Law and Regulation

Chancellor George Osborne's commitment to austerity might force him to break his promise on the triple lock for state pensions. Michael Klimes finds out why

The creation of a second-hand annuity market is guaranteed to happen, according to former pensions minister Steve Webb, who suggested the Treasury has already ‘banked' the cash it expects to receive from the policy.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will shortly issue guidance to clarify that drawdown funds will not be subject to inheritance tax (IHT) charges after lawyers raised concerns.

The Treasury's action on punitive exit charges has been welcomed but there are concerns that clamping down too much on fees could be detrimental for savers.

The Treasury will consider imposing a charge cap for when people access their pension freedoms in a consultation to be launched next month.

The Chancellor has told the House of Commons that 60,000 savers have taken advantage of the pensions freedoms that came into force in April.

Defined contribution (DC) members using the new pension flexibilities may find their savings are hit by inheritance tax (IHT) because of a "legislative error", Linklaters has warned.

The single state pension which will come in from April 2016 should not be undermined by devolution of powers to different parts of the United Kingdom says Steve Patterson.

The Pensions Ombudsman (PO) has ruled that a pensioner in the Civil Service Pension Scheme be refunded for repayments he made to the scheme after an overpayment error.

Pension administrators should not wait for European legislation to force them to create the role of a data protection officer (DPO) and have higher standards.