Inheritance Tax: Pensions - Question

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 2:58 pm on 17 November 2025.

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Photo of Lord Livermore Lord Livermore The Financial Secretary to the Treasury 2:58, 17 November 2025

I very much agree with the first part of my noble friend’s question. It is very important to state that the intended purpose of pension savings is to fund retirement. The Government continue to incentivise pension savings, with tax relief on both contributions to pensions and the growth of funds held within a pension scheme. These tax incentives are very significant, costing taxpayers £78 billion a year. It is therefore right, as my noble friend said, that it is important to ensure that these tax reliefs are being used for encouraging savings for retirement, rather than ordinary taxpayers subsidising the wealthy to pass on their wealth free of inheritance tax.