Inheritance tax planning leads: pension clients planning for 2027
Savers with £250k–£3m in defined-contribution pensions who want to understand what the 6 April 2027 changes mean for their family, booked into your diary with a full brief. £500 per qualified show.
On this page
You buy a booked conversation with someone planning how to pass their pensions on, in both diaries.
- You buy a contact detail
- You ring them to introduce yourself
- You chase for a date and time
- You pay whether they answer or not
- The same enquiry often goes to several firms
- You buy a booked appointment
- They picked the time, asked for one firm only, and are told your firm's name and FRN when you claim
- Pensions of £250k+ (self-declared), reconfirmed on the call
- No-show? It's credited back to your balance
- One firm per appointment, never resold
- Sees one of our adverts on Facebook, Instagram or Google. Every consumer advert is approved by an FCA-authorised firm under section 21 of FSMA before it runs.
- Answers the qualifier: DC pension value (under £250k can't book), pension types, pots, age, retirement stage and the help they want.
- Chooses "passing my pension on / inheritance tax" among the help options. Our adverts make no promise about tax saved.
- Hears the ground rules: advice is paid for, and your firm pays us for the introduction. People who only want free guidance are pointed to MoneyHelper.
- Picks a time, confirms their mobile and asks us to book them with one FCA-authorised independent firm. Their answers go to that one firm only.
- Gets your firm name and FRN as soon as you claim the booking, before the call, plus email and text reminders. We don't make unsolicited pension marketing calls.
- Meets you by video, phone or face to face. If they don't turn up, the credit goes back to your balance.
What is an IHT planning appointment?
An inheritance tax planning appointment is a first meeting with a UK saver who picked "passing my pension on / inheritance tax (2027 changes)" as one of up to three things they want help with. Their defined-contribution pensions add up to £250k or more, they've been told advice is paid for, and they asked to be booked with one FCA-authorised independent firm.
Expect IHT to be one question among several. Clients can pick up to three areas, so an IHT appointment may also carry a retirement income or investment review badge.
What do the 2027 pension IHT rules mean for these clients?
For deaths on or after 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits are brought into the value of a person's estate for inheritance tax. The change was legislated in the Finance Act 2026 (sections 66 to 71), which received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026. Precisely:
- Still exempt: benefits passing to a surviving spouse or civil partner, or to a registered charity.
- Excluded: death in service benefits and dependants' scheme pensions.
- Who pays: personal representatives report and pay the IHT due. Once pension property passes to a beneficiary, the beneficiary can also become liable for the tax on it.
- Death at 75 or over: beneficiaries can pay income tax on inherited pension payments as well. The part of a benefit that bore inheritance tax is excluded from their taxable pension income.
HMRC's own estimate for 2027/28 is that, of around 213,000 estates with inheritable pension wealth, about 10,500 will become liable for inheritance tax and about 38,500 will pay more, with the average liability rising by around £34,000. HMRC describes these as static estimates that should be treated as a maximum. That's a narrower group than the headlines suggest, which is why the pension band, home and other-assets answers on the brief matter.
Why is IHT on pensions driving adviser enquiries?
Because consumers are searching for it. Google Ads data for the UK shows "inheritance tax on pensions" averaging around 4,400 searches a month, peaking at 14,800 in October 2025 and 9,900 in December 2025. Interest has tended to rise around Budget and legislation news, and April 2027 is likely to bring more. Solicitors and accountants are seeing the same questions; see IFA referrals from solicitors and accountants.
In the FCA's survey of advice firms for 2025, IHT planning was the primary objective for an estimated 5% of retail clients overall, and 8% at small firms. That was measured before the rules took effect. Search volume like this suggests a group of people who haven't yet sat down with anyone.
We answer that demand carefully. Our adverts don't promise a tax saving or imply every pension becomes taxable, because that would bring you clients with the wrong expectations.
Who are IHT planning prospects?
This is the pattern the qualifier's answers point to. It's illustrative, not a measured mix.
- Older than average. Many are in their late sixties or seventies, often already retired and living on other income.
- Pensions left untouched on purpose. Since the 2015 pension freedoms, plenty of people drew on ISAs and cash first and kept their pension as the last thing to spend, because it usually sat outside the estate.
- Homeowners. A house owned outright plus a pension of £250k or more takes many estates past the nil-rate bands.
- Single, widowed or planning as a couple. A widowed client has no surviving spouse to pass the pension to free of IHT.
