From 6 April 2027, unused pension funds and most death benefits will count towards the value of your estate for Inheritance Tax, with pension scheme administrators working alongside your personal representatives to settle the tax due. Income tax treatment on death before or after age 75 is unchanged, and spousal exemption still applies in full.
Worth doing over the next eighteen months: check your expression of wish forms are current, confirm your intended beneficiaries still make sense, and think through whether your estate would have enough liquidity to pay Inheritance Tax without forcing a sale of property. Order of pension drawdown is now a question for your financial adviser, not a decision to make alone. Pensions are moving from sitting beside the estate plan to sitting inside it — we would suggest pairing a conversation with your adviser with a Will review.