WEBINAR

Upcoming: CPD Quiz Webinar – Lifetime Allowance

On this webinar, through a series of testing questions, Jacqueline Clezy will look at the operation of the lifetime allowance, benefit crystallisation and lifetime allowance protection.

WEBINAR

Upcoming: Quarterly market update from Prudential

On this webinar, Barry Widdows and Parit Jakhria, both from Prudential Portfolio Management Group (PPMG) will provide an update on how markets have performed so far in 2018, any current themes and how this is influencing portfolio positioning. They’ll also discuss some of the longer term investment themes that the team are currently looking at. Following on from the PPMG speakers, Paul Fidell, a Senior Business Development Manager at Prudential, will cover PruFund recent performance, Expected Growth Rates and updates on the range of Dynamic Portfolios and Dynamic Focused Portfolios from Prudential..

WEBINAR

Upcoming: Political update: Brexit – ongoing negotiations and implications for financial services

On this webinar, Tim Fassam, Head of Public Affairs at Prudential discusses latest insights from the UK political and policy environment and ongoing Brexit negotiations. This will cover recent political events and the formal process for the UK to leave the EU.

Upcoming: Bonds benefits and Assignment

On this webinar George Pullar, Business Development Manager will start by looking at the key benefits of investing in investment bonds, with a focus on education funding and IHT planning. Following on from George, Liz Hardie, Technical Specialist will take an in-depth look at Assignment through use of a case study.

WEBINAR

Cascading wealth – opportunities to explore

On this webinar, Stan Russell, Senior Business Development Manager began by looking at the IHT implications if a client makes a transfer and dies within two years. George Pullar, Business Development Manager, looked at some of the key challenges faced when moving in to decumulation and looking to support a sustainable income and the use of ISAs as part of the key strategy.

Upcoming: Cascading wealth – opportunities to explore

On this webinar, Stan Russell, Senior Business Development Manager will begin by looking at the IHT implications if a client makes a transfer and dies within two years. George Pullar, Business Development Manager will then go on to look at some of the key challenges faced when moving in to decumulation and looking to support a sustainable income and the use of ISAs as part of the key strategy

WEBINAR

Bond benefits and Assignment

On this webinar George Pullar, Business Development Manager started by looking at the key benefits of investing in investment bonds, with a focus on education funding and IHT planning. Following on from George, Liz Hardie, Technical Specialist took an in depth look at Assignment through the use of a case study.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Inheritance tax and pensions

See the situations where inheritance tax may apply in relation to pensions.

ARTICLE by Helen O' Hagan

Helen O' Hagan

Thoughts about bonds

A bond us normally a single premium whole of life contract which offer many features and benefits. In my opinion here are some of the salient features of bonds.

ARTICLE by Angela Hyslop

Angela Hyslop

Loan Trust: Q&A

This month we cover questions related to loan trusts.

ARTICLE by Jacqueline Clezy

Jacqueline Clezy

Small pots and triviality: Q&A

This month we cover questions related to small pots and triviality.

ARTICLE by Moira Warner

Moira Warner

Death is not the end

If you’re an adviser with clients in the Public Sector you will be painfully aware that the rules of public service pension schemes are enormously complex.

ARTICLE by Mark Devlin

Mark Devlin

The trials and tribulations of parenthood – aka the High Income Child Benefit Charge

A recent tax tribunal decision and general day to day parenting combined in my mind to once again highlight the potential pitfalls of receiving child benefits, and ways that impacts of losing this can be mitigated. I’ll steer clear of the parenting pitfalls though.

ARTICLE by Liz Hardie

Liz Hardie

And so it begins…

Following Philip Hammond’s letter to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) asking for a review of Inheritance Tax, a consultation has been issued to gather information and to look into opportunities to simplify it.

WEBINAR

CPD Quiz Webinar – OEIC taxation

On the webinar, through a series of testing questions, Graeme Robb looked at the taxation of the investor. More than that though, he considered the ‘internal’ taxation of the fund to give that complete picture. Graeme considered the perennial issue of the interaction between OEICs and insurance bonds.

