Articles by ‘James McNeile’

The Court of Appeal published its eagerly awaited judgement in April in the case of HMRC v The Executors of Lord Howard of Henderskelfe (deceased) ([2014] EWCA Civ 278).

The Inheritance and Trustee’s Powers Act 2014 received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014 and is expected to come into force in October.

An anticipated rise in the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia means that older people should think carefully about putting in place a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), even if it is never needed.

If you care about what happens to your assets after you die, you should make a will. Without one, your intended wishes for how your estate is to be distributed and who it should be distributed to, may not be adhered to.

A leading think tank has warned that inheritance tax (IHT) paid in the next few years could reach its highest level in more than four decades.

The Budget was announced on 19 March and Chancellor George Osborne made savers the centre of attention, saying they “deserved help” for their lifetime of hard work as he unveiled plans which will enable them to keep more of their own money.

When Chancellor George Osborne said, in his “Pensioners’ Budget” on 19 March, “Let me be clear.  No-one will have to buy an annuity”, he was far from alone in appearing to believe that this was still a legal requirement for members of defined-contribution pension schemes.

I could hardly produce a Pensions Update and not say anything about auto-enrolment, after all. Every one of us is going to be engaged in the next year or so in going through the auto-enrolment procedure, whether as an employee or an employer. But how does the “pensioner’s Budget” affect that?

Pensions minister Steve Webb (surely the driving force behind the Budget pensions shake-up) has been criticised for saying in a BBC interview that he was “relaxed” about pensioners buying Lamborghinis with their pension money and ending up on state benefits.

If you visit your local B&Q on a Wednesday, the store will be full of pensioners buying shelves, fence-panels and rolls of wallpaper. 

In a move that took everyone by surprise, Chancellor George Osborne has announced in his Budget that he is to scrap almost all of the restrictions on drawing pension income.

The UK insurance industry and the government have signed an agreement designed to help people understand long-term care costs and plan for their future care needs.