From Money Extra:
Thousands of families are in danger of being hit for an Inheritance tax (IHT) penalty because so many elderly parents cling on to tax free investment plans – without taking action to protect their estates on death. So warns investment adviser, the WAY Group. Based on Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures for holders of ISAs and PEPs, combined with its own research, the firm estimates that some 165,000 elderly investors (aged 70 or older) are holding ‘tax-sheltered’ portfolios in excess of £100,000. And, based on published mortality rates, this would mean that some £0.5 billion, or one sixth of the annual total IHT tax take of £3 billion, arises from IHT on PEPs and ISAs. Chairman of WAY, Paul Wilcox says: “Investors have been seduced by the Government into accumulating their investments within a ‘tax free umbrella’ but what so many don’t realise is that they will then suffer a punitive IHT sting at death, whereby they and their families potentially lose 40% of their…
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