Can your inheritance work harder for you?
An inheritance can unlock opportunities that you might never have thought of before. Perhaps you'd like to pay off some, or all of your mortgage or a credit card bill you've run up. Or maybe you'd like to treat yourself to a holiday or something you've been saving up for before putting your inheritance to work. At which point, here are some options for you to consider.
Save - A high interest savings account is relatively low risk but, with inflation, the value of your cash is likely to decrease over time in real-terms. Restrictions to accessing your money may also apply.
Invest for your future - Planning for a wedding, holiday of a lifetime or buying a home? A Stocks and Shares ISA is a tax-efficient way to save and potentially grow your wealth, but this isn't guaranteed.
Invest for a child - You might not need the inheritance you've received. You can save tax-efficiently for the children in your life by opening a Junior SIPP or Junior ISA for them. Or set up a bare trust for them.
Invest in property - Whether you've inherited a property or you're looking to buy a property, bricks and mortar have proven over the years to be a good investment - although house prices can fall too.
Invest for retirement - Save tax-efficiently for your retirement by opening a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) . You could also consider the pros and cons of transferring an inherited pension to it.
Helping others - There are tax-efficient ways of helping others. You can contribute to someone's ISA and SIPP. And there are also ways of gifting your nearest and dearest with no IHT implications.
Important information: Withdrawals from a Junior ISA will not be possible until the child reaches age 18. You can't normally access money in a pension until age 55 (57 from 2028). It’s important to understand that pension transfers are a complex area and may not be suitable for everyone.