IHTM17044 - Pensions: IHT charges: contributions to another person’s pension scheme

There may be a transfer of value if a contribution is made to a pension scheme which provides or will provide benefits for people other than the transferor. It is effectively a lifetime gift and will be exempt or chargeable in the same way as any other gift (IHTM14001). The situations where such a contribution is not chargeable are, most commonly, where:

• the pension scheme is for the benefit of the spouse or civil partner of the transferor (IHTM11031).
• the transfer falls within the normal expenditure out of income exemption in IHTA84/S21 (IHTM14231).
• it is excluded from being a transfer of value (IHTM17035) because it is a contribution by an employer in respect of an employee under

• a registered pension scheme (IHTM17021),
• a qualifying non-UK pension scheme (IHTM17025), or
• a section 615(3) scheme (IHTM17026).