By Jonathan Laws, ACA, Ch.FCSI, Senior Independent Financial Adviser at Cameron James.
If you hold a Legal & General pension and you have moved overseas as a UK expat, or you are planning to, managing it from abroad is often harder than it should be. Online access can be restricted, your UK adviser may have gone quiet, and contributions you assumed you could continue have quietly stopped. None of this means you have done anything wrong. It reflects how the UK pensions and advice market is built, and that market was not designed with non-UK residents in mind. This guide explains why a Legal & General pension becomes difficult to run once you live outside the UK, what your realistic options are, and how to make sure any advice you take is genuinely valid in the country where you now live.
Holding a Legal & General pension from abroad?
Cameron James helps non-UK residents and UK expats review their options and run the pension from where they now live, with advice that is valid in your country of residence. We are fee based and receive no commission from providers or fund managers.
Key Takeaways
- Legal & General is largely a UK workplace pensions and asset management business, and it exited the individual retail investment platform market, so it has no product built to service a non-UK resident or UK expat.
- You can usually keep the pension, but contributions are effectively frozen, and a UK-only adviser can often not lawfully advise you once you live abroad.
- FCA authorisation is often not relevant to overseas advice. What matters is whether the adviser is authorised in the country where you now live.
- For most non-UK residents the cleanest route is an International SIPP, serviced by an adviser authorised where you live. A QROPS rarely fits and can trigger a 25 percent Overseas Transfer Charge.
Which Legal & General Pension Do You Hold?
Legal & General is one of the largest pension providers in the UK, but most of its pension book sits in a small number of product types. Knowing which one you hold matters, because it shapes both your options and the obstacles you will face from abroad.
- WorkSave Pension Plan. A group personal pension, usually set up through an employer, with an optional self-investment element. Most members hold L&G insured funds chosen for the workforce as a whole.
- WorkSave Pension Mastertrust. A trust-based multi-employer scheme widely used for UK auto-enrolment. For members it feels similar day to day.
- Legacy personal and stakeholder pensions. Older individual contracts, often left dormant after you stopped working in the UK.
One point catches many people out. Legal & General is largely a UK workplace pensions and asset management business, and it exited the individual retail investment platform market years ago. There is no L&G product built to service a non-UK resident. That is the source of most of the friction described below.
Why a Legal & General Pension Gets Difficult Once You Live Abroad
Contributions usually have to stop
Most workplace and personal pension providers, Legal & General included, are reluctant to accept ongoing contributions from members who are no longer UK tax resident, because of the extra administration involved. The tax rules push the same way. After you leave the UK you can normally pay in only up to your relevant UK earnings in the tax year you left, then a maximum of 3,600 pounds gross per year for the next five tax years under the five-year rule, as set out in the HMRC Pensions Tax Manual. Beyond that window there is no UK tax relief. For most people living abroad, ongoing funding of an L&G plan simply is not viable.
Servicing and access narrow
Member portals, telephone teams, and identity checks are built around UK-resident members. An overseas address, a non-UK bank account for income payments, and overseas identity verification can all become sticking points. On top of this, several major UK platforms, including Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor, have closed to non-UK residents in recent years, which narrows your options further. A UK pension that cannot pay you cleanly in retirement is a problem to solve before you need the income, not after.
Your old adviser cannot follow you abroad
The adviser who set up or serviced your L&G pension was almost certainly authorised only in the UK. Once you become resident in another country, that authorisation generally does not travel with you. This is the issue most people underestimate, so it is worth being precise about it.
The Regulatory Gap That Most People Miss
FCA authorisation is often not relevant to overseas advice
This is the single most misunderstood point in cross-border pension planning. Financial Conduct Authority authorisation governs the giving of advice to clients in the United Kingdom. It is not a weaker form of permission to advise people abroad. It is often not entirely relevant to advice given to a resident of another country. So when a UK adviser, including one who markets to UK expats, tells you they are FCA authorised, that tells you nothing about whether they can lawfully advise you where you now live. The right question is never how the adviser is regulated in the UK. It is whether they are authorised in your country of residence.
