Emigrating and then buying an annuity, possible ?

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zod

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I have a PRSA which I dont want to vest for a few or more years.

If I emigrate in the meantime to say Bulgaria and become tax resident there for a few years can I vest the PRSA when it suits and buy an annuity then.

Annoyingly AI is telling me I have to be resident in Ireland to buy an annuity ?
 
Would vesting the PRSA and taking the tax free lump sum and ongoing income from the vested PRSA be an option or do you specifically want to go the annuity route?
 
I specifically want to go the annuity route, is it definitely true .. can't be done once I leave ?
 
In that case I suspect that transferring it to Bulgaria via an IORP may be the only option and then buying an annuity over there. But such cross jurisdictional pension and tax issues may need specialist independent advice.
 
ClubMan said:
In that case I suspect that transferring it to Bulgaria via an IORP may be the only option and then buying an annuity over there. But such cross jurisdictional pension and tax issues may need specialist independent advice.
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I've looked into transferring a PRSA via a master trust and then onward, but that is neither cheap nor garanteed to be successful, especially with the ambiguity that revenue introduced with their ZERO definition of "bona fide" reasons.
 
zod said:
I specifically want to go the annuity route, is it definitely true .. can't be done once I leave ?
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Well, not definitely true, in the sense that:
- legally, an Irish insurer could sell you an annuity as a Bulgarian resident; but
- in practice, it's wildly unlikely that you will find an Irish insurer willing to do so.

So, you can't safely plan and implement a strategy that assumes that this will be possible.

Obviously there's a lot of other factors that go into a decision to emigrate and I have no idea how those factors play out in your situation. But, from the point of view of your desire to buy an annuity, the least worst option for you may be to consider changing your plans to the extent of not emigrating to Bulgaria until after you have vested your PRSA and bought your annuity. Once you've bought your annuity Ireland, you shouldn't have any problem continuing to receive payments as a resident of Bulgaria.
 
TomEdison said:
Insurers are generally reluctant to sell products to people resident in countries where they don't have a distribution operation;
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That makes total sense

But what happens if I draw down an annuity as a resident in Ireland and then move abroad? Do they just continue paying into an Irish bank account and it's up to me to sort out my taxes?
 
Fortune said:
They can't argue that transferring to your country of residence isn't a bona fide reason.
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No - see Canada life v Michael O Sullivan ,even to a differnt country. But they can chalenge the creation of a newly formed Master Trust as a vehicle to transfer a relatively larger PRSA to a foreign IORP. Its a minefield - and probably on purpose.
 
TomEdison said:
Well, not definitely true, in the sense that:
- legally, an Irish insurer could sell you an annuity as a Bulgarian resident; but
- in practice, it's wildly unlikely that you will find an Irish insurer willing to do so.

So, you can't safely plan and implement a strategy that assumes that this will be possible.

Obviously there's a lot of other factors that go into a decision to emigrate and I have no idea how those factors play out in your situation. But, from the point of view of your desire to buy an annuity, the least worst option for you may be to consider changing your plans to the extent of not emigrating to Bulgaria until after you have vested your PRSA and bought your annuity. Once you've bought your annuity Ireland, you shouldn't have any problem continuing to receive payments as a resident of Bulgaria.
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yes I did consider putting my life on hold for 5 years just to buy an annuity - it felt a bit bleak
 
If it's an occupational pension did you consider moving it via IORP to Malta and then drawing down tax efficiently in Bulgaria ?
 
zod said:
u cant become tax resident in ireland for a year .. "ordinarily tax resident" then follows you for 3 years
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In the tax year 2025 where are you tax resident if you are 5 years in Bulgaria, reside in Ireland 1Jan 2025 to 31Dec 2025 and move permanently to the UK 1 Jan 2026?
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Do they just continue paying into an Irish bank account and it's up to me to sort out my taxes?
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Yes. With an annuity, you are likely to be able to get Revenue to tell the provider not to deduct tax. The tax would then be handled in the country of residence, as per any tax treaty.
 
Fortune said:
With an annuity, you are likely to be able to get Revenue to tell the provider not to deduct tax.
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I thought that most or all pension annuities were paid gross directly to the policyholder and it was up to them to deal with any tax/USC/PRSI liabilities arising? Unlike, say, ARF or vested PRSA payments which are paid net via the pension providers' payroll systems?
 
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