“IFS calls for govt to scrap 25% tax-free lump sum”

Feb 8, 2023 | Tax

’Scrapping’ the tax-free lump-sum would not be a simple as it sounds. Nothing in the wonderful world of pensions, ever is. In 2006 ‘Pensions Simplification’ was the New Big Thing. One of its ‘simplifications’ was to limit tax-free cash to 25% of the pension fund, as some types of scheme before then allowed more than a quarter, in some cases all of it to be taken tax-free. If you have one of those, your rights are preserved; great for you, but hugely complicated for us, as most providers have been taken over several times since then and many don’t have a clue. If tax-free cash goes altogether, it can and will only be for new plans. Which will add yet another layer of complication to an already madly confused and confusing system, which even the qualified struggle to comprehend.

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“How grandparents are facing more restrictions than oligarchs”

“How grandparents are facing more restrictions than oligarchs”

I did say some years ago that it’s easier in this country to buy a football club than to pay £1,000 into an ISA. You need a bob or two more (depending on the team you’re after) but the point is that money talks and can oil and grease all sorts of wheels.