power of attorney – Anstee & Co

Pension changes are coming! Action to take now.

Peter Anstee — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:12:17 +0000

By Caroline Anstee, Managing Director of Anstee & Co.

In the autumn budget last year, important changes to pensions were announced. The main one hitting the headlines was that they will now be included in the estate for inheritance tax. This means that there could be a charge of 40% on the pension and possibly 60% if you are over 75 years old.

These changes take effect from 6th April 2027. Since the announcement, there have been many consultations about how, in practice, this will be paid, initially, they said it would be the pension provider’s responsibility, but after consultation, it has now been agreed that it will be your legal representative (executor) who has the responsibility.

Although many think this is a long way off, there are some really important things to think about now to avoid delays and confusion for your loved ones. Probate is a very laborious and lengthy process already, and it will only get worse.

Things to do now:

Remind yourself who your legal representative is (are) and let your adviser know. Will they be able to communicate with the pension provider?
Do they know us? If not, make sure they have our details
Where is your will (if you haven’t got one, make one now)
Who are your powers of attorney?
Do the beneficiaries know who we are?
Write a letter with the will about your nominations for the pension
Review your nominations – if you have your spouse only, consider adding your children (if you have them), it can be 98% (spouse), 1% (child), 1% (Child), but at least they are named, and this will help with the beneficiary pension.
How many pensions do you have? The more you have, the more complex it will be. Consider consolidation, however, seek advice as it may not be the best thing for all pensions.
Check that your pension offers a BFAD (Beneficiary flexible access drawdown pension) many older plans don’t, and this will be restrictive for your beneficiaries.
Consider how the inheritance tax will be paid, reviewing the assets held.

In most circumstances (although there are some exceptions), we are recommending that no action in terms of reducing the pension happens before April 2027, as until then it is outside your estate. However, here are some areas of planning to be thinking about.

How can I reduce my inheritance tax?

There are only 3 considerations to reduce inheritance tax:

Spend. We can help with cash flow modelling, to show how financially secure you are and therefore how much you can afford to spend in your lifetime.
Gift. There are many ways to gift, outright, in a trust, contributions to savings (pensions and ISAs) for children and grandchildren, and a regular payment out of excess income. There are rules associated with all these options, speak to your adviser.
Insure. One of the most effective ways to leave your estate intact but provide the means to pay the tax bill. Think of it as a guaranteed savings plan – you pay a premium on a whole-of-life insurance plan that is guaranteed a pay-out to your beneficiaries.

What are we doing in the lead-up to April 2027?

We are keeping up to date with all the consultations so that we can advise appropriately.
Over the next 18 months, we will be including all the above topics in our reviews with clients, ensuring that nominations are up to date and including a whole-of-life quote where we think inheritance tax will be payable.
We are working closely with local solicitors by delivering presentations, as many will be legal representatives, and they do not have experience of dealing with pension providers.

Please get in touch if you need any advice in this area or know someone who does.

How Anstee & Co. can help your financial planning.

We are a firm of Independent Financial Advisers (IFA’s), This means that the financial advice we offer is unbiased. We will look at all the financial solutions that are available to you from the “whole of market”. This is unlike some financial advisers who will recommend only their products or work from a restricted panel.

Our experience covers all aspects of financial planning including Pensions, Investments, Mortgages and Estate Planning.

Why not contact us today. The initial “getting to know you” meeting is at our cost.

Our offices and meeting rooms are located at-

Kettering, Northamptonshire
Bedford, Bedfordshire
Northampton, Northamptonshire
Market Harborough, Leicestershire

If you have any thought or comment about this article “Pension changes are coming! Action to take now?”, then please let us know.

The information contained in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. No action should be taken based on this information alone. Anstee & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Lasting Power of Attorney. A surge in popularity.

Peter Anstee — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 06:56:14 +0000

More and more people are looking for the protection given by a Lasting Power of Attorney.

As the United Kingdom population gets older and the fear of family disputes increases, it has led to a rise in people handing over their financial affairs to friends or family members in case they should fall ill.

