PATHways 186

Inheritance tax information sharing regulations laid

The Government has laid The Registered Pension Schemes (Provision of Information) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026. These mainly concern the new information sharing requirements in relation to the forthcoming inheritance tax (IHT) changes. These regulations were previously consulted on in draft form. They have been amended in places after feedback from the pensions industry, most notably in the removal of a proposed new ‘Event 25’, which would have required death in service benefits to be reported automatically to HMRC.

Requirements brought in by the regulations will apply to deaths on or after 6 April 2027 and, in summary, include:

• If the member’s lump sum and death benefit allowance (LSDBA) has been expended, details of the scheme and amounts of death lump sum paid must be issued automatically to the personal representatives (PR) of the member within three months of the payment date. Further specified details about death lump sums paid must be sent to the PR within one month by request.
• On request from the PR, the scheme administrator must send details of the scheme and the value of the member’s ‘notional pension property’ at the date of death within 28 days. If a provisional estimate is given of the amount, the actual value must be provided within 14 days of it being determined. The percentage of the value which is exempt from IHT must also be sent to the PR on request.
• Where a PR needs to file an IHT account, the administrator must send them various details about the scheme, the beneficiaries, and any death benefits which have been paid which are excluded from IHT, within the later of 28 days of the request or 14 days of the beneficiaries being decided upon.
• If the scheme is given a valid ‘withholding notice’, they must provide the sender with details including whether it has been accepted and if so, the value being withheld. Impacted beneficiaries must be informed within 14 days of the notice being received or of the beneficiary being identified, if later.
• Where the scheme has paid IHT by deduction from the death benefit as a result of receiving a valid ‘payment notice’, the PR and the beneficiary whose entitlement to death benefits has been reduced, must be informed within 14 days of payment being made to HMRC, or 14 days of being identified as a beneficiary if this is later.

Government’s workplace pensions roadmap updated

The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has published an updated ‘Roadmap’ in relation to workplace pension reform. This sets out the Government’s intended aims for reform and the updated indicative timescales for those changes. This covers both defined benefit (DB) and defined contributions (DC) related pension reform, such as regulations on DB ‘superfunds’, which are currently expected to come into force in late 2028, and the consolidation of certain DC ‘small pots’ from April 2030. 

DWP publishes consultation on general levy

The DWP has also published a consultation on proposed changes to the rates and structure of the General Levy, for the period April 2027 to March 2030. This levy supports the funding for various bodies, including the Pensions Regulator and Pensions Ombudsman. 

The Government wants to place the levy-funded bodies on a more sustainable footing with an increase to the levy rates. 

It has proposed a 5% per year increase for DB scheme levies across the three year period. For DC occupational schemes the yearly increase would be 6.2% and for Master Trusts and personal pensions 9%. This is with the aim of gradually moving towards equalisation between the rates payable by different scheme types. The consultation closes on 8 September 2026.