Aetas Wealth

24/09/2026

From 6 April 2027, most unused pensions will count towards your estate for Inheritance Tax. For some families, that creates a double whammy.

If you die aged 75 or over, your beneficiaries already pay income tax on what they draw from your pension. From 2027, Inheritance Tax may be taken first. In our illustration, a £1 million pension could leave £330,000 for a beneficiary, a combined effective rate of 67%.

Not everyone will be affected, and spouses and civil partners are treated differently. But if you have a substantial pension you do not expect to spend, now is a good time to review your nominations and estate plans.

Read our guide: https://aetas-wealth.com/pension-inheritance-tax-double-whammy/

This is general information, not personal financial advice. The figures are illustrative only, and tax treatment depends on your circumstances and may change. The FCA does not regulate wills, trusts or tax advice.

30/06/2026

Business owners who have used their pension as a tax-efficient store of wealth face a specific challenge from April 2027.

The interaction between large pension pots, business asset disposal relief, and the new IHT treatment creates a planning position that needs careful analysis. The decisions made in the next twelve months could have a material impact on what passes to the next generation: https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/business-owner-pension-iht-planning-2027.html

Peter Rose APFS, Chartered Financial Planner, Aetas Wealth
https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/business-owner-pension-iht-planning-2027.html

Business owners who have accumulated significant pension funds face material IHT exposure from April 2027. What the Finance Act 2026 changes mean for pension strategy, business exit planning, and the interaction with Business Asset Disposal Relief.

26/06/2026

DB scheme members are affected by the pension IHT changes, but differently from defined contribution holders.

The valuation methodology, the role of dependant pensions, and the interaction with lump sum death benefits all work differently in a DB context. The planning considerations are different too.

If you have a final salary pension, the analysis is not the same as for a SIPP or personal pension: https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/defined-benefit-pension-iht-2027.html

Peter Rose APFS, Chartered Financial Planner, Aetas Wealth
https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/defined-benefit-pension-iht-2027.html

The Finance Act 2026 pension IHT changes affect defined benefit scheme members differently from defined contribution holders. What DB members need to know and review before April 2027.

23/06/2026

The PCLS itself is not changing. But what you do with the proceeds can affect your estate plan significantly.

Cash sitting in a bank account is in your estate from day one. A pension fund, until April 2027, generally is not. That asymmetry has planning implications for anyone considering a large lump sum withdrawal in the next twelve months.

This is not a straightforward yes or no — it depends on your overall position, what you intend to do with the money, and your estate planning objectives: https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/should-i-take-tax-free-lump-sum-before-2027.html

Peter Rose APFS, Chartered Financial Planner, Aetas Wealth
https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/should-i-take-tax-free-lump-sum-before-2027.html

The PCLS itself is unchanged by the Finance Act 2026. But what you do with the proceeds before April 2027 can affect your estate plan. A plain-English guide to the decision.

19/06/2026

The spousal exemption still works after April 2027. But it does not remove the IHT liability — it defers it.

This is a point that catches people out. Passing a pension to a spouse buys time, but the liability sits waiting on second death. For couples with larger combined estates, that deferred bill can be considerably larger than the one they were originally planning around.

There are ways to structure around this. But you need to understand the mechanics first: https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/pension-iht-spousal-exemption-after-2027.html

Peter Rose APFS, Chartered Financial Planner, Aetas Wealth
https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/pension-iht-spousal-exemption-after-2027.html

The spousal exemption continues after April 2027 but only defers the IHT liability, it does not remove it. What this means for married pension holders and second-death planning.

16/06/2026

If you want one document that covers the full picture of the pension IHT changes — how they work, who is affected, and what the planning options are — this is it.

I wrote this as a reference piece for clients who want to understand the landscape before making decisions. It covers the interaction with the nil-rate band, the role of nominations, spousal deferral, and the timing of any drawdown strategy.

Nothing is dressed up. A straightforward briefing on a significant change: https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/pensions-iht-2027-what-is-changing.html

Peter Rose APFS, Chartered Financial Planner, Aetas Wealth
https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/pensions-iht-2027-what-is-changing.html

A plain-English summary of the Finance Act 2026 pension inheritance tax changes taking effect on 6 April 2027.

12/06/2026

https://link.aetas-wealth.com/sp/96a6b900eae

12/06/2026

The date you die will affect the IHT treatment of your pension. That sounds blunt, but it is the reality of how this legislation has been drafted.

Before April 2027: pension funds generally pass free of IHT.
After April 2027: they don't — at least not automatically.

The difference in tax exposure between the two positions can be substantial, particularly for larger pension pots or where the fund is being held as an inheritance vehicle rather than drawn down for income.

I have set out a clear before-and-after comparison here: https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/what-happens-to-my-pension-before-after-2027.html

Worth sharing with anyone currently reviewing their estate plan.

Peter Rose APFS, Chartered Financial Planner, Aetas Wealth

The Finance Act 2026 changes the inheritance tax treatment of pension funds from 6 April 2027. A plain-English comparison of the rules before and after the deadline.

09/06/2026

Most people assume their pension passes to their family free of tax. For now, that is broadly true. From April 2027, it is not.

I have written a plain-English explanation of how pensions are currently taxed after death, what changes under the Finance Act 2026, and why the timing of any planning decisions matters.

If you have an unspent pension and an estate that could be subject to inheritance tax, this is the starting point: https://aetas-wealth.com/insights/posts/how-pensions-are-taxed-after-death.html

Peter Rose APFS, Chartered Financial Planner, Aetas Wealth

How income tax and inheritance tax on inherited pensions interact, before and after April 2027.

09/05/2026

𝟲𝟳% 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆
The Finance Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 20 March 2026. With it, the long-discussed change to the way pensions are treated on death has moved from speculation to statute. For many families, pensions are about to become one of the least efficient assets to pass on, rather than one of the most.

It is worth taking the time to understand what is actually changing, and what the numbers look like in practice.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀
From April 2027, unused pension funds will form part of the inheritance tax estate. Where the pension holder is over 75 at the point of death, beneficiaries who later draw on the inherited fund will also pay income tax at their marginal rate. The two charges fall in sequence on the same money.

That sequence matters. It is not one tax or the other. It is one followed by the other, with the second applied to what remains after the first.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝘂𝗻
Take a £500,000 pension intended for adult children. Under the new rules, an inheritance tax charge of 40 per cent could reduce the fund to £300,000 before the children see any of it. If those children are higher rate taxpayers, income tax on the remaining amount could leave the family with around £165,000.

A combined effective rate of 67 per cent is not a worst case projection. It is the outcome the legislation produces for a fairly typical scenario.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳
The temptation is to wait. The implementation date is more than a year away, and the rules feel distant. The risk in waiting is that the better planning options usually need time to put in place, and time to bed in. Reviewing nominations, restructuring how a pension is drawn, considering the wider estate alongside the pension rather than in isolation: these are not last-minute decisions.

Equally, not every client needs to act. For some families, the existing arrangements remain sensible even after the change. The point is not that everyone should reorganise their affairs. The point is that every affected family should now understand the actual numbers, and make a deliberate choice rather than an accidental one.

𝗔 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆
If you would like to know how the Finance Act 2026 affects your own position, and what your realistic options are, we offer a no-obligation pension review with one of our advisers. The review covers your pension structure, your wider estate, your beneficiaries, and the planning options that genuinely fit your circumstances.