Approved Retirement Funds and your Will
Is there a need to include an Approved Retirement Fund in your Will in order to avoid tax being payable on the transfer of the ARF between spouse’s in the event of death?
The Revenue Pensions Manual states that a transfer to an ARF in the name of a deceased’s spouse is not a distribution, and therefore no tax is payable. However, some commentators have said that this only applies if the ARF is included in the deceased’s Will and if it is not, then it could be treated as a distribution (and in which case tax would be payable on the transfer to the surviving spouse).
We are pleased to advise that Revenue has confirmed that the legislation provides that following death, the transfer of assets in an ARF to an ARF in the name of the spouse is not regarded as a distribution and therefore no tax is payable.
This applies equally in the absence of a Will. As a matter of good practice, we recommend that the ARF is included in the Will to remove any ambiguity.