Passing on a pension to the right person
The pension freedoms of 2015 brought in a number of changes that have affected how people manage their personal finances. One of the biggest was the ability to pass a pension on tax-free. In turn, this has led to the increased importance of expression of wishes documents. Previously, nominating a beneficiary was a part of process to open a pension and then often forgotten about. However, as pensions now have a greater part to play in estate planning, it’s more important than ever to make sure that these details are up to date.
Despite this, many clients forget to update these details or think that their will automatically overrides the form. However, the pension provider or trustees use these documents alongside a will to help decide how the money should be allocated.
Assigning the benefits to the wrong person could be particularly problematic for clients who are divorced. Remembering to update a form that was sent with a pension application decades ago can be difficult. This could mean that a client’s ex-partner is in line to receive their pension benefits when in fact they should be going to a new spouse, partner, child or someone completely different.
At Tilney, we work with clients to ensure they are fully aware of the new pension freedoms and are taking full advantage of them. As a part of our pension review service we check with a client’s pension providers who the named beneficiaries are and work with the client and provider to ensure any necessary amendments are made. Our experts will also work with the client to ensure that their tax position and that of the beneficiaries are fully reviewed.
In this issue
- Fair instructions?
- The peasants have no bread
- Bad weather – adverse consequences?
- Defending children’s human rights in Scots law
- Scottish income tax – where are we now?
- Appreciation: Professor Emeritus Alexander John ("Alastair") McDonald
- Reading for pleasure
- Opinion: Gordon Addison
- Book reviews
- Profile: Paul Mosson
- President's column
- RoS welcomes new Keeper
- People on the move
- Fair instructions? (1)
- Law: not just a profession, but also a business
- Buying in and backing off
- Tax and the common touch
- Needs of the user
- Where did the money go?
- Five FOI tips every lawyer should know
- AI – the legal and ethical minefield
- Too long, too long?
- Times still a-changin' in '18
- An infrastructure levy for Scotland
- Tax changes to termination payments
- GDPR and the cloud
- Tide runs for lenders
- Passing on a pension to the right person
- Know your FTAs
- Scots to co-host ICW in Toronto
- Office of the Public Guardian: EPOAR and more
- Public policy highlights
- Our survey said...
- Q & A corner
- A profit without honour
- Appreciation: Professor Emeritus Alexander John ("Alastair") McDonald WS
- Ask Ash
- ASPIC finds its feet
- Pushing for change