Figures from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) to the year to April 2019 show 759,976 applications were made for a friend or family member to be granted a Lasting Power of Attorney ( LPA). This is an increase from only 52,492 applications ten years ago. The increase has occurred partly due to more awareness that it is important to make plans early on in life.

Around 60% of applications for an LPA are made by women, with most being over the age of sixty according to official data.

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

An LPA is a legally binding document that lets you (the “donor”) appoint one or more people (known as “attorneys”) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf. This will give you more say over what happens to you if you have an accident or an illness and cannot make your own decisions. The legal term for this is “lack of mental capacity”.

To sign an LPA you must be 18 years or over. Additionally, you must have “mental capacity” when you make your LPA. Legally, mental capacity means that you have the ability to make your own decisions.

What happens if a lasting power of attorney is misused?

If you have concerns that someone is misusing an LPA, then you can apply to the Court of Protection. If you feel that someone is committing a criminal offence you should also contact your local police.

A way to protect yourself is by naming two attorneys on your LPA. They must act jointly as attorneys, meaning they cannot make financial decisions without the other person’s agreement.

How Anstee & Co can help you with financial planning.

We are a firm of Independent Financial Planners. This means that the advice we provided in unbiased. We look at all the financial solutions available to you from the “whole of market”. We have a specialist team dedicated to “Later Life” planning.

As a firm, we do not produce LPA‘s but can recommend Solicitor Firms that do.

If you would like help with your retirement and financial planning then why not arrange a meeting. The initial fact-finding meeting is at our cost and without obligation. Meetings can be arranged at a time and location convenient to you. This includes home visits.

Additionally, we have offices located at-

Kettering, Northamptonshire
Birmingham, Snow Hill Queensway
Stamford, Lincolnshire
London, Pall Mall
Towcester, Northamptonshire

Our qualified financial planners also live and make use of meeting rooms in-

Bedford, Bedfordshire
Droitwich, Worcestershire
Market Harborough, Leicestershire
Northampton, Brackley and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.

Would you like a Dementia Friends Information Session?

Peter Anstee — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:59:15 +0000

By Rachel Efetha, Chartered Financial Planner.

Yesterday morning I was pleased to present a Dementia Friends Information Session to the BRI Networking Breakfast in Northampton.

The Information Session helps to explain what dementia is and encourages the audience to take action after participating, from something as simple as wearing their Forget-Me-Not Dementia Friend badge to joining the Dementia Revolution.

Why I became a Dementia Friends trainer.

I became a Dementia Friend around three years ago as I felt it was important for me in my role when I deal with elderly clients. I have seen a few gradually starting to get confused about their investments when previously they understood them clearly. This is one of the reasons we always recommend that a friend or relative attends our meetings with elderly and vulnerable clients. Also, I advise family members who have power of attorney for a parent who has already been diagnosed, quite often on care home fees planning. It’s good to know a bit about what their relative is living with.

Just over a year ago, I went on the Dementia Friends Champion training course, which trained me to deliver the Information session myself. I’m in no way an expert in Dementia, but I know enough to deliver the session to others. I immediately set to work with the whole team at Anstee & Co and we are proud to be a Dementia Friendly firm, from our Managing Director to our Apprentices.

Would you like to know more?

It’s a lovely session with some great examples and explanations which will stick in your mind. If you would like me to present at your Networking Event/ Round Table/ Rotary/ WI/ Team Meeting, then just let me know. It’s free of charge as I do it on a voluntary basis, with Anstee’s support to do it during the working day if needed. It’s part of our way of giving back to the community.

Why not attend an Information Session yourself?

Details of my next Information Session are:

Date: Tuesday 14th May 2019

Time: 10.00 to 11.00am

Venue: Anstee & Co, 5 Brooklands Court, Kettering Venture Park, Kettering. NN15 6FD.

Cost: Free

To book yourself on to the above event, follow this link to the Dementia Friends website.