Royal London launches estate and inheritance planning framework

Royal London has launched an estate and inheritance planning framework designed to support adviser firms with preparations for the upcoming changes to inheritance tax (IHT) and personal representative responsibilities from April 2027.

The framework aims to help advisers identify clients who could be affected by the reforms and take a more structured approach to family wealth and estate planning.

Most unused pension pots and death benefits are set to be brought into the scope of IHT from April, with firms continuing to assess the implications for their advisers and clients.

Royal London’s framework forms part of a broader suite of adviser support, alongside implementation resources and practical tools designed to help firms prepare for the changes and integrate estate planning processes within their advice propositions.

The firm noted that although each advice firm’s proposition would be different, its framework aims to provide a foundation that firms will be able to adapt to provide consistent client outcomes once the reforms take effect.

The suite links with Royal London's Personalised Client Review Service and has been designed to complement its Client Review Process.

“The changes coming in April 2027 represent the most significant shift in pensions and estate planning since Pension Freedoms were introduced,” said Royal London lead proposition actuary, Ken Scott.

“While IHT remains a consideration for a minority of estates overall, the proportion of an adviser’s clients impacted is likely to be much more significant because many have built up substantial pension wealth alongside other assets subject to IHT.”

Scott noted that, since the introduction of Pension Freedoms, pensions had played an important role in passing on wealth between the generations, prompting advisers to rethink how their client’s pension fits into their wider plans for passing wealth.

“For advisers, this means identifying clients who may be affected, reviewing beneficiary nominations, retirement income strategies and existing estate planning arrangements, and helping families understand the practical implications of these changes,” Scott continued.

“It’s also likely many advisers will assume a more active role in record-keeping and the subsequent estate calculation upon the death of a client.

“Advice will always be personal to the individual client, but the processes that sit behind that advice need to be structured and repeatable.

“The framework provides firms with a practical example of how they can build those processes, adapting them to suit their own business and client proposition.”

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