In the new system, a number of advisers will be recommending that their clients who do not need access to the money should keep their assets within their pension until they are 75.
An EIS investment is still a viable IHT-efficient option for clients who reach 75 and are taking benefits, because the drawdown from the pension will still incur income tax that can potentially be offset by the EIS’s initial 30 per cent income tax relief.
As soon as an individual has reached their annual pension cap and their Isa allowance for the tax year, then VCTs and EISs arguably ought to be the next major investment option.
David Kaye is chief executive of Puma Investments