Transfer of shares in October 2018

[rogersh]

I am aware on 15 October 2018 shares allocated in 2013 can be sold without incurring tax & N.I.
My understanding is that the shares are held by the trustee while in the SIP.
Does it follow that if you do not sell the shares they will be transferred into your named account or similar.

[RobertT]

After the 5 years have expired I think you have 3 choices:

Sell them with no income tax, NIC’s or CGT to pay.
Keep them in the SIP.
Transfer them.

[rogersh]

I was looking into the situation for someone who was considering leaving RM next year & asking if he could keep his shares with Royal Mail. I showed him the information depending on length of time you have held the shares.

Also from the guide;
If you leave more than five years after being
given the Free Shares, you may instruct the
administrator, Equiniti, either to sell the
shares or transfer them to you so you continue
to hold them outside the SIP.

As you say Robert I now see, that for anyone remaining, one option is to keep the shares in the SIP.

Can I keep my shares in the SIP indefinitely?
After five years, you can leave your Free
Shares in the SIP for as long as you wish.

[rogersh]

Would there be any advantage in leaving the shares in the SIP after 5 years as opposed to transfer of the shares to hold outside the SIP. I imagine there must be an explanation for this option to be an alternative.

EDIT; found this info;
Can I transfer my shares to someone else?

Not while they are held in the plan. However, once the shares come out of the plan, and if your company allows it, you will be able to transfer the shares to someone else, such as your spouse. You will have to pay any income tax or NICs charges that you owe before you can make the transfer.

If you transfer the shares to someone else, apart from your spouse, you may have to pay CGT on any gain in the value of the shares after you took them out of the plan.