The EU and EEA gap since Brexit
Before Brexit, UK firms could passport their services into the European Economic Area. That ended on 31 December 2020. A UK firm can no longer rely on its FCA permissions to advise a client living in, for example, Spain, France, Portugal, or Germany. Advice to an EEA-resident client now requires authorisation in that jurisdiction, obtained at adviser level. Cameron James advisers hold the relevant individual EU and EEA authorisations in their own right, which is what makes advice to EEA-resident clients compliant rather than a regulatory grey area.
Your Options as a Non-UK Resident
Depending on where you live, the type of L&G plan you hold, and your retirement plans, there are three broad routes. The right one is the one that fits your circumstances, not a one-size-fits-all answer.
Option 1: Leave the pension where it is
Doing nothing is a legitimate short-term position. Your benefits remain UK regulated and your existing tax treatment continues. The drawbacks are the ones already described: contributions are effectively frozen, the investments were chosen for a UK workforce rather than for your situation abroad, servicing can be awkward, and you have no adviser who can lawfully look after the money where you live. Several major UK platforms will generally not accept a transfer from a non-UK resident either, which narrows the destination options. Treat this as a holding position rather than a plan.
Option 2: Transfer to an International SIPP
For most non-UK residents, a transfer to an International SIPP is the route that solves the structural problems while keeping the pension fully within the UK system. It is explained in full below. In short, it keeps your pension UK regulated and HMRC registered, on a platform and with an investment approach designed for people who live abroad, and serviced by an adviser authorised where you live. Cameron James has worked with the Novia Global International SIPP since 2019 as a low-cost option for non-UK residents, and reviews the wider market in each case.
Option 3: Transfer to a QROPS, but only where it genuinely fits
A Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme can suit a minority of people, typically those who have settled permanently in a specific country and are unlikely to return to the UK. It is not a default, and the tax position changed materially in late 2024.
Overseas Transfer Charge: read this before considering a QROPS. Since 30 October 2024, the previous exemption for transfers to a QROPS within the EEA or Gibraltar has been removed. Unless you are resident in the same country or territory in which the QROPS is established, a transfer now attracts a 25 percent Overseas Transfer Charge on the full value, as GOV.UK guidance on transferring to an overseas pension scheme confirms. An International SIPP avoids this charge entirely because it remains a UK scheme.
International SIPP versus QROPS at a Glance
| Feature | International SIPP | QROPS |
|---|---|---|
| Stays inside the UK system | Yes | No, moves offshore |
| Overseas Transfer Charge | None, it remains a UK scheme | 25 percent unless resident where the QROPS is based |
| UK regulatory protection | Retained as a UK scheme | Reduced once outside the UK system |
| Best suited to | Most non-UK residents | A minority, permanently settled abroad |
Tax treatment depends on where you live and the applicable double taxation agreement. The summary above is general and is not a substitute for personal advice. Tax laws are complex and vary by individual circumstance.
What Is an International SIPP?
An International SIPP is a fully UK-regulated, HMRC-registered self-invested personal pension built specifically to accept and service non-UK residents. In terms of UK tax treatment, contribution rules, and retirement benefits, it works like any other UK SIPP. The differences are practical, and they matter for people living abroad:
- It is designed to take overseas residents, with an overseas address and non-UK bank details handled as standard rather than as exceptions.
- It offers a genuinely global, multi-currency investment universe, so you can hold and draw your pension in the currency that matches your spending and reduce exchange rate risk.
- It is built to work with an NT (nil tax) code from HMRC where a double taxation agreement allows, so income can be paid gross from the UK and taxed in your country of residence.
- The investment advice is delivered by an adviser authorised in your country of residence, which is the part a UK-only arrangement cannot provide.
Because an International SIPP remains a UK pension, it does not trigger the Overseas Transfer Charge, and it keeps you inside the UK regulatory protections you already have. Normal minimum pension age still applies, currently 55 and due to rise to 57 from 6 April 2028. The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and past performance is not a guide to future results.
How Cameron James Helps
Cameron James is a UK financial planning firm, specialising in cross-border advice for non-UK residents and UK expats. The whole point of the firm is to close the gaps described above.
- For clients in the EU and EEA, advice is delivered under individual adviser authorisations held in the relevant jurisdictions, not under UK passporting that no longer exists.
