I've got a UK SIPP retirement account from being an expat working in the UK for 5+ years for an affiliate of a US employer. As I try to decide how long I'm going to stay in the UK, it occurred to me to wonder if it is possible to rollover the money in the SIPP (in kind or in specie would be preferable, but I'd settle for a cash move) to a US IRA account or US employer 401k.
The UK SIPP holds only cash and shares (stocks to those in the US) traded on the LSE, or other major European exchanges. No UK-only mutual funds or OIECs or any of that.
If I can do a rollover, what sort of tax consequences might there be? Will it be a non-taxable event, like a direct rollover?
NOTE: There are both UK and US taxation issues in play here. Thanks to Ganesh for drawing my attention to the UK side, which I admit I was neglecting to think about previously.