Can IHT on pension pot be avoided if I nominate my son as primary beneficiary in Expressions of Wish

Ebkent

Thanks for all your responses. Apologies for not making my question clear.  I am just trying reduce my IHT bill. And also trying to get my estate under £2m.
Our estate is worth about £2.7m.  £1.6m in our residence, £700k in cash & Isas,  and £400k in my SIPP.
I have looked into transferring my property into my sons name, but currently looks complicated with the GROB rules.
I can’t transfer my Sipp.
I am looking at transferring most of our £700k to our son as gifts, and hope one of us lives 7 years.  As £500k is in Stocks & Shares ISA’s I am questioning whether it seems sensible to close these as my son would lose the tax free benefit on income and gains. However the  IHT probably outweighs the tax saved on the ISAs.

I currently draw just enough SIPP income to keep me under the HR limit.  (c £5k pa) I already give my son the maximum I can under the Gifts from Excess income every year.

I was wondering about my son inheriting my pension IF I died before my husband , so he could use the unused £325k NRB.  But as someone pointed out , this would simply reduce the NRB that would eventually pass to my husband.

any comments welcome.  I realise I am in a fortunate position, but really hate the thought of paying so much IHT. Currently estimated  £700k IHT, but could be more as the estate is over £2m and we start to lose the main residence relief

Marcon

Ebkent said:

Thanks for all your responses. Apologies for not making my question clear.  I am just trying reduce my IHT bill. And also trying to get my estate under £2m.
Our estate is worth about £2.7m.  £1.6m in our residence, £700k in cash & Isas,  and £400k in my SIPP.
I have looked into transferring my property into my sons name, but currently looks complicated with the GROB rules.
I can’t transfer my Sipp.
I am looking at transferring most of our £700k to our son as gifts, and hope one of us lives 7 years.  As £500k is in Stocks & Shares ISA’s I am questioning whether it seems sensible to close these as my son would lose the tax free benefit on income and gains. However the  IHT probably outweighs the tax saved on the ISAs.

I currently draw just enough SIPP income to keep me under the HR limit.  (c £5k pa) I already give my son the maximum I can under the Gifts from Excess income every year.

I was wondering about my son inheriting my pension IF I died before my husband , so he could use the unused £325k NRB.  But as someone pointed out , this would simply reduce the NRB that would eventually pass to my husband.

any comments welcome.  I realise I am in a fortunate position, but really hate the thought of paying so much IHT. Currently estimated  £700k IHT, but could be more as the estate is over £2m and we start to lose the main residence relief

With so many assets, and a possible £700K IHT bill, wouldn't some professional advice based on a full understanding of your situation be a better idea than relying on a free forum? It's hard to follow - one minute you are talking about transferring 'my' property, but you also refer to 'our' residence. Given the absence of clear and complete information, it's not possible for anyone here to help much.