Keep What You've Earned Great Investments Programme · Educational tool

Educational tool — not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are estimates based on UK rules as we understand them at September 2026. They may be incomplete, wrong or out of date, and nothing here is a personal recommendation. Do not rely on this tool without checking with an FCA-authorised adviser or a solicitor. Full disclaimer

For UK pension savers · Tax year 2026/27

The questions a financial planner would ask you — answered before you pay for one.

You have built a pension. Now the job is to keep it: away from unnecessary income tax while you live, and away from a 40% inheritance tax bill when you don't. Work through your own situation with the current English rules built in, then take a printed plan to a regulated adviser if you need one.

Build my plan Ask a question
£325,000Nil-rate band per person, frozen to April 2031
+£175,000Residence nil-rate band if your home passes to children or grandchildren
6 April 2027Unused pensions join your estate for inheritance tax
67%Potential combined tax on a pension inherited after age 75 by a higher-rate taxpayer

Ask

Type your question in plain English

Answers come from a rule-book of 2026/27 legislation and planner practice, each with its source. Start with the question we hear most: "How do I keep hold of my pension and pay no more tax than necessary?"

Ask the assistant

Follow-up questions, answered only from the rule-book

AI-generated · can be wrong
The assistant is restricted to the same 2026/27 rule-book as the rest of this page and will say when a question falls outside it. It is an AI model: it can misread your question or make mistakes, it cannot see your full circumstances, and it never gives personal recommendations. Treat every answer as a starting point for a conversation with a regulated adviser, not as a decision.

Your plan

Ten questions. One prioritised action list.

The same fact-find a chartered planner runs in a first meeting. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere — it stays in your browser. Print the result and take it to your adviser, solicitor or family conversation.

About you

Your age
Relationship status
Do you have children or grandchildren?

What you own

Enter household totals if you're a couple — the plan models the second death, when the bill usually lands.

What's already in place

Tick everything that is true today

What matters most

Choose up to three

Your plan appears here

Estimated exposure, ranked actions, and the questions to bring to an adviser.

Complete the four short steps. Typical time: three minutes.

IHT estimator

What would the bill be — before and after April 2027?

Adjust the figures to see how the pension rule change, the residence nil-rate band taper and a charitable legacy move the number. Second-death figures for couples assume full spouse exemption on the first death.

Whose estate?

Pension tax

How much tax on a pension withdrawal?

Test a lump sum against spreading the same amount over several tax years. Uses England, Wales and NI bands for 2026/27 including the personal-allowance taper above £100,000.

Rule-book

The 2026/27 numbers, and what changes next

Every figure used by this tool. Amber cards are changes already legislated or announced for future tax years.

All questions in the knowledge base

Find advice

When you do need a professional, hire well

This tool is education, not a personal recommendation. For anything involving your specific circumstances — a drawdown strategy, a trust, moving pensions, insurance — the law requires an FCA-authorised adviser or a solicitor, and it is worth paying a good one once rather than a bad one forever.

Money & pensions

Independent financial planner

Look for Chartered Financial Planner or Certified Financial Planner status, "independent" (not restricted), and pension-transfer and IHT experience.

Wills, trusts, LPAs

STEP-qualified solicitor

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (TEP) qualification signals genuine estate-planning expertise. Avoid unregulated will-writers for anything beyond a simple will.

  • Find one via the STEP directory.
  • Budget roughly £500–£1,500 for a couple's wills with RNRB-compliant drafting; LPAs from about £300 each plus the £82 registration fee.
  • Bring your planner's cashflow and this tool's printout — it shortens the meeting.

Take these to the first meeting

Twelve questions that separate good advisers from salespeople

  1. Are you independent or restricted, and what is your FCA reference number?
  2. What will the initial plan cost in pounds, and what exactly do I get for it?
  3. Can I keep my existing platform and funds if they are suitable?
  4. How will you model the April 2027 pension change for my family — show me the cashflow?
  5. What order should I draw from pension, ISA and cash, and why?
  6. How much can I gift from income each year without affecting my lifestyle?
  7. Does a whole-of-life policy in trust make sense at my age, and what does it cost?
  8. Should my pension nominations name my spouse, children or a trust?
  9. What is your view on business relief and AIM portfolios now relief is 50%?
  10. How do you coordinate with my solicitor and accountant?
  11. What happens to my plan and fees if I lose capacity or die first?
  12. Which of your recommendations would you make if you were not paid for any of them?