Protecting you and your finances

We all recognise the importance of insuring our homes, or our cars, so it’s perhaps surprising that many people are under-insured when it comes to protecting those we love or the lifestyle we enjoy; both now, and after we’re gone.  

Gone are the days when paying Inheritance Tax (IHT), was something for the relatively well-off to worry about. Many more of us will end up paying IHT but planning ahead means you can help ensure that more of your money ends up with the people you care about.  

Personally-tailored advice regarding IHT and estate planning is just one way to protect your loved ones. SJP also offers services to protect your family finances should you fall ill, lose your job, or if your relationship or marital circumstances change.  

The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time and are dependent on individual circumstances. 


Inheritance Tax

First, the good news. There is a nil threshold, known as the nil rate band which everyone is entitled to. This effectively means no IHT is payable on assets valued up to £325,000 (i.e the nil rate band) of an individual's estate. And where this full allowance has already been passed to a surviving spouse or registered civil partner, it means that assets valued up to £650,000 (using current figures) won’t be liable to IHT on the death of the surviving partner.  

The not-so-good news is, anything over and above this amount is generally taxed at 40%. 

However, there is an additional tax-free allowance which can help reduce your IHT liability – this is known as the Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB). If the deceased’s home or former home is passing to a direct descendant, a further £175,000 is currently free from IHT for each individual.  

Do bear in mind, however, that if the net value of the estate is £2 million or more – even after deducting any liabilities, but before reliefs and exemptions such as Business Relief – then the RNRB will be tapered or reduced by £1 for every £2 over the threshold. 

The RNRB allowance applies to those estates that are “closely inherited” and contain a “qualifying residential interest.”  This means that the individual must have owned the property and have lived in it at some point. What this means in practice is that, if you give away your home to your children or grandchildren, that IHT threshold increases from £325,000 to £500,000. So this would be doubled to £1,000,000 for married couples and registered civil partners. ‘Closely inherited’ holds good for adopted, foster or stepchildren too.  

We can help you create a personally tailored IHT plan, which might include: 

  • Providing a referral for you to obtain a professionally-written, tax-efficient Will*  
  • Transferring assets carefully and securely using Lifetime Gifts  
  • Creating a tax-efficient fund to enable your family to pay Inheritance Tax without eating into your legacy 

Under current IHT legislation, you can use pensions as part of your estate planning. Although pension death benefits are broadly exempt from IHT, if they pass to a surviving spouse or registered civil partner, they are considered part of their estate. St. James's Place has solutions that allow your survivor access to your death benefits, but still keep that money outside your estate.  

As you can appreciate, this can make all the difference to your peace of mind, and theirs.  

We have a service, in conjunction with four leading law firms, to who we can refer you to for a wide range of differing legal services covering Inheritance Tax, matrimonial issues and general tax planning.*

If you want to find out how much IHT you could owe, we created an IHT calculator to help.

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested. 

The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time and are dependent on individual circumstances.   

*Please note that where a referral is made to a third party, their services will be separate and distinct from those provided by St. James's Place. 

Wills are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Gifts

Gifting money or assets during your lifetime can be a prudent way of using your tax exemptions so you’ll pay less IHT when the time comes. 

You can gift up to £3,000 tax-free in any tax year to an individual. As a parent, you can also gift up to £5,000 to a child on or just before they get married or enter a civil partnership. 

If you use income to fund the contributions to a life policy held in Trust*, these contributions may be tax-free too if you meet certain criteria. Your SJP Partner will be happy to guide and advise you. Additionally, a lifetime gift of capital designed to provide for a dependant is exempt under certain circumstances. 

You can also make tax-free gifts to charities, political parties or for the public benefit, such as universities, national museums, and the National Trust.   

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.   

*Trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 

Protection planning

What would happen to your family’s lifestyle, if you or your partner suddenly couldn’t work due to illness, or a period of unemployment?

You can’t predict what tomorrow may bring, but you can protect everything you care about today. For example, you can ensure you have:

  • Life Cover (including Term Assurance and Whole of Life) – can provide a tax-free lump sum to whoever you select by way of a Trust.
  • Critical Illness – provides a tax-free lump sum in case you are diagnosed with an illness such as cancer or suffer a heart attack.
  • Income Protection – that gives you a proportion of your income if you had to take time off work due to an accident or serious illness.
  • Employee Benefits
  • Private Medical Insurance

You may know somebody who’s had to cope with one of these life events. And one day, it might be you. It can be hard to face life’s ‘what ifs,’ but putting plans in place to help future-proof family finances can make a real difference to your peace of mind, and your financial wellbeing tomorrow. Our personal protection products and services can help cover most of life’s eventualities.

Check out our risk reality calculator that helps you calculate what your probability might be of suffering a serious illness or being unable to work.

Financial advice isn’t just about protecting assets and growing your wealth. It’s about looking after the people that matter.

