Reviewed by the advisory team at Greenway Financial Advisors Ltd. · Dublin · Updated October 2026
The short answer
If you live in Ireland, you can usually move a UK workplace or personal pension into an Irish pension that HM Revenue & Customs recognises as a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme. Done properly, there is no UK or Irish tax on the transfer itself. The main traps are a 25% UK charge if you aren’t living in Ireland when you transfer, or if you stop living here within roughly the following five to six years, and the guarantees you give up on a final-salary pension. The UK State Pension cannot be transferred.
This guide explains how a UK pension transfer to Ireland works in 2026, the tax rules on both sides, when it makes sense and when it doesn’t, and the steps involved.
What is a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme?
A Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme is a pension outside the UK that HM Revenue & Customs accepts can receive UK pension transfers without an unauthorised payment charge. In Ireland, the usual receiving schemes are a Personal Retirement Bond, a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) or, in some cases, an occupational pension scheme. Once the money arrives, it follows Irish pension rules: Irish tax, Irish drawdown options and Irish lump sum limits.
Which UK pensions can you transfer?
- Defined contribution pensions: workplace pensions, personal pensions, stakeholder pensions and Self-Invested Personal Pensions. These are usually straightforward to transfer.
- Defined benefit (final-salary) pensions: these can often be transferred, but you give up a guaranteed income for life. If the transfer value is over £30,000, UK rules require you to take advice from a UK-authorised adviser before the scheme will release it.
- Pensions already in payment: transfers are sometimes possible, but the rules are more restrictive. Check before assuming either way.
- The UK State Pension: cannot be transferred. You claim it from the UK and it is paid to you in Ireland.
UK tax rules on the transfer
The overseas transfer charge. A 25% UK tax charge applies to transfers to an overseas scheme unless an exemption applies. The key exemption for Irish residents is that you live in Ireland, the same country as the receiving scheme. Since 30 October 2024, being in another European Economic Area country is no longer enough. The other exemptions are narrower, such as transferring into the occupational pension scheme of the employer you currently work for.
The five-year rule. The exemption has to keep applying for the rest of the UK tax year in which you transfer and the five full UK tax years after it, so for up to about six years. If you stop living in Ireland during that time, including moving back to the UK, the 25% charge can apply after the event. Plan the transfer when Ireland is where you intend to stay.
The overseas transfer allowance. Since 6 April 2024, transfers above £1,073,100 in total pay a 25% charge on the excess, unless you hold a protected higher allowance.
Reporting. For ten tax years after a transfer, the Irish scheme reports certain payments to HM Revenue & Customs. This is administrative and doesn’t usually create extra tax for someone living in Ireland.
Irish tax rules once it arrives
- There is no Irish income tax on the transfer itself.
- The fund grows free of Irish tax until you draw it.
- At retirement you can usually take a lump sum, with the first €200,000 of lifetime retirement lump sums tax-free, the next €300,000 taxed at 20% and anything above at 40%.
- The rest can go into an Approved Retirement Fund or buy an annuity. Income from either is taxed like a salary. See our guide to tax on pension income.
If you leave the pension in the UK, an Irish resident generally still pays Irish tax on it, with the Ireland–UK double taxation agreement preventing you being taxed twice.
Have a UK pension and want to know whether moving it would leave you better off? Call us on 01 853 2727.
Should you transfer, or leave it in the UK?
Our view: if you have a defined contribution pension, you live in Ireland for the long term and you plan to retire here, transferring is often the better choice. If you have a final-salary pension, a small fund, or might move again, leaving it in the UK is often right.
| Transfer to Ireland | Leave in the UK | |
| Currency | Held and paid in euro | Paid in sterling, so your income moves with the exchange rate |
| Drawdown options | Irish lump sum, Approved Retirement Fund or annuity | UK scheme rules |
| Guarantees | Any final-salary or guaranteed benefits are given up | Kept |
| If you move abroad again | A 25% UK charge can apply if you leave Ireland within about five to six years | No transfer charge |
| Costs | Typically 3% to 7% of the transfer value, depending on fund size, plus any UK exit fees | No transfer costs |
| Administration | One Irish provider and one set of rules | Cross-border paperwork and tax returns |
A transfer also takes your pension outside the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Irish pension products have their own protections, which work differently.
What does a transfer cost?
Moving a UK pension to Ireland has a cost. Depending on the size of your fund, you can expect to pay between 3% and 7% of the transfer value. Some UK schemes also charge an exit fee, and the currency conversion affects the final amount that arrives in euro.
Talk to us to understand what it will cost you. Call 01 853 2727 and we’ll give you a figure before you decide anything.
How a transfer works, step by step
- Gather your UK paperwork: recent statements and the scheme’s contact details.
- Get advice. We compare your UK scheme with the Irish options. For a final-salary pension over £30,000, you will also need a UK-authorised adviser.
- Choose the Irish scheme, usually a Personal Retirement Bond or PRSA, and how it will be invested.
- Request a transfer value from your UK provider. Final-salary values are usually guaranteed for three months.
- Complete the forms for both schemes, including identity and anti-money-laundering checks.
- The UK scheme pays the money to the Irish scheme, converted to euro, and it is invested as agreed.
Most transfers take several months, and some take six to twelve.
Frequently asked questions
Can I draw my UK pension while living in Ireland without transferring it?
Yes. You can leave it in the UK and draw it as an Irish resident. You will generally pay Irish tax on it, and your income will move with the exchange rate.
Will I pay tax on the transfer?
Not if you live in Ireland at the time and stay for the rest of that UK tax year and the five full tax years after it, and the transfer is within your overseas transfer allowance. Otherwise a 25% UK charge can apply.
Can I transfer my UK State Pension?
No. Only workplace and private pensions can be transferred.
How much does a transfer cost?
Depending on the size of your fund, between 3% and 7% of the transfer value. Talk to us and we’ll tell you what it would cost in your case.
How much can I take tax-free?
Once the pension is in Ireland, the first €200,000 of lifetime retirement lump sums is tax-free under Irish rules.
Talk to an adviser about your UK pension
We review your UK scheme, tell you plainly whether a transfer makes sense, and manage it if it does. Call 01 853 2727 or book a free initial meeting.
Related reading: our UK pension transfer service · Approved Retirement Fund or annuity? · tax on pension income
General information for the 2026 tax year. Not personal advice. UK rules can change; we confirm the position for your scheme before any transfer. Sources: HM Revenue & Customs guidance on overseas transfers as summarised by M&G (April and August 2026), The Pensions Regulator on the £30,000 advice requirement, and Revenue on retirement lump sums.