Comment and Blogs
It is now two years since new pension transfer regulations were brought in to help the fight against fraudsters. The new rules give pension scheme trustees the power to stop transfers if they think the member is at risk of being scammed.
When the first set of draft legislation on removing the lifetime allowance came out in July, it was the accompanying policy statement that caused the biggest stir rather than the legislation itself.
The latest Finance Bill released in November gave us the first look at the transitional rules for those that have taken some pension benefits under the current regime but also have untouched funds that will be accessed after 6 April.
The new tax year will bring in sweeping changes to the pension world. Due to the rushed nature of the upheaval surrounding the abolition of the lifetime allowance, we still have some areas of uncertainty as the deadline rapidly draws near.
Read more: Lisa Webster: Perils of rushed pension legislation
I will be celebrating 10 years at AJ Bell in a couple of months. When I joined, Pension Freedoms had just been announced and it was all hands on deck to prepare for the huge changes on the way.
One of the many facets of a pension trustee's role is to use their discretion to decide who should benefit from a deceased member’s pension fund.