Pensions secondment

Bernie is UK resident and domiciled. He is 54 and intends to retire at 60. He is employed by a UK company which operates a defined contribution pension scheme and a salary sacrifice scheme. His annual salary is £100 000 and his employer also pays pension contributions of £10 000 into the company scheme each year.

Bernie is keen to maximise his pension contributions and last year he sacrificed £30 000 of his salary in exchange for a higher employer pension contribution.

Thus £40 000 was paid by his employer into the pension scheme in line with HMRC limits. He plans to make the maximum possible contributions over the next few years.

Bernie has been offered a secondment to work for his employer’s US subsidiary for three years. He would still be employed by his current employer although he would live and work full time in the US...