Pension scammers are acting with impunity as few have ever been held to account, according to industry body The Pension Scams Industry Group (PSIG).

New private pension figures published by HMRC have revealed that the number of self-employed people contributing to a personal pension climbed to 340,000 in 2021-22, up from 330,000 the previous year.

A surge in the registration of new and existing trusts with HMRC is expected ahead of the deadline of 1 September.

Inheritance tax receipts for April 2021 to February 2022 hit a new record high of £5.5bn.

The latest data from HMRC reveals an “astonishing” 40% of high earners failed to take out an ISA in the 2018/19 tax year.

Pension savers withdrew £9.4bn flexibly using the Pension Freedoms in 2020, new HMRC data reveals.

It seems as if the SIPP sector has been waiting for the judgments on a number of court cases in recent years. As we get clarity on one, we still await another and these can have implications for not only how a SIPP firm operates, but on advisers and their clients.

HMRC has reported that £2.3bn was withdrawn from pensions flexibly in Q2 - a 17% fall year-on-year from the £2.8 billion seen in Q2 2019.

The recent judgment in the HMRC v SIPPchoice case, published in May, was in relation to tax relief on in-specie contributions. This case has been ongoing for a number of years and it would appear that we finally have resolution.

The Government is to include financial advisers in its sweeping review of the tax advice market.