Plans announced in the Autumn Budget to levy inheritance tax (IHT) on pensions are “complex and costly” and risk leaving beneficiaries with increased costs prior to receiving their pension income, AJ Bell’s CEO Michael Summersgill has warned the Treasury.
In a letter seen by Investment Week, Summersgill wrote to the chancellor and said "applying IHT to pensions creates delays for beneficiaries, will be costly and will prove unworkable in many situations". Should the government decide to press ahead with its proposals, this will "risk fundamentally undermining the UK pensions system", Summersgill claimed. "I am raising this issue not to disagree with the premise that unused pension funds should be taxed on death, but to ensure the method used to achieve this aim is workable and does not have unforeseen consequences," he added. Unde...
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