- Several of our advisers also hold SEC authorisation to advise US residents.
- We look at the whole picture: your UK pensions, your overseas tax position, currency, and income planning.
- We are independent, so staying put, the International SIPP route, and a QROPS are each assessed on their merits for your situation rather than steered by product. We are fee based and receive no commission from providers or fund managers.
Talk to a cross-border specialist
Cameron James works with non-UK residents and UK expats holding UK pensions. We will establish which Legal & General plan you hold, where you are tax resident, and which route actually fits, whether that is leaving it where it is, an International SIPP, or in rare cases a QROPS.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. You are not forced to move it, and the benefits remain UK regulated. The practical issues are that contributions are usually restricted or stopped, servicing from abroad can be awkward, and you often cannot receive compliant ongoing advice while it stays in a UK-only arrangement. This is one of the most common problems UK expats run into.
Usually only to a limited extent. You can typically pay up to your relevant UK earnings in the tax year you leave, then a maximum of 3,600 pounds gross per year for five tax years under the five-year rule, after which there is no UK tax relief. Legal & General may also decline ongoing contributions from non-resident members.
No. FCA authorisation governs advice to UK residents and is irrelevant to advice given to a resident of another country. The question that matters is whether the adviser is authorised in the country where you now live.
An International SIPP is a UK pension built for non-residents and stays under UK regulation and HMRC rules. A QROPS is an overseas scheme. The International SIPP suits most people because it solves the servicing and advice problems without the tax cost and complexity of moving the pension offshore.
For most non-UK residents, no. Since 30 October 2024, transfers to a QROPS attract a 25 percent Overseas Transfer Charge unless you live in the same country or territory where the QROPS is based. An International SIPP keeps the pension within the UK system and avoids that charge.
Usually not, where a double taxation agreement exists between the UK and your country of residence. With the correct setup, including an NT code where available, income can be paid gross from the UK and taxed only in your country of residence.
The sensible first step is to establish which Legal & General plan you hold, where you are tax resident, and what you want from the pension in retirement. A Cameron James adviser can review your position, set out the realistic routes, and confirm any fees before you commit to anything.
Related Articles
More guidance for non-UK residents and UK expats with UK pensions.
Transferring Your UK Pension to an International SIPP: The Complete 2026 Guide
The full mechanics of moving a UK pension abroad, including the International SIPP, the NT code process, and the treaty position.
Novia Global SIPP Review (2026)
A closer look at one of the International SIPP structures designed for non-UK residents and UK expats.
ReAssure Pension Transfer for Non-UK Residents
Why legacy pensions are difficult to access from abroad, and how an International SIPP transfer resolves it.
Transfer Your Interactive Investor SIPP as a Non-UK Resident
Why UK platforms are closing to non-UK residents, and the compliant alternatives available.
Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP Transfers for Non-UK Residents
What to do when a major UK platform will no longer support your SIPP from overseas.
Disclaimer and Disclosures
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute personal financial, tax, or legal advice. Always consult a qualified and regulated financial adviser before making any decision about your pension or financial planning arrangements. Tax laws are complex and vary by individual circumstance. Cameron James does not offer tax advice; please consult a qualified tax professional regarding your specific situation.
The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and past performance is not a guide to future results.
Cameron James Limited is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Appointed Representative of Blacktower Financial Management Limited (FCA reference number 188611). The Cameron James Limited FCA reference number is 945566. Both can be checked on the FCA Financial Services Register.
Legal & General and WorkSave are trademarks of their respective owners and are used for identification only. Cameron James is not affiliated with Legal & General.
Jonathan Laws, ACA Ch.FCSI, Senior Independent Financial Adviser, Cameron James
“The point I wish more people understood is the one about authorisation. A UK adviser being FCA authorised tells you nothing about whether they can lawfully advise you once you live abroad. I have lost count of the UK expats who assumed they were covered and were not. The right question is never how an adviser is regulated in the UK, it is whether they are authorised where you now live.
The good news is that none of this is usually urgent. Your Legal & General pension does not vanish because you moved. The sensible first step is simply to find out which plan you hold and what your options are, then choose calmly between leaving it where it is, moving to an International SIPP, or, in the rare case it genuinely fits, a QROPS.”