HMRC informed FTAdviser it has not updated its guidance since the January ruling in the Steveley case.
Declining to comment on the specifics of the Staveley case, a spokesperson for HMRC said: "HMRC is not currently updating its inheritance tax guidance on lifetime transfers of pension scheme death benefits; however, it keeps all guidance under review, including taking legal developments into account."
Sandra Hogg, financial planning expert at Scottish Widows, told FTAdviser: “It’s unfair that someone who transfers between two pension schemes where death benefits are payable at the scheme’s discretion can be treated as having created a loss to their inheritance tax estate.
"The death benefits were not in their estate before the transfer and remain outside their estate after the transfer. We believe that advisers would benefit greatly from clarity from HMRC on its approach to valuing the loss to the estate."
Jonothan McColgan, a chartered financial planner and director of Bath-based Combined Financial Strategies, said HMRC's approach was "inherently unfair", "anti-competitive", and against the spirit of pension freedoms.
"It's an archaic rule which could penalise just those people who are trying to take advantage of the new freedoms," he said.
"They [the government] shouldn't using it as an opportunity for tax revenue, they should be tidying it up."
Mr McColgan also pointed out that it opened the way for the double taxation of pension benefits passed on to the deceased policyholder's beneficiaries.
james.fernyhough@ft.com