ARTICLE by Catriona McInally

Catriona McInally

Make your money work harder

There are many reasons why a company may choose to accumulate cash in the bank. Business might be good, orders are coming in, debtors are paying and the future looks positive. Or Brexit looms, currency risk lurks and bills need to be paid some time down the road.

ARTICLE by Liz Hardie

Liz Hardie

Help…my bond is 20 years old!

75 year old widow, Agnes, invested £144,000 in an offshore bond on 18 June 1998.

ARTICLE by Liz Hardie

Liz Hardie

That’s the wrong way

Joe, a basic rate taxpayer, took a withdrawal of £40,000 from his investment bond in December 2017 without firstly contacting his financial adviser.

WEBINAR

Defined Benefit Transfers – the futureproofing of advice

On this webinar, independent regulatory expert Rory Percival and Director of Specialist Business Support at Prudential Vince Smith-Hughes discuss the current state of the DB market, the recent policy statement and consultation document and what advisers can do now to help futureproof DB transfer advice.

ARTICLE by Liz Hardie

Liz Hardie

Time Apportionment Relief

Andy has been living and working overseas for almost 4 years. His company has just offered him a post back in the UK. Andy still holds an onshore investment bond that he bought on 2 November 2013, but is thinking of encashing to help with the move.

ARTICLE by Liz Hardie

Liz Hardie

Partial withdrawal vs full segment surrender

John & Yvonne are basic rate taxpayers. They invested £138,000 into an onshore bond in 2015.

ARTICLE by Liz Hardie

Liz Hardie

Assignment

Peter and Carrie are a married couple in their 60s.They are both higher rate taxpayers. They have held an onshore investment bond since 1998.

ARTICLE by Les Cameron

Les Cameron

Why OEICs are great… and other matters

Is it 'bond v OEICs' or 'bond and OEICs'?

VIDEO

Online functionality of the retirement account

Watch our video on the online functionality of the retirement account.

VIDEO

Prudential Market Insights | April 2018

David Shairp, Head of Research, PPMG, gives his monthly update and discusses US trade tariffs, where challenges in the first quarter have left valuations and if recent events have affected the long-term positioning of portfolios.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Lifetime Allowance (LTA): Q&A

Questions from advisers answered on the lifetime allowance, including queries about protection, LTA excesses, pre A-day benefits, LTA on death and other general questions.

ARTICLE by Mark Devlin

Mark Devlin

The present and future of DB transfers

The recent publications from the FCA Policy Statement 18/6 (PS18/6) and Consultation Paper 18/7 (CP18/7) have brought DB transfers further to the fore.

ARTICLE by Helen O' Hagan

Helen O' Hagan

Power of Attorney and the foreign element

The world is getting smaller, there is more and more movement of people between countries than ever before. So what happens when you have an elderly person who has a power or attorney in place which was not set up in the UK. Will it be valid and will the attorneys be authorised to deal with their affairs?

ARTICLE by Sam Niblo

Sam Niblo

Lifetime Allowance and Death: Q&A

This month we cover questions related to Lifetime Allowance and death.

ARTICLE by Jacqueline Clezy

Jacqueline Clezy

Has it really been 12 years already?

Pensions simplification promised to remove the complex rules and multiple maximum benefit calculation regimes that existed prior to 6 April 2006. So how has our relationship with the changes that were introduced developed over the last 12 years?

ARTICLE by Neil MacLeod

Neil MacLeod

Tax and trust: Q&A

This month we cover questions related to ‘lives assured’ on investment bonds.

ARTICLE by Graeme Robb

Graeme Robb

IHT DOTAS – Two Acronyms come together

In Oracle Technical, January 2018, Winter Warmers I discussed the new Inheritance Tax (IHT) avoidance scheme regulations effective from 1 April 2018.

VIDEO

Multi-Asset investing in an age of Quantitative Tightening: Leila Butt, PPMG

Leila Butt, Senior Economist, Prudential Portfolio Management Group, discusses the effects of the QE, the mechanics of quantitative tightening and the possible implications, advanced central bank policies, and finally gives her overall assessment for the future.