Later life planning

Most of us are living longer, thanks to better medical care and healthier lifestyles. And many of our children will celebrate 100th birthdays. Which sounds like good news – but like most things in life, it can have a knock-on effect on our finances. We need to think carefully about, and plan ahead for, the possibility of long-term care, and make sure that our money is going to last for as long as we need it to.  

The St. James's Place Later Life Planning Scheme helps you make provision for long-term care costs. It also helps you plan for IHT and make sure you’re able to leave as much money as possible to the people you care about.  

So you can have confidence that you’ll be able to: 

  • make monetary gifts to loved ones during your lifetime 
  • plan for any IHT liability 
  • arrange a regular income for life, which could help cover long-term care costs  
  • use gifts and Trusts* to pass money across generations 
  • keep control of your money 

The value of an investment may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances. 

If the “income” taken exceeds the growth on the Plan, the capital will be eroded.

*Trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 

Long-term care

In mid-2020, there were 1.7 million people living in the UK aged 85 years and over (2.5% of the population) – this figure is projected to double to 3.2 million by 2041 (4.3% of the population). 

Yet many of us find it hard to come to terms with the fact that we, or a loved one, are getting older. Until a sudden crisis forces our hand – and we have to make a lightning decision about what sort of care we need – and crucially, how we’re going to be able to afford it. Add to that the complexities of social care, mental capacity, Lasting or Enduring Powers of Attorney+ (Continuing Powers of Attorney in Scotland), and the situation can start to feel overwhelming. 

Care costs can be staggering. A week in a typical UK residential care home is currently estimated at £667 – rising to £924 for nursing care.2 However, these averages not only vary from region to region throughout the UK but are suppressed by local authority rates. It may come as an unwelcome surprise that you could be paying fees of up to £2,000 a week, depending on the level of care and type of home you’re looking at.  

It’s not hard to see that funding long-term care can make a huge difference to your personal finances, and to the amount of money that you’ll be able to leave to your loved ones.  

Many of our St. James's Place Partners are qualified specialists in planning long-term care. They offer expert, practical guidance on finding the right care, in the right place, at the right price, if we should need it.  A place to call home again.  

+Powers of Attorney involve the referral to a service which is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James's Place and are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 

1 Source: Office for National Statistics, January 2022

2 Source: Laing Buisson Care Homes for Older People, UK Market Report 2022

Estate administration

Estate administration is the process of dealing with a person’s legal, financial, and personal tax affairs after they have died. 

It involves far more than obtaining a grant of probate (confirmation in Scotland). This is just one part of the process. 

It’s dealing with the deceased's assets (such as property, investments, and personal possessions) and liabilities (such as outstanding debts and estate expenses) before transferring whatever is left to the beneficiaries. 

Dealing with the estate and all the administration at the same time as dealing with your own feelings of loss can be overwhelming. Estate administration can take an enormous amount of time and effort, and you may be personally liable if there are any mistakes made during the process.  

If you are named in the deceased person’s Will as the Executor of the estate, you’ll also be responsible for:  

  • informing beneficiaries and dealing with their questions 
  • redirecting post and cancelling or transferring utilities 
  • dealing with any Income Tax liabilities 
  • distributing assets as tax-efficiently as possible 
  • calculating and paying Inheritance Tax  
  • dealing with specialist legal work. 

St. James's Place has selected a small panel of leading specialist estate administration service companies in the UK to refer clients to, in order to assist with estate administration. Every company that we select shares our value of putting you at the heart of everything they do. This is especially important at times like these, when you need practical, sensitive support immediately after a bereavement. Please note that the services provided are separate and distinct from those offered by St. James's Place.

Professional trustee services

A Trust* is a legal agreement between an owner of assets and the trustee. It is sometimes likened to a treasure chest. The owner of the chest places the assets in the safe place – the Trust – and the keys are held by the trustee who has the legal right to open the box, manage and distribute the assets.  

The trustee legally owns the assets of the Trust but isn’t allowed to benefit themselves - unless they are also beneficiaries. 

A Trust is a legal entity that holds assets before they are eventually distributed to the people that you have chosen – the beneficiaries. Trusts are valuable financial planning tools as they can keep estate assets out of probate after your death. Which means that they may help to mitigate Inheritance Tax liability.  

The Genus Trust Company in Jersey specialises in the provision of trustee services.  Please be aware that Genus Trust Company Limited is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. 

As a trustee, the company represents the interests of the beneficiaries and ensures due regard is given to clients' wishes and guidance. In all cases, these wishes are discussed in detail and placed on record, discreetly and confidentially. 

*Trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 

The services provided by Genus Trust Company are separate and distinct to those offered by St. James's Place.

Find an adviser

Our experienced advisers offer professional, tailored, face-to-face advice based on your current circumstances and future aspirations. Start your journey now and find a St. James's Place Partner in your local area.

SJPWM-Crop-Blue.svg

St. James's Place Guarantee

St. James's Place guarantees the suitability of the advice given by members of the St. James's Place Partnership when recommending any of the wealth management products and services available from companies in the group, more details of which are set out on the Group's website.