\n New regulations mean unspent private pensions will be subject to inheritance tax (IHT) for deaths occurring after April 6, 2027, as part of reforms introduced under the Finance Act 2026.\n<\/p>\n
\n Malcolm Scott Walby, a consultant solicitor at Dorset law firm Ellis Jones Solicitors, said: “The latest inheritance tax reforms are a kick in teeth for all of those people who have worked hard to build up their pension pots.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Previously, unused private pensions could be passed on death free of inheritance tax.\n<\/p>\n
\n Malcom Scott Walby – Consultant solicitor at Ellis Jones Solicitors (Image: Deep South Media)\n<\/p>\n
\n Under the new rules, these funds will be treated as part of the taxable estate and subject to 40 per cent IHT.\n<\/p>\n
\n Executors will be expected to take ‘reasonable steps’ to locate, value, and report all pension savings, and ensure the correct tax is paid.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Walby said: “It reverses years of guidance promoting pensions as a safe and prudent way to plan for the future, so people could be forgiven for feeling aggrieved.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The new rules are going to affect a great deal of people, some who may already be rapidly changing their retirement planning before the changes come in.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The key is to be proactive and take professional advice so that a strategy can be put in place.\n<\/p>\n
\n “There are measures which can be taken to reduce liabilities and shield wealth for the next generation.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Those who fail to act and take advice now can have no excuse later on.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Inheritance tax is charged at 40 per cent on assets above \u00a3325,000, with an additional \u00a3175,000 allowance for those passing on a main residence to a direct descendant.\n<\/p>\n
\n The changes introduce a new section, 150A, to the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, specifying that \u2018notional pension property\u2019 will form part of the estate for IHT purposes.\n<\/p>\n
\n Some exemptions remain, including spouse and civil partner allowances and joint life annuities.\n<\/p>\n
\n Married couples and civil partners can combine allowances to shield up to \u00a31 million.\n<\/p>\n
\n Chris Pemberton, partner at Ellis Jones Solicitors (Image: Deep South Media)\n<\/p>\n
\n Chris Pemberton, a Partner in Will, Trust & Probate at Ellis Jones, said: “The legislation is extremely complex, which is why it is so important to take expert advice to mitigate the impact of Inheritance Tax on your estate.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The Society of Pension Professionals has urged HMRC to clarify the rules, warning that the current approach could cause delays and confusion for bereaved families.\n<\/p>\n
\n Analysis from investment platform Transact suggests that five million households could be affected by the changes, though this figure has been disputed by the government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New regulations mean unspent private pensions will be subject to inheritance tax (IHT) for deaths occurring after April…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":601088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[72,176,61,60,174,175],"class_list":["post-602220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}