Effects of Autumn Statement on older people and deceased persons’ estates
George Osborne announced several measures which will affect older people and also those dealing with a deceased’s persons estate. Below are a few of the headlines:-
Older people
- The basic state pensions is set to rise by £3.35 or £119.30 per week.
- £150 million is to be set aside to fund a new Dementia Research Institute.
- Those in receipt of Housing Benefit or Pension Credits will lose these if they are deemed to be ex-pats i.e. outside of the UK for more than 4 weeks at a time.
- Funding has been pledged to build 8,000 specialist homes with the aim of preventing 8,500 having to go into care homes.
Estates
- Capital gains tax will have to be paid within 30 days of the relevant disposal of a residential property from April 2019.
- The government is to consult with ISA providers with a view to introducing legislation to allow the savings of a deceased person held in an ISA at the date of their death to continue to benefit from the tax advantages of such an account during the administration of their estate. Currently upon death funds held in an ISA are transferred to a standard savings account upon death, thereby losing the tax advantages associated with ISAs for the period from death to closure of the account.
- There will also be legislation introduced to ensure there will be no charge to inheritance tax where a member of a pension scheme designates funds for draw down but does not draw all of the funds before death.
If you would like advice on any of these issues please contact us.
Please note the above is for information purposes only and is intended to be a short summary. It should not be treated as a comprehensive guide and should not be acted on without qualified legal advice.
