Q. My mother passed away recently and one of the investments we discovered she had taken out was called a “loan trust”? Can you explain what this is? A. A trust is a legal mechanism for looking after assets or money for one or more beneficiaries. These are often used as a way to give… Read more »

Q. My husband died last September. He had a Personal Pension fund which had not been taken yet, and a final salary pension which had used up almost all of his Lifetime Allowance when it commenced in 2008. We had had time to prepare for his death, and our financial adviser had indicated that a… Read more »

Q. A friend of mine said that with the tax changes coming into force in April, there is no longer any point in investing in ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts). Is this true? A. From April, individuals will have a “Personal Savings Allowance” of £1,000 if they are a basic rate taxpayer, or £500 if they… Read more »

Q. I am a member of a defined benefit pension scheme and am coming up to retirement age at 60. The scheme is saying that some of my benefits, accrued before 17th May 1990, are subject to an early retirement penalty. Why is this? A. Pension schemes are obliged to treat men and women equally… Read more »

Q. I have a Self Invested Personal Pension (Sipp) which owns the commercial property from which my company operates. I am not happy with the service received from my Sipp provider and wish to move to a different one. My solicitor has warned me that there may be a Stamp Duty cost in doing so,… Read more »