WEBINAR

Planning matters – delivering your clients income needs

We recently ran a series of seminars across the UK that proved really popular, attracting over 1,400 advisers. Feedback was so strong that we decided to run a webinar that covers the key points discussed, so those who didn’t make it don't miss out.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Trustee investment considerations: the facts

Learn the overriding duties of trustees in relation to investments.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Enhanced protection

Enhanced protection was introduced by Finance Act 2004. Individuals who were eligible and continue to hold enhanced protection will not suffer any lifetime allowance excess tax charge when they take pension benefits in excess of the lifetime allowance.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Tax relief on employer contributions

Discover how an employer can receive tax relief on pension contributions for an employee.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Pension recycling

Information on pension recycling; what it is, key points and how income recycling works.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Individual savings accounts (ISAs): planning ideas

Help your clients make the most of their individual savings accounts (ISAs).

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Charities and insurance bonds: implications

Find out why HMRC considers it prudent for a charity to take professional advice before purchasing an insurance bond or accepting a transfer from a donor.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Flexi-access drawdown vs UFPLS

Discover useful guidance to help you consider whether flexi-access drawdown or UFPLS is the most appropriate route to achieve the client’s objectives for accessing benefits from their pension pot.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Uncrystallised fund pension lump sum (UFPLS)

Information on uncrystallised fund pension lump sum (UFPLS); what it is, why it was introduced and how it is taxed.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Taxation of pension income

We outline how pension income is taxed as earned income, using Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and cover some key considerations. Usually the income is initially set up with an ‘emergency tax code’.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Fixed protection 2012, 2014 and 2016

With the Lifetime Allowance being reduced over time to £1.0m, more and more people are facing the potential of being liable to LTA excess charges. Consideration of the availability of LTA protection is therefore a vital part of pensions planning.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Transferable nil rate band: planning ideas

Learn about the interaction of discretionary will trusts and the inheritance tax transferable nil rate band.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Income tax personal allowance: planning ideas

Personal allowance planning involves reducing adjusted net income given the £100,000 income limit for personal allowance purposes.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

How best to extract profits from your business

Discover the three main ways to extract profits from a limited company and how these can be used to improve your client’s financial situation.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Scottish Rate of Income Tax - Facts

How Income Tax differs for Scottish taxpayers

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Lifetime allowance: the facts

The Lifetime Allowance (LTA) is the overall limit of tax privileged pensions funds a member can accrue during their lifetime, before a Lifetime Allowance tax charge applies.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Annual allowance for pension savings

A review of the main changes to annual allowance since its introduction on 6 April 2006, as well as common issues to consider.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Taxation of offshore policies: the facts

Information on taxation of offshore policies. Find out how offshore life assurance bonds are taxed in the hands of individuals and trustees.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Salary sacrifice: pension planning ideas

There are a number of planning opportunities around Salary Sacrifice (or Exchange) which can produce the same pension contribution at a lower net cost, or a higher pension contribution at the same net cost.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Discounted gift trusts: payments to beneficiaries

Information on discounted gift trusts and payment to beneficiaries; what to consider for payment to a beneficiary of a discounted gift trust while the settlor is still alive.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Pensions can be a valuable tool in an individual's tax planning

Information on how pensions can be used to mitigate child benefit and personal allowance tax traps as well as mitigate tax on bond and CGT gains.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Inheritance Tax potentially exempt transfers

Learn how outright gifts are dealt with for inheritance tax purposes and the implications of death within seven years.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) - Case studies

Case studies demonstrating how the MPAA works for a selection of tax years.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Top slicing relief for bonds taxation: planning ideas

What you need to know about the interaction of a personal pension contribution and top slicing relief .

