“IFS calls for govt to scrap 25% tax-free lump sum”

Feb 8, 2023 | Tax

An independent (financial adviser’s) view

’Scrapping’ the tax-free lump-sum would not be a simple as it sounds. Nothing in the wonderful world of pensions, ever is. In 2006 ‘Pensions Simplification’ was the New Big Thing. One of its ‘simplifications’ was to limit tax-free cash to 25% of the pension fund, as some types of scheme before then allowed more than a quarter, in some cases all of it to be taken tax-free. If you have one of those, your rights are preserved; great for you, but hugely complicated for us, as most providers have been taken over several times since then and many don’t have a clue. If tax-free cash goes altogether, it can and will only be for new plans. Which will add yet another layer of complication to an already madly confused and confusing system, which even the qualified struggle to comprehend.

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“Record year for annuity sales driven by advisers”

“Record year for annuity sales driven by advisers”

I was asked this week whether annuities are now ‘a good investment’. They’ve been recommended very rarely in recent years, since ‘pension freedoms’ allowed pretty much unlimited drawdown on pension funds and anything left to be passed on to beneficiaries free of Inheritance Tax.