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Investments Retirement Protection Taxation
Now we’re firmly in a new tax year, what can you do to get ahead as an Accession client?
Amy Woolliscroft9th June 2026
From making use of the new functions within the SJP app to making your 2026-27 ISA contribution early in the tax year, as well as rethinking your pension ahead of the April 2027 changes to how pensions are viewed for Inheritance Tax purposes, there are a few things you can do now to get ahead this tax year.
1) Download the SJP App to top-up your ISA online, use the Secure Messenger facility, view all your documents and investments in one place
ISA top-up function – Clients with the app can now top-up their St. James’s Place ISA at any time, so long as they have already contributed to their ISA in the current or previous tax year. No Initial Advice Charge (IAC) will be charged for these self-service ISA top ups, and for Junior ISAs (JISAs) only the registered contact will be able to make the contribution.
While many investors wait until the end of the tax year to use their allowance, investing at the beginning of the tax year can offer a meaningful advantage – basically, your money has more time to grow. Recent global events have shown us that markets fluctuate in the short term, but historically they tend to rise over the long term. By investing earlier, your capital benefits from more time - compounding returns.
So, if you can afford to, top-up your ISA via the app as soon as you can, or even regularly throughout the tax year rather than in one lump sum towards the end of the tax year. You can read more on the benefits of investing earlier in the tax year in our earlier blog here and don't forget that the value of investments can rise and fall. Positive returns are more likely if you invest for the long term, but this is not guaranteed and you could get back less than you invest.
Secure Messenger - This provides quick, easy and secure communications via the app, so our clients can chat directly with their adviser and support team, as well as sharing documents. It is fully secure, so no more encrypted emails or Docusign to negotiate! Clients using it so far are finding it easy to navigate, so give it a go if you haven’t already – you can find step-by-step instructions to download the SJP app here.
2) Do your plans for your pension need rethinking before 6th April 2027?
With significant changes to the UK’s inheritance tax (IHT) rules due to come into effect on 6 April 2027, when most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included in a person’s estate for IHT purposes, now is the time to speak to a financial adviser about what you want to do with your private pension.
You may have always intended to leave your private pension to your children as part of your estate planning, but the change in rules next year mean you can only leave your pension to your spouse without triggering an inheritance tax liability.
With that in mind, drawdown and gifting strategies, as well as addressing the balance with non-pension assets will become more pertinent.
More details on this can be found in our latest Financial Pulse newsletter here and tax treatment will depend on individual circumstances and may change over time. The value of any tax benefits or reliefs will therefore vary from person to person and cannot be guaranteed.
3) Make additional contributions to your personal private pension
We know that households are feeling the squeeze from frozen tax thresholds and rising living costs, but if you can afford to make additional contributions to your private pension, it is worth doing so since pension savers receive tax relief at their highest rate of tax. Much like contributions to an ISA, paying in to your pension earlier in the tax year allows that money to be invested in the market for a longer duration, typically giving more opportunities for growth.
The value of investments can rise and fall. Positive returns are more likely if you invest for the long term, but this is not guaranteed and you could get back less than you invest. Tax treatment will depend on individual circumstances and may change over time. The value of any tax benefits or reliefs will therefore vary from person to person and cannot be guaranteed.
4) Think about your protection needs – what happens to you and your family if you can’t work?
Critical illness cover, life cover, income protection insurance and key person cover all provide peace of mind for individuals at a personal and business level. Cost can be very reasonable depending on age and any existing health conditions, so whether you are an individual looking to cover your mortgage payments or a business owner looking to protect your business from the sudden loss of a key member of the team, it’s worth exploring this with your Accession adviser if you haven’t already.
Please note that protection plans do not have a cash-in value and will stop if payments to them cease.
Whatever your financial planning includes, leaving it until Spring 2027 to implement any actions is likely to be less beneficial than taking action today.
If you or someone you know would benefit from speaking to one of our advisers about planning for the future, please do contact us on 01832 279170 or accession@sjpp.co.uk to discuss your requirements and get an appointment in the diary.
SJP Approved 9/6/2026