Wealthy clients rethinking inheritance plans

Some 43 per cent of wealthy clients expect to need advice on inheritance and estate planning in the next year.

A survey by Rathbones consisting of 460 of its clients, with up to £5mn in investable assets, found interest in IHT-related matters had risen sharply.

Pensions, retirement, and later-life planning were also cited by 19 per cent as key concerns.

Simon Bashorun, head of advice at Rathbones private office, said: “With the Budget not expected until late November, we face a prolonged period of speculation.

“The reluctance, or perhaps inability, for the Treasury to quash rumours, is a bane to financial planning.

“Clients are understandably keen to get ahead of any potential changes, particularly around inheritance tax, gifting, and retirement planning.”

Bashorun added clients, especially those with seven-figure pension pots, were reassessing their long-term plans.

However, he warned there was no “one-size-fits-all” solution when it came to planning for these changes.

“Good IHT planning starts with understanding what you can afford to give away.

“That means having a robust lifetime cash flow plan to assess your capacity to part with capital or income. From there, making use of current allowances and reliefs is sensible.

“Tax changes are rarely retrospective, so action taken today with proper documentation could be future-proof,” Bashorun believed.

alina.khan@ft.com

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