Could Labour impose tax overnight on a pension I inherited from my husband?

I inherited my late husband’s drawdown pot when he died at the age of 68. 

I know that at present I can take the entire pot tax free.

Now that we have a change of government, if they were to decide to impose income tax on withdrawals or complete closure do you think it procedurally possible that the changes could be brought in overnight or phased in for existing pots? W.E

Tanya Jefferies, of This is Money, replies: I am sorry to hear you lost your husband.

We have received many questions from readers who are worried the new Labour government could make unfavourable tax changes before there is time to take defensive measures.

It must be especially difficult to reckon with these kinds of concerns while you are grieving.

We of course don’t know what the Budget this Autumn will bring in terms of immediate new pension or inheritance rules, but the Government has launched a major pensions review in which presumably everything will be on the table for consideration in the longer run.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a post-election audit has found £20billion hole in the public finances, which will have to be filled somehow.

On your specific question, it is possible more ungenerous rules on how pensions are inherited and taxed might be imposed, but far less likely retirement funds already in the hands of bereaved widows or other beneficiares would be affected by them.

We asked a top money expert to go into the details of your situation below.

Lisa Caplan, director of financial planning at Charles Stanley, replies: Many people are considering whether to take available tax-free cash from defined contribution pensions at present in case the new government is minded to change the rules or tax regime.

Your dilemma is a variation on this theme.

Under current rules, within two years of a death of a pension holder before age 75 a beneficiary can take an entire inherited pot tax free up to a maximum of £1,073,100, including any tax-free cash already been taken.

Lisa Caplan:  Significant changes almost always apply from the new tax year, or at least with fair warning

Usually, the other main options are to keep the pension pot and draw a taxable income from it at some point, or to buy an income for life with it via an annuity.

There can be good reason to quickly access the full amount as a lump sum. Being able to take the entire pension value of any size is very attractive from an income tax perspective.

After the two-year period any withdrawals would be subject to income tax, and this is also always the case in the instance of a post-75 death of the pension holder.

However, it is not always obvious that taking all the cash at the first opportunity is the right thing to do.

Withdrawing money from the pension means removing it from an environment where all future investment growth and income is tax free.

If your rate of income tax is likely to be low going forward at any point, it might be that you can stagger withdrawals when you need them without paying a significant amount of income tax anyway.

However, with the income tax personal allowance currently frozen at £12,570 a year most people will end up paying tax on even modest drawdowns.

A further aspect to consider is inheritance tax . Under the present rules pension pots can be passed onto your children or other beneficiary inheritance tax free, and this could be valuable for estate planning – if indeed it is relevant in your situation.

However, it is worth noting that if we do see rule changes to pensions under Labour this is also an area that could well be in the crosshairs.

Turning to your specific enquiry, it is not out of the question that a rule change could affect you as the holder of your late husband’s pension pot.

However, it may be something of a moot point as any decision to take the pot tax free is contingent on doing so within the two-year window. So, you’ll need to decide on your strategy sooner rather than later anyway.

As for whether a rule change might be brought in overnight as you put it, thus catching you out, this would certainly break with convention.

Significant changes almost always apply from the new tax year, or at least with fair warning.

Any sudden alteration that affects existing pots from previous deaths would be draconian and highly insensitive to people like you who are grappling with financial planning while still likely in a period of grieving.

Rather than impose changes retrospectively, I would imagine that the sensible thing for the government to do, if indeed it wanted to make a change in this area, would be to apply it from the start of a new tax year, or at the very least on pension pots resulting from deaths from a certain date.

In summary, while I can’t rule it out entirely it would be a real surprise if any rule change in this area was to affect you without you being able to act.

Consequently, it’s a case of planning as normal in respect of the timeframe involved and the balance between income tax and inheritance tax issues.

One approach would be to withdraw and fund full Isa contributions for a few years in order to maintain the tax efficient status of the money.

At £20,000 each tax year this can absorb a decent chunk of most pots.

If the pension is larger, however, I would encourage you to seek some regulated financial advice to formulate a proper plan that takes into consideration your precise circumstances and goals as well as taking full account of all the possible tax implications.