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

EIS, VCT and SEIS

Learn about venture capital trusts, enterprise investment schemes and seed enterprise investment schemes and how to plan with them for income tax relief.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Income tax rates and order of tax

Learn how different types of income are taxed and how they fit into an individual’s income tax calculation.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Spousal bypass trust: the facts

Discover what spousal bypass trusts are, why they might be used and the tax implications of using them.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Gift aid donations by individuals: the facts

Gift aid is a tax-efficient way of gifting to charities.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs): the facts

The Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a tax exempt savings vehicle for UK resident investors.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Pensions and inheritance tax: planning ideas

Pension planning and making contributions for others can be an effective way for the donor to reduce their taxable estate while saving into a pension for someone else.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Phased retirement

Pension flexibility has increased the options available for those who wish to phase retirement. Discover the main types of withdrawal method and how it works in practice.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Discounted gift trusts: the facts

Learn about the role discounted gift trusts play in inheritance tax planning.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Chargeable event gains for bonds and starting rate for saving: Q&A

Questions from advisers answered about setting chargeable events gains for bonds against the starting rate for savings.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Tax relief on member contributions

Learn how tax relief for a member operates including eligibility, methods of claiming tax relief and case studies.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Reduce the impact of the high income child benefit charge

The high income child benefit tax charge impacts those who have adjusted net income over £50,000 and are receiving child benefit. Reducing adjusted net income can reduce the impact.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Transfer to or from qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes

Discover the main considerations when transferring a pension to or from a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme and new rule changes.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Income tax personal allowance: the facts

What you need to know about the income tax personal allowance.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Comparing pension and buy-to-let as retirement planning vehicles

Buy to let property, as well as pensions, continue to be popular investment vehicles for retirement planning. We look at the advantages and disadvantages of each.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Top slicing relief for bonds taxation: the facts

What you need to know about top slicing relief, how it works and more.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Small pots and defined benefit trivial commutations

Information on small pots and defined benefit trivial commutations, including payment, effect on entitlements to benefits and crystallised and uncrystallised benefit rights.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

The new State Pension

The new State Pension replaces the previous rules, which offered the basic and any additional state pension entitlements, for anyone reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Domicile status for individuals: the facts

Understand why domicile status can be important in establishing an individual’s tax liability.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

When can retirement benefits be taken?

Information on when can retirement benefits be taken, exceptions and key points.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Tax-free cash and protection

Information on tax-free cash (TFC) and how it can be protected; the type of Lifetime Allowance protection held can also impact the calculation of the maximum TFC.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Discounted gift trusts: changing the underpinning investment

Learn about changing the underpinning investment on a discounted gift trust which has been used for lump sum inheritance tax planning.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Tapered annual allowance: planning ideas and potential pitfalls

Discover how the tapered annual allowance works, and the related planning issues.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Salary sacrifice: the facts

Learn about salary sacrifice: what it is, why do it and what the drawbacks are.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Tapered annual allowance for high income client pensions

Information on tapered annual allowance for high income client pensions.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

UK investment bonds: taxation planning ideas

Discover tax planning opportunities with UK investment bonds.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Individual protection 2014 and 2016

With the Lifetime Allowance being reduced to £1m, more and more people could potentially be liable for Lifetime Allowance excess charges. This makes considering Lifetime Allowance protections a vital part of pensions planning.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA)

The money purchase annual allowance, or MPAA, was introduced with pension freedoms and this limits the amount of money which can be contributed to a money purchase scheme once pensions have been flexibly accessed before a tax charge is payable.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

AIFs for individual investors: the facts

An overview of what authorised investment funds are and how they are taxed.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Pension contributions: Q&A

Questions from advisers answered on tax relief and annual allowance (including carry forward) considerations when contributing to pensions.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Income or assets overseas – client notification obligations

If you give advice about tax, or are a financial institution, you may need to send a letter to clients who have income or assets overseas.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

UK investment bonds: taxation facts

Information on UK investment bonds, including what they are, identifying chargeable events, part arrangement (5% rule) and part assignments.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Chargeable event gain and personal allowance: Q&A

Answers to questions from advisers on the effect of the chargeable event gain on personal allowance.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Carry forward of unused annual allowance for pension savings

