25 June 2025
With pensions set to come into scope for inheritance tax (IHT) from 2027, legacy wealth planning is becoming increasingly significant. Many clients are now reconsidering how their wealth is structured for future generations, and trusts are playing a larger role in securing financial plans.
Quilter saw an almost 200% increase in the number of Lifestyle Trusts opened in 2024 compared to 2023, and uptake in 2025 is already on track to far surpass this level.
To support advisers in this evolving landscape, Quilter has created a new Lifestyle Trust policy fund management tool, designed to simplify the setup and ongoing management of Lifestyle Trusts, providing advisers and their clients with peace of mind.
The new tool provides an easy way to set up and manage policy fund entitlements for Lifestyle Trusts by:
- Automatically creating a detailed schedule of entitlements, showing the number of policy funds accessible in each policy year.
- Generating a ‘second schedule’ that can be printed and incorporated into the Lifestyle Trust Deed, making the setup process seamless.
- Keeping track of any revised entitlement dates and generate the necessary paperwork for deferrals.
Alongside the new tool, Quilter has developed a suite of ‘how-to’ guides for each of its trusts. The guides help advisers complete trust deeds accurately, addressing common concerns and ensuring crucial documents are completed correctly every time.
Quilter’s Lifestyle Trust remains one of the most popular solutions for advisers and their clients, offering flexibility in accessing capital at pre-determined points while retaining IHT efficiency.
Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter:
“The financial planning landscape is undergoing a significant shift, and with pensions set to come into scope for IHT in 2027, many advisers and their clients are reassessing wealth structures to safeguard financial legacies. The demand for trusts is increasing as clients seek efficient ways to mitigate inheritance tax and maintain control over their financial futures.
“As more advisers and their clients reevaluate how wealth is structured for inheritance, we are pleased to be introducing new tools, videos and support materials. The Lifestyle Trust tool is the first of a series of developments coming in the next few months.
“These developments form part of our ongoing commitment to supporting informed financial planning conversations between advisers and their clients, and are complemented by Quilter’s robust technical support and helpdesk availability which will continue to be an invaluable resource in this changing landscape.”
