Brexit will fuel demand for UK pensions to be moved out of Britain, a global advice firm’s chief executive claims.

Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, also predicted that demand for QROPS is set to “soar” as a result of the referendum result.

Arguably, the most pressing concern and main trigger for people to transfer their pensions is the significant fall in the pound following the Brexit result, he said, with plummeting value meaning the cost of living becomes more expensive.

He said: “Brexit will be a trigger for even more people to move their British pensions out of the UK. As the reality of what a Leave result in the EU referendum means for personal finances sinks in, people will now be reassessing their retirement planning strategy.

“We can fully expect demand for HMRC-recognised overseas pension transfers to be further boosted thanks to the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

“Due to the huge amount of uncertainty that’s created, more and more people who are eligible to do so – that’s to say expats and those who are considering retiring outside Britain – will be seeking to safeguard their retirement funds by transferring them into a secure, regulated, English-speaking jurisdiction outside the UK.”

Mr Green predicted a surge in popularity for Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes.

Mr Green said: “We can expect expat numbers to increase. This is because it’s likely that over the next two years, whilst Britain is still a full member of the EU, those who are thinking about retiring to places like Spain and France will do so sooner rather than later. They will want to move whilst it is still easy to do so." 

Richard Libberton, Private Wealth Manager at Anderson Strathern Asset Management, disagreed that Brexit will fuel demand for UK pensions to be moved out of Britain.

He said: “I think the uncertainty of the current political climate, as the UK has to determine her relationships with its neighbours will put retirees off making major decisions such as emigrating and shifting their pensions out of the UK.

“Until reciprocal arrangements are ironed out in greater detail with each country, I don’t foresee a rush of pensioners heading for the door.”