The threat, fear and opportunity surrounding pensions and IHT

With changes to inheritance tax (IHT) and pensions just months away, we asked Dave Lardner, co-founder of adviser consultancy Adeptli, to tell us how advisers should consider estate planning conversations with clients and their families.

In a recent estate planning webinar with Triple Point’s Faye Williams, I described the pension changes coming in April 2027 as a source of fear, but also an enormous advice opportunity. For many advisers, that opportunity can only be realised if they recognise the threat in front of clients and start confronting some of the fears they are also facing.

1. The threat

At first glance, the threat appears obvious. According to HMRC projections, from 6 April 2027 – when unspent pensions will be included within IHT calculations – another 10,500 estates will be dragged into IHT compared with this year, while almost 40,000 estates that would already face an IHT bill will pay a larger sum to HMRC than previously¹. That net is likely to widen significantly as the assets of people in their 30s and 40s continue to grow.

I worry, and stats suggest, that a significant number of people will fall within the scope of IHT after even a relatively small pension is added to the value of their estate. The challenge for advisers is starting conversations with an increasingly large cohort of people who don’t even think they need to worry about estate planning yet.

It’s going to involve explaining the nil-rate band, and the residence nil-rate band, and considering how the residence nil-rate band could be wiped out by the new pension calculation. And you might get a funny look mentioning IHT to a 40-year-old who has asked about how they should approach pension contributions. From next April, IHT will become a threat to a much larger proportion of the UK population, many of whom don’t know it or even want to talk about it.

2. The fear

The second thing advisers often struggle to admit is the fear of doing the wrong thing. Of being criticised by a client – or their family – and having to explain the rationale behind their advice because circumstances have gone against it.

We operate in an industry where confidence and certainty are the expectation, even if we know certainty is the one thing we cannot guarantee. And one of the biggest challenges with the new IHT landscape is that it contradicts much of the advice that has preceded it. For many years, clients were encouraged to maximise their pension contributions, seemingly safe in the knowledge the pension could be passed on free from IHT. It’s understandable that many advisers feel uncomfortable having to tell them that everything has changed.

This fear has led to nervousness among some advisers, particularly around doing the wrong thing, or delivering advice that may not hold, especially in cases where the estate planning strategy requires a period of two to seven years before the mitigation effect will be fully felt. And that nervousness can result in delaying or doing nothing – both from the adviser and the client. But that’s where the greater risk comes in. Because from a Consumer Duty perspective, doing nothing might not be a viable strategy. Doing nothing out of fear, comfort, or because you don’t want to risk existing estate planning in the hope that things will work out is not financial planning. That’s inertia.

3. The opportunity

From the financial advisers I talk to, most see it as an opportunity to re-engage with clients who perhaps haven’t been as keen to consider ongoing reviews and need to be persuaded of the real value of advice, and also estate planning. A good adviser is not just someone who understands the rules and the regulations. You’ve got to be able to speak to clients and get under the skin of what’s important to them. It takes imagination, because any client discussions that focus purely on saving tax risk being quite one-dimensional, whereas estate planning can be seen as something entirely more important. Framing those discussions around legacy becomes less administrative and more emotive. It brings in feelings that every generation can relate to, and choose to act upon.

Estate planning takes a village

It’s naive to believe one financial adviser in isolation can do the sort of things the industry is expecting. We need a village around us, which is what we provide. Advisers should feel comfortable sharing estate planning ideas, as well as ways to encourage having better conversations with clients, and their families. This is often an area where advisers feel particularly awkward, as family members frequently have their own ideas around what their inheritance should be. But including beneficiaries earlier in conversations can help shift client thinking from numbers to people. It’s far easier to outline a strategy where IHT saved can help pay for a grandchild’s school fees or fund a house deposit.

Estate planning has a lasting impact

At Adeptli, we think the way to leave fear behind and seize the estate planning opportunity starts with having a large network to turn to for support. Advisers are human. We sometimes find change difficult and we worry about the things we cannot control, from tax legislation to client families. But it’s part of the job to absorb all of the stress that change surfaces, while bringing some clarity and action to it. And it’s still one of the most rewarding aspects of what we do – knowing that a client conversation today could have an impact that lasts for generations.

Important information

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute financial promotion or investment advice. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and can change at any time. The content of this article is provided by Triple Point. In providing this document, Triple Point undertakes no obligation to procure any additional information or to update this document or to correct any inaccuracies.

Triple Point is the trading name for the Triple Point Group, which includes the following companies and associated entities: Triple Point Investment Management LLP registered in England & Wales no. OC321250, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority no. 456597, Triple Point Administration LLP registered in England & Wales no. OC391352 and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority no. 618187, and TP Nominees Limited registered in England & Wales no.07839571, all of 1 King William Street, London, EC4N 7AF, UK.

¹ gov.uk, November 2025