FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT: Section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 will increase the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028 (save for members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes). The Finance Act 2022 will also give members of registered pension schemes a right to take their benefits before age 57, if on or before 4 November 2021 they either had an ‘unqualified right’ to take benefits or were in the process of a substantive transfer to a scheme offering an unqualified right to a protected pension age of less than 57 on or before 4 November 2021. To benefit from this new 2028 protection, the rules of the pension scheme must have included (on 11 February 2021) an unqualified right to take the entitlement to scheme benefits before age 57. For further information, see Practice Note: Increasing the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) to 57—pensions impact. Statutory development of personal pensions Retirement annuity contracts were the predecessor to personal pensions. They were introduced

Broadly, a life assurance policy, contract for a life annuity or capital redemption policy where the policyholder has the power to select the underlying investments.

Personal property (or personalty) comprises all the forms of property, movable or immovable, corporeal and incorporeal, other than the freehold estates and interests in land (which include chattels affixed to land) and its appurtenances.

All equipment, including clothing, intended to be worn which protects a person from risks to his health and safety.

Register of Inhibitions and Adjudications

A person who administers the estate of a deceased person. A personal representative appointed under a valid Will is called an executor. Where the deceased did not leave a valid Will, the personal representative has to be appointed by the court and is called an administrator.

In relation to a person who has died, this means (in the UK) persons responsible for administering the estate of the deceased.

Grant of representation and delegation by personal representatives (PRs) Prior to the issue of a grant, an executor may appoint another person to act as their attorney (under a general power of attorney) to apply for a limited grant of administration for their use and benefit under regulation 31 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, SI 1987/2024 (SI 1987/2024, reg 31). As a separate point, personal representatives (PRs) who have already obtained a grant of administration in their own name may also delegate by a general power of attorney, for a fixed period not exceeding 12 months, any of the duties, powers and discretion vested in them under section 25 of the Trustee Act 1925 (TA 1925) (as

Appropriation is a process by which a personal representative (PR) or a