After all the noise and drama of the recent Budget, it is worth noting that the allowances and reliefs available for the core investment products that our clients use remain in place.
ISA allowances and pension contributions remain intact. The dreaded Lifetime Allowance has not been resurrected, and rumours of the removal of pension tax-free cash or radical overhaul of pension relief were just nothing more than rumours. Every budget announcement seems to be preceded by unhelpful gossip about pensions, and it is easy to question the motives of some commentators who appear to enjoy the attention their alarmist speculation makes.
In addition to the estate planning issues, which come from the various changes to the scope of inheritance tax, we will continue to review any opportunity we can find to make your portfolio more efficient. Any work on inheritance tax mitigation may well involve changes to your financial plan so this gives us an opportunity to make any adjustments we see as helpful at that time. We do not see anything in this budget which causes any immediate concern as the proposed changes to inherited pensions benefits do not come in until 2027.