In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that from 5th April 2027, any money in your pension pot may be included as part of your estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes.
Up until now, money in a member’s pot at the time of their death can be paid out at the discretion of the trustees of the pension scheme to the member’s beneficiaries. Although some taxes may be payable if the member is aged over 75 when they die, or have exceeded the £1,073,000 lifetime allowance, the pot is not subject to IHT.
The proposed changes from 2027 mean that any savings in BCF would be included in IHT calculations if the value of your estate exceeds the tax-free thresholds. BCF would be responsible for deducting any IHT due before paying beneficiaries.
Your pension savings are intended to provide for you in retirement, rather than as an IHT planning tool but you may wish to seek advice as to the best way to utilise your assets in retirement. It’s also important to note that pensions remain a tax-efficient way to save for your retirement.
These are changes are yet to be finalised, and BCF will provide further details when it is available.
Changing Chairs…
After a very long period of service, one of the founding trustees of the Scheme, Mr Laurie Buckley is due to reach the end of his appointment as the Chair of Trustees on 6th April 2025. Unfortunately, the law does not allow us to reappoint him as he has now served the maximum number of years allowable under pension regulations.
After careful consideration, the remaining trustees have agreed to appoint Howard Thorstensen to replace him as Chair of Trustees. Howard has been a trustee since 2017 and will provide experience and continuity to the role. Mr Buckley has kindly agreed to remain available on a consultative basis which will be greatly appreciated, and the remaining trustees are pleased to announce that Phil Dupont has agreed to join the Board.
Pensions adequacy a.k.a Will I be able to afford what I want in retirement?
Pensions adequacy sounds complicated, but really it just means will I have
enough in my pension when I retire to fund the lifestyle that I expect to
have.
Automatic enrolment has brought millions of extra workers into pension
saving, including many BCF members, but the minimum contribution %s set
by the Government are very unlikely to be enough to provide enough to live in
the way we are accustomed to.
Many may end up working longer than expected but it is worth considering
whether investing more into your pension now may be in your best interest –
a small amount extra each month can add up to a reasonable sum over your
working life.
A useful pension calculator can be found on the Moneyhelper website, a Government website designed to assist with making money-related decisions – this can be found at;
https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/
pensions-basics/pension-calculator
The website also give a range of other helpful information relating
to pensions and retirement – just bear in mind that our way of life is
likely to be more expensive than average…
You may also wish to consider taking professional advice although this will
come at a cost.
Some scheme statistics
The BCF Pension scheme continued to grow and evolve throughout 2024.
Below are some key numbers at 31.12.24.
| 6769 members | (up from 6226 on 31.12.2023) |
| 198 members | Are taking a pension (up from 177 on 31.12.2023) |
| 454 | Participating employers (up from 441 on 31.12.2023) |
| £73.5m | Total scheme assets (up from £60.1m at 31.12.2023) |
Have your say
What do you think about BCF?
How can we improve what we do?
We are looking for answers to these, and other questions, to help us understand what our members are looking for from BCF, and help us plan where next for the scheme.
Is it more updates you’re after, or maybe online member access and retirement planning tools…?
Please go to www.bcfpensiontrust.org/Feedback and let us know what you think.
IMPORTANT
You should not take, or not take, any action based on the information in this article, and if you are unsure we would suggest that you seek professional advice. Please also remember that taking out money from your pension may affect your living standards later on in your retirement.
