Readers’ forum: Pension scheme set up as discretionary trust?

In the autumn Budget 2024 the chancellor of the exchequer announced that funds in pension schemes will form part of a person’ s estate for inheritance tax purposes.

To be completely transparent I had always thought that the reason why pension schemes are set up as discretionary trusts is so that they fell outside somebody’s estate.

If those funds are now to be included in a person’s estate will there be any point in continuing to structure them as discretionary funds?

Will it now be possible to say exactly who you want the fund to go to or are there other reasons why pensions funds will still need to be set up on a discretionary basis?

Query 20 440  – Old Fogey.

The spouse/civil partner exemption is to apply to funds inherited by the survivor.

Old Fogey refers to the announcement that pension schemes will...