Requirements for forthcoming pensions IHT changes

The Registered Pension Schemes (Provision of Information) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations, SI 2026/818, introduce various requirements in relation to the forthcoming pensions IHT changes. 

In essence, the aim is to ensure that the personal representatives (PRs) can submit a complete IHT account to HMRC, with the necessary details being supplied to the PRs by the pension scheme administrator.

Key changes include:

• requiring scheme administrators to provide personal representatives with details of the deceased’s relevant pension property and its value;
• requiring personal representatives to give scheme administrators information about the estate, beneficiaries and the IHT attributable to pension benefits;
• prescribing information to be exchanged when a prospective personal representative issues a withholding notice or a beneficiary asks a scheme administrator to pay IHT;
• requiring confirmation of any reduction made to a beneficiary’s lump-sum death benefit to reflect IHT paid; and
• requiring specified returns and information to be submitted electronically.

The regulations come into force on 6 April 2027 and generally apply to deaths on or after that date.