Carry forward of unused annual allowance may allow a member to absorb or reduce any annual allowance excess paid in the current tax year which, in turn, would reduce any potential annual allowance charge amount.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Inheritance Tax meets Child Benefit Tax

How inheritance tax planning can also help lower tax on a family basis and help with retirement planning.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Inheritance Tax taper relief

Find out how taper relief can reduce the tax payable on lifetime gifts.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

AIFs for individual investors: planning ideas

Authorised investment funds are collective investment schemes authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Life assurance policies and insurable interest requirements

Learn what insurable interest means and its different categories.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Lifetime Allowance and Annual Allowance planning for the high net worth client

Here’s what you need to consider in relation to the Lifetime Allowance and Annual Allowance to see if pension saving is still right for high net worth clients.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Inheritance Tax annual exemption

What you need to know about the annual £3,000 exemption for Inheritance Tax purposes.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Transferable nil rate band: the facts

Learn the practical steps surrounding the transfer of the inheritance tax nil rate band.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Early retirement planning

For the young and those with good levels of disposable income the dream of an early retirement at 55 could be achieved by bridging the income gap before State Pension is payable.

ARTICLE by Mark Devlin

Mark Devlin

A couple of pension titbits

Now that Scottish Rate of income tax (SRIT) has been passed, Mark will look at a particular quirk between the devolved and non-devolved powers to highlight the highest UK rate of tax.

ARTICLE by Neil MacLeod

Neil MacLeod

Consultation Paper 18/7 (CP18/7)

The FCA have issued a consultation paper with proposals to improve the quality of pension transfer advice. This is a summary of the proposals included within CP 18/7.

ARTICLE by Liz Hardie

Liz Hardie

Are gifts really deliberate deprivation of assets for care home fees?

Assessing for deliberate deprivation of assets can be a grey area for many local authorities. North Yorkshire County Council was recently criticised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, who say that they got the decision wrong.

ARTICLE by Barrie Dawson

Barrie Dawson

Discounted Gift Trust: Q&A

Questions from advisers answered on Discounted Gift Trust

ARTICLE by Jacqueline Clezy

Jacqueline Clezy

Pensions: Q&A

This month we cover five of the most common questions received in helpline since the start of 2018.

ARTICLE by Helen O' Hagan

Helen O' Hagan

Trusts for disabled persons - to elect or not to elect

There are available tax advantages on electing for a trust to be treated as a vulnerable persons trust but is it always the best thing to do for a disabled beneficiary?

ARTICLE by Graeme Robb

Graeme Robb

Common sense has broken out

The Chancellor presented his first Spring Statement on Tuesday 13 March

ARTICLE by Clare Moffat

Clare Moffat

The Divorce (Financial Provision) Bill and the impact on financial planning

The divorce (Financial Provision) Bill passed through its second reading in the House of Lords in January 2017.

Mark Devlin

Policy Statement 18/6 (PS18/6)

A summary of PS18/6

WEBINAR

DB policy paper and consultation

The FCA have finally issued their long awaited response to last year's consultation on DB transfer advice. And they've issued a further consultation too

WEBINAR

Regulatory special - Disclosure

PRIIPs and MiFID II have arrived, but early signs are that these together with the existing disclosure requirements we all know and love are causing confusion.

VIDEO

Prudential Market Insights - March 2018

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Trustee record keeping

Find out which records are required for a trust with this useful guide for trustees.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

What is a pension annuity?

A guide to pension annuities: the essential facts and issues to consider.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Types of pension arrangements

A summary of the main types of pension arrangements, including money purchase (defined contribution), defined benefits and cash balance schemes.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Transferring a pension scheme

Learn about what’s allowed and what’s not allowed by HMRC when a member of a pension scheme transfers their accrued pension rights from one scheme to another.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Inheritance Tax relief for business property

Business property relief is a valuable inheritance tax relief for business owners whether making a lifetime transfer or on death.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Pension transfers and conversions, including DB to DC transfers

We explore the advantages and disadvantages of transferring a DB scheme to a DC type scheme and the assessment process, including Transfer Value Analysis Systems (TVAs).

