As we all now know, nothing happened. All that (I know, first world) anxiety that tax-free cash would either go completely or be further limited thankfully came to nought. Those rumours brought with them not-a-little collateral damage, however, as some with bigger pensions took out substantial chunks just-in-case, and many, particularly those with smaller pots, without advisers and tempted down the many speculative online rabbit-holes, were driven to cash in their chips completely. It’s easy for me to now say that I never thought she would, and if she did it would either be a further limit (it’s currently £268k) or a future ban. Easy, as I’m the one who thought trust rules would stymie IHT on pensions, and that IHT relief on AIM shares would stay to encourage bottom-up growth in the economy. There’s forty years of financial services wisdom for you. For those who did the deed and took some or all of their cash, there’s now a ‘what next’ reckoning. Do they invest it (somewhere taxable), give it away to kids or leave it in the bank – just what she was trying, once again to avoid.
Should Financial Education be as important as Sex Education?
We’ve talked before about the ‘Hotel des Parents’, where many are having stay well into their thirties, until incomes finally catch up with house prices and they can step onto the ladder and become first-time buyers.
