The House of Lords Economic Affairs Sub-Committee has now published its report on these measures as part of its scrutiny of the Bill.
The Committee examined two key areas of inheritance tax (IHT):
Reforms to the IHT treatment of unused pension funds and death benefits;
Changes to agricultural and business property reliefs (APR and BPR).
While the report also considers APR and BPR, its findings on pensions are particularly relevant given the scale of operational change involved.
The report makes several recommendations to the Government, many of which point to the absence of finalised legislation and supporting guidance. It recommends that implementation should be postponed unless adequate clarity is provided before 6 April 2026.
For many underlying assets, particularly unlisted shares or property holdings, meeting these deadlines would be extremely challenging.
The Committee also emphasises that the Pensions Dashboard must be fully operational to enable personal representatives (PRs) to access the information needed to administer estates efficiently. Without this infrastructure in place, the burden on PRs is likely to increase significantly.