Pensions and inheritance tax: Preparing for the April 2027 changes

Why your pension can no longer sit outside your estate plan.

Inheritance Tax, or IHT, is charged on the value of your estate above certain thresholds when you die, normally at 40%. Until now, most private pensions have sat outside that calculation altogether: money left unused in a defined contribution pension could generally pass to your chosen beneficiaries free of Inheritance Tax, however large the fund or your wider estate.