Estate planning forms an important part of your financial strategy, as you establish how you’d like to distribute your assets after you’re gone. This can help your loved ones avoid paying a large Inheritance Tax (IHT) bill or could even mean they don’t pay any IHT at all.
In turn, this means more of your hard-earned wealth can be allocated as you’d choose, rather than being swallowed by a tax bill.
Last month, we talked about how prudent and early estate planning could help your loved ones avoid an unexpected IHT bill after you’re gone.
We focused on how to keep your estate below the IHT threshold where possible, by using lifetime gifting strategies to distribute your wealth while you’re still alive.
However, while lifetime gifting does present many effective estate planning opportunities, this isn’t always the preferred approach for everyone. According to Financial Planning Today, most over-55s say they would prefer to pass on assets through their estates after their death.
Worries about running out of money in later life, struggling to shift from a “saving” mentality, and lack of agency over how money is spent can all lead to uncertainty over whether lifetime gifting is the right thing to do.
Read on to find out more about how financial planning can help you make more informed decisions about lifetime gifting.
From April 2027, unused pensions are being included in the value of an estate for the first time, which could see an increase in the number of estates liable for IHT, or an increase in the amount they have to pay.
As a reminder, the rules around IHT are as follows:
The pensions inclusion has put estate planning firmly in the spotlight recently. Trying to keep the value of your estate as low as possible could reduce your IHT liability, which is where the lifetime gifting strategies we outlined last month could help.
Read more: 5 ways estate planning could reduce your loved ones’ Inheritance Tax bill
Lifetime gifting means giving part of your wealth away while you’re still alive. This can both reduce the value of your estate and can be a nice way for you to see your loved ones enjoying your gifts. And with the right planning, it can also be highly tax-efficient.
However, as the research outlined earlier suggests, lifetime gifting doesn’t appeal to everyone, despite the potential tax benefits.
1. Navigating the shift from saving to gifting
For some, making the shift in mindset from saving to spending can be challenging. This can be a common obstacle as you enter retirement; moving from an ingrained habit of saving into a new approach of not only spending, but actively giving away wealth.
2. Worries about your future finances
There can also often be a very real and understandable fear of gifting wealth which you might then need in later life. Once gifts are made, they are no longer in your control, and you need to be 100% comfortable to no longer have this portion of wealth.
Lack of certainty over how much you might need to fund your entire retirement can prevent you from wanting to make lifetime gifts, especially if you are worried about the potential for having to fund your own care costs.
3. Fears about irresponsible spending
In other cases, you might be reticent about giving cash gifts to children or grandchildren as you’re not convinced they will use the gift in a responsible manner. Lack of agency over how the gifts are spent could be holding you back from taking this approach.
If any of these obstacles resonate with you, financial planning could help you to make some informed decisions about lifetime gifting.
Cashflow modelling
This approach uses sophisticated software to stress-test a number of scenarios, based around your income, expenditure, and assets. Using cashflow modelling, we can help you to understand how your finances could change over time.
This detailed analysis can help you to map out how gifting could impact your finances and could allay some of your fears about not being financially secure in the future.
If you do decide that gifting is appropriate, cashflow modelling can also help you to decide the best type of approach, and how much to gift.
Paying into a Junior ISA or children’s pension
If lack of agency is holding you back, then it’s worth noting that in some cases, you can make the gifts inaccessible for a certain amount of time. For example, paying into a Junior ISA (JISA) will remove the funds from your estate and still ultimately go to your grandchildren, but they won’t be able to access them until they are 18.
Similarly, you can pay into a children’s pension for your grandchildren. They won’t be able to access this until they reach the minimum pension age; this is currently 55, but is rising to 57 in April 2028. They will receive control of the pension at the age of 18, but won’t be able to withdraw funds.
A parent or guardian needs to set up a JISA or a child’s pension, but you can then choose to make one-off or regular payments.
Putting wealth into trust
Trusts are another way for you to retain some control over your wealth while also removing assets from your estate for IHT purposes.
However, trusts can be complex, so it’s important to seek advice before opting for this strategy. Watch this space for an article devoted to them very soon.
Read more: Pensions and Inheritance Tax: How the upcoming changes could affect your loved ones
Estate planning is highly bespoke, and financial planning can help you to understand which approaches could work for you given your own circumstances and goals. We’re always happy to help, so please email enquiries@integritasfp.co.uk or call 01283 777014 to find out more.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.
Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning, tax planning, or trusts.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.