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Death benefits from defined contribution schemes

Learn about the different types of death benefit, including those from defined contribution schemes, and the way they’re taxed.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Trusts for disabled persons

Learn about the special tax treatment for trusts that are set up for vulnerable beneficiaries.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Section 32 arrangements

Information on section 32 policies, what they are, when it would be used and the difference between it and a personal pension.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Death benefits and annuities

Learn about the death benefits that can be provided if a member purchases an annuity contract, and the resulting taxes payable.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Normal expenditure out of income exemption

Learn how normal expenditure out of income can be a valuable inheritance tax exemption, and how to plan with it.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Loan trusts: the facts

Loan trusts are designed for individuals who wish to undertake IHT planning but are unwilling to make outright gifts.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Legal structures of pension schemes

An explanation of the different legal structures for pension schemes, including personal and group pensions and master trusts.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Investment bonds – segment surrender v surrender across the segments

What you need to know about choosing how to withdraw funds from a bond when the whole bond is not being encashed.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Corporate-owned bonds

Understand the corporation tax implications of a company investing in an insurance bond.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Protected early pension age

Information on protected early pension age and the three categories of members with the right to take benefits before the minimum pension age, along with the conditions affecting them.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Pension commencement lump sum (tax-free cash)

Information on pension commencement lump sum (tax free cash), including key points, limits, entitlement and how to calculate the amount of tax-free cash.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Family investment companies

Information on family investment companies, including how using a family investment company is an inheritance tax (IHT) strategy for individuals with large estates subject to IHT.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Pensions and divorce

Courts dividing assets during a divorce can take into account most pension rights. The settlement can be reached by offsetting, an attachment/earmarking order or a pension sharing order.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Primary protection

Primary protection was introduced by Finance Act 2004 to protect people from unnecessary tax charges where their total benefits were valued at £1.5m (the newly introduced lifetime allowance) or more on 5 April 2006.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Purchased life annuities: the facts

See how purchased life annuities provide a guaranteed income normally until death or expiry of a fixed term.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Loan trust: planning ideas

Loan trusts can be used to plan for inheritance tax, school fees, pensions and death benefits.

ARTICLE by The Technical Team

The Technical Team

Death benefits for defined benefit schemes

Find out about the types of death benefits that can be paid from a defined benefit scheme and how they’re taxed.

ARTICLE

Criminal Finances Act 2017 introduces new corporate criminal offence

The Criminal Finances Act 2017, which came into effect on 30 September 2017, introduces a new corporate criminal offence relating to the ‘Failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion’. It will be a criminal offence, if a business such as Prudential, fails to prevent an employee or a person acting on its behalf (an ‘associated person’) from facilitating tax evasion. Businesses that are guilty of the offence could face unlimited fines, regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage.

ARTICLE

Disclosure Special – an overview of the Regulations

In this article, we provide you with an overview of the respective regulatory changes for different illustrations : Key Features Illustrations (KFIs), Investment Options Documents as part of KIDs (IODs) and Ex-Ante cost and charges illustrations (under MiFID II).

ARTICLE by Paul Fidell

Paul Fidell

PRIIPs - The Devil is in the detail!

As the title of this article implies, the simple aim of transparency for customers does mask a hugely complex set of regulations and calculations that need to be adhered to by the provider of the PRIIP itself.

ARTICLE by Nick Hunt

Nick Hunt

KIDs and KFIs – why they’re both important

The new Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment (PRIIPs) Product regulations will have a knock on effect on wider pre-sales disclosure. Here we’ll explain what’s driving the changes and how we’re responding. We’ll then outline how advisers should explain the differences and consider the disclosure requirements of costs and charges under MiFID II and IDD.

ARTICLE by Nick Hunt

Nick Hunt

How have we responded to meet advisers’ needs?

This article looks at how we have responded to the new regulations to help meet advisers needs. It's not all about disclosure. We provide more than mandatory information in our KFDs, including tax information, detailed product information, etc. This is designed to help your clients understand the product, its risks and the wider context.

