Although our advice at the time was ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’, some clients did choose to take all or part of the tax-free tax from their pensions ‘while the going is good’. One of many pre-Budget rumours was that it might be abolished. I never thought it would; but then I also never thought they could or would make pensions liable to Inheritance Tax nor upset farmers and AIM shares. That’s forty-something years of experience in financial services for you. Far more, however, are now taking tax-free cash to pass on or spend now, before IHT bites, and there’s not much we can naysay about that. Of course, it may still never happen or, in the words of Jeremy Clarkson to fellow farmers, “Just look after yourselves for five short years and this shower will be gone.” But you can only plan, I always say, on the basis of the known. We can help. Of course.
“2024 a mixed year for sustainable investing, report finds”
lthough in theory the environment (pardon the) for sustainable/ethical/responsible funds improved significantly last year, the performance of many did not. Excluding oil/mining/guns/fags all hampered their performance in the aftermath of Ukraine.