a case by case basis to be eligible for the status of Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) under UK Law. This recognition is based on the current legislation in both Malta and the UK.

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