Navigating the 2027 Pension IHT Reforms - A Practical Workshop

Introduction

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will be brought into a deceased person’s estate for Inheritance Tax (‘IHT’) purposes, significantly changing estate administration practice.

This new virtual classroom seminar explores the impact of the reforms through a practical case study of an estate where death occurs after 5 April 2027 and pension benefits are in scope. You will work through the administration step by step, identifying actions, responsibilities, information requirements and key deadlines.

The session combines technical IHT analysis with practical process mapping, focusing on real-world pressures for personal representatives, pension providers, advisers, beneficiaries and HMRC. It highlights common pinch points, including communication challenges, reporting risks, and deadline management, helping practitioners prepare for live post-2027 cases.

The course is designed for legal professionals acting as or advising personal representatives in estate administration. Suitable for those with existing IHT knowledge, the session focuses on practical application and decision-making across jurisdictions in England & Wales and Northern Ireland.

This session forms the practical companion to our IHT on Pensions - Practical Guidance & Potential Problems for Personal Representatives - Learn Live translating the technical framework into live estate administration scenarios.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• How the post-April 2027 IHT treatment of pension benefits reshapes the role of personal representatives (‘PRs’)
• Which pension benefits are likely to fall within the estate for valuation purposes and which may remain outside the IHT scope
• The practical sequence for identifying pension arrangements, requesting information, obtaining valuations and integrating them into the IHT analysis
• The respective roles and responsibilities of PRs, pension scheme administrators, beneficiaries, professional advisers and HMRC
• Key deadlines, including the IHT payment timetable and the risks arising from missing, delayed, or subsequently revised pension information
• How withholding arrangements, direct payments and beneficiary communications may operate in practice
• Common bottlenecks, including authority verification, scheme response times, valuation uncertainty, beneficiary expectations and late-discovered pension assets
• Practical steps legal professionals can take now to prepare processes, client communications and estate administration checklists for post-April 2027 cases

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.