Guides to UK pension changes
Plain-English explanations with primary sources and clear limits.
Pensions and Inheritance Tax from April 2027
For deaths on or after 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will count towards the estate for Inheritance Tax. Exemptions and allowances still matter.
Dying before or after 75: inherited pension tax explained
Age 75 is mainly a dividing line in the Income Tax treatment of pension death benefits. It does not decide whether the pension falls within Inheritance Tax from April 2027.
Can you take your pension at 55 after April 2028?
The normal minimum pension age rises from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028. Protected ages and other exceptions may apply, while transitional provisions need careful checking.
Explore each change
Targeted support for pensions and investments
Authorised firms can offer suggestions for groups of people with shared characteristics. Availability depends on the firm, and the service uses less information than individual financial advice.
State Pension age rises from 66 to 67
State Pension age is rising in stages. People born from 6 April 1960 to 5 March 1961 reach it between age 66 years and one month and age 66 years and eleven months.
Pensions and inheritance tax from April 2027
For deaths on or after 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits enter the inheritance tax calculation. Exemptions, exclusions and estate allowances still matter.
Minimum pension age rises from 55 to 57
The normal minimum pension age rises to 57 on 6 April 2028. Protected pension ages, ill-health rules and specific transitional provisions can affect whether earlier payments are permitted.
Value for Money assessments for workplace pensions
The current plan is for larger workplace pension schemes to publish their first assessments in 2028. Rules are planned for 2027; 2027 is not the first year of published ratings.
Pension salary sacrifice: the planned £2,000 NI limit
The announced change limits National Insurance relief on pension salary sacrifice to £2,000 a tax year. It is a limit on the relieved contribution amount, not a £2,000 pension contribution ceiling.
Guided Retirement: the planned workplace pension framework
Guided Retirement is intended to help people turn defined contribution savings into retirement income. The updated timetable places scheme duties in 2029 and 2030, rather than March 2028.
Default retirement income and small pension pots
Two separate reforms aim to make workplace pensions easier to manage: retirement income defaults and automatic consolidation of eligible dormant small pots. They have different purposes and timetables.