ARTICLE by Nick Hunt

Nick Hunt

What makes a KFI?

This article looks at what makes a KFI and the assumptions to use within an illustration.

ARTICLE by Nick Hunt

Nick Hunt

Markets in Financial Investments Directive II

If you are a ‘MiFID firm’, you’ll need to take immediate action to ensure you comply with MiFID II. You may be asking, are we a ‘MiFID firm’? Well, if any individual gives advice on any MiFID instruments, such as OEICs and unit trusts in collectives, then yes you will. Even if your firm is exempt under Article 3 of the regulations, will need to comply with similar requirements. The good news is that the rules are well defined, as the FCA has had time to consult on the detail. Let’s explore the requirements of MiFID II:

ARTICLE by Nick Hunt

Nick Hunt

Disclosure – Jargon Buster

In this short article, we provide an overview of the new regulations

WEBINAR

Political update

Learn about the latest insights from the UK political and policy environment and understand the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

WEBINAR

Quarterly market update

Get CPD for learning about the latest on the market from Prudential Portfolio Management Group (PPMG), including current asset valuations, how portfolios are currently positioned and how it sees the rest of the year playing out.

VIDEO

PPMG Monthly Markets Insight - February 2018

David Shairp, Head of Research, PPMG, gives his monthly update and discusses the recent sell-off in markets, whether there have been changes in economic fundamentals and correct asset allocation following the sell-off.

VIDEO

Multi-Asset Investment Update | February 2018

Barry Widdows, Head of Multi-Asset Portfolio Management, Prudential, discusses why the US dollar has been weak, his outlook for UK property, volatility returning to markets and his outlook for the remainder of 2018.

ARTICLE by Adrian Gaspar

Adrian Gaspar

Prudential Portfolio Management Group Market Comment February 2018

Markets slumped last week, with the S&P 500 down by 5.2% over the course of the week.

ARTICLE by Mark Devlin

Mark Devlin

To act or not to act, the dilemma you face if you have Scottish rate taxpayers

In January’s edition of Oracle Technical, there was an article detailing that the Scottish Rate of Income Tax may have an impact on tax year end planning and rates of relief granted. In this edition we’ll add a bit more on the potential impacts on what has been announced.

ARTICLE by Sam Niblo

Sam Niblo

Lifetime Allowance and divorce: Q&A

Questions from advisers answered on lifetime allowance and divorce.

ARTICLE by Angela Hyslop

Angela Hyslop

Transferrable Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) or ‘Brought-forward’ Allowance: Q&A

Questions from advisers answered on Transferrable Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) or ‘Brought-forward’ Allowance.

ARTICLE by Graeme Robb

Graeme Robb

Will it be this way forever?

Has there just been a series of random events, or is a pattern developing?

ARTICLE by Mark Devlin

Mark Devlin

The Annual Allowance (AA)

Following on from last month’s article which covered pensions tax relief, we’ll now go through the flip side of the pension funding conundrum, The Annual Allowance.

ARTICLE by Helen O' Hagan

Helen O' Hagan

Managing your trustees

Understand how to add and remove trustees from a trust

WEBINAR

4 big ISA questions answered

Get CPD for learning about the actual size of the ISA market, what type of ISAs are most popular and recent investment trends. We’ll also look at current issues you need to think about when advising an ISA client and learn about new ISA opportunities you might not have considered.

WEBINAR

ISA online submission

Walk through the process of completing an online ISA application, step by step.

ARTICLE by Mark Devlin

Mark Devlin

Pensions tax relief – a reliable source of free money

Discover how pensions tax relief works to help with planning for clients.

ARTICLE by Helen O' Hagan

Helen O' Hagan

Wholly disproportionate gains

Exceeding the 5% tax deferred allowance for life assurance bonds can result in gains which are disproportionate to the true gain made within the bond. A new process aims to allow policyholders to make an application to have wholly disproportionate gains recalculated on a just and reasonable basis.

ARTICLE by Neil MacLeod