Estella Bogira

Managing associate

Estella specialises in pensions and private wealth, including all aspects of UK pensions, the UK tax treatment of overseas pension schemes and complex, private wealth pension matters.

Estella has a strong occupational pensions practice, advising employers and trustees on all aspects of work-related pension provision. Estella has extensive experience of advising on benefit design changes, member complaints, automatic enrolment, scheme mergers, liability management exercises, corporate transactions, and general pensions law queries.

Estella enjoys working with smaller employers and not-for-profit organisations as well as large corporates. Estella regularly advises employers, trust companies, and individuals on matters relating to overseas pension arrangements including QROPS, QNUPS, EFRBS and IPPs. Estella's private client pensions practice involves advising individuals on all matters related to pensions, and in particular pensions tax in connection with retirement and succession planning.

Estella's private clients typically have an international dimension; whether through overseas pension savings, or their own current or intended non-UK residency status.

Estella's clients appreciate her ability to communicate highly technical legal concepts in an understandable way, her focus on providing commercial, practical advice, and her personable manner.

Insights

Lifetime allowance abolition – an update

The abolition of the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) is being undertaken in two stages. The first was the removal of the LTA tax charges from 6 April 2023. The second will be the abolition of LTA itself from 6 April 2024. Rather than a simple abolition, the LTA is in effect being replaced by lump sum allowances which will still control the level of tax-free cash that an individual can receive from registered pension scheme arrangements. On 4 January 2024, HMRC published an updated newsletter providing further guidance on the how this will work in practice.

Should my husband buy an annuity?

Estella Bogira writes for the Financial Times on buying an annuity vs taking drawdown.

Changes to the Lifetime Allowance

Background

Following the changes to the Lifetime Allowance ("LTA") regime effective from 6 April of this year, we have some more clarity on how these changes will operate in practice and on the implications for individuals with Enhanced Protection or any of the Fixed Protections. In this briefing we highlight three key points.