Pension and Life Insurance Arrangements

Our clients often have life insurance policies, personal pension policies or self invested pension plans (SIPPs). Often these policies pay substantial death benefits. We advise clients on the following -

• The terms of their pension and life insurance arrangements and the cover provided by their policies.
• The destination of the death benefits payable under their policies and, where appropriate, placing policies in trust to protect the proceeds from inheritance tax and to ensure access to the proceeds without the need to wait for a grant of probate to be issued.
• The terms of existing policy trusts and the powers and duties of the trustees.
• The terms of insurance/pension company standard documents.
• The preparation of bespoke trust deeds, including pilot trusts set up in advance to hold pension scheme death benefits.
• The appointment and retirement of trustees of policy trusts.
• The calling in of policy proceeds after the death of the life insured.
• The payment out of the proceeds of policies, and the relevant tax planning implications.
• The exercise by trustees of policy trusts of their powers to distribute policy proceeds.

We work closely with clients' financial advisers in connection with the scope of pension and life insurance policy cover and the terms on which the cover ought to be maintained.