What is on the brief before an IHT meeting?
The fields that help most with estate conversations are age, whether pensions have been accessed, home ownership and other property, other investable assets, current adviser, and whether a partner is joining. What it can't tell you: the value of the house, whether there's a will, gifts already made, or what the client's partner holds. Those belong in your fact-find. We don't quote IHT appointment volumes or conversion rates here. This is how a brief might look:
Illustrative appointment card. Every field is one the qualifier collects; the client and figures are examples, not an actual client.
Why do partners often join IHT meetings?
Estate planning is usually a household decision, so the brief shows whether a partner will join. The FCA's 2025 good practice work on retirement income advice praised firms that gathered information on the client's and their partner's assets. Partners are welcome at every meeting; the person who booked needs to attend for the show to count, and if a partner comes alone we rebook at no charge.
What does the estate planning conversation look like?
That's for you to lead. We don't suggest a strategy, run numbers or mention products, so the client arrives with a question, not a pre-chosen answer. A first meeting might cover whether IHT is likely to be due at all, the order in which to draw on pensions and other assets, how an income plan changes if the pension is no longer the last thing to spend, and when other professionals such as a solicitor need to be involved. Some clients will need less than they feared. Telling them so early is part of the value.
We're writing a longer piece for firms on this: what the 2027 pensions IHT change means for your pipeline.
Should you pay per IHT enquiry or per show?
IHT enquiries tend to come in waves after Budget news, from people who are curious as well as people ready to act. Paying per enquiry puts the cost of sorting one from the other on you:
| Typical pay-per-enquiry source | InvestmentsBooked | |
|---|---|---|
| You pay for | An enquiry: a form fill or call-back request | A qualified appointment that happened |
| If they never answer | Usually your loss once contact details check out | You don't reach a meeting, so you don't pay |
| If they don't turn up | Usually your loss | Credit back to your balance |
| Pot or wealth level | Self-declared, usually not refundable if lower | Self-declared £250k+ in DC pensions, reconfirmed on the call. Under £250k, or under a higher minimum you set: credited |
| Who books the meeting | You chase them for a time | They pick a slot in your diary |
| Contract | Often a subscription or monthly minimum | No subscription, retainer or minimum term. Minimum purchase 10 appointments (£5,000) |
If you'd rather meet people who have already said they're open to paid advice and chosen a time, paying per show fits better. The guide to buying IFA leads compares the options.
What does an IHT planning client cost at £500 a show?
Divide £500 by the share of shows that become clients:
Illustrative: appointment spend per new client at £500 per qualified show. Your results depend on your fees, speed and proposition. We don't publish an InvestmentsBooked conversion rate.
For context, NextWealth's 2026 average ongoing charge was 0.83%, about £7,300 a year on an £880,000 pension before costs. That's an illustration, not a fee you'll earn. Try your own numbers in the pricing calculator.
How do pricing and credits work?
One credit per qualified show. The minimum purchase is 10 appointments (£5,000), credits last 6 months, and the price has no VAT added. No-shows, cancellations not rebooked within 7 days, invalid contact details and upheld disqualifications come back as credits. There's no subscription, retainer or minimum term.
How are IHT planning appointments qualified?
IHT appointments clear the same gates as every other type: UK resident, £250k+ in DC pensions (self-declared), fees acknowledged, a confirmed mobile and a request to be booked with one FCA-authorised independent firm. The rest of the process is the same for every appointment we book. Lead quality covers where prospects come from, how every advert is approved and what the consumer agrees to. How it works walks through booking, the brief and reminders. Pricing has the full show test and credit rules. Firms with high minimums should also look at high net worth leads, the £1m+ band, where the IHT question comes up most. For income-first clients, see retirement planning leads.
Sources and checks. Rules and estimates: HMRC, Inheritance Tax: unused pension funds and death benefits (policy paper) and technical note; Finance Act 2026; GOV.UK tax on pension death benefits. Search demand: Google Ads UK monthly volumes via DataForSEO, pulled September 2026. Client objectives: FCA, Understanding the financial advice market (2025 survey, firm estimates). Partner assets: FCA, retirement income advice good practice. Ongoing charge: NextWealth 2026. This page describes the rules for advisers; it isn't tax advice. Figures checked 27 September 2026. InvestmentsBooked is not authorised by the FCA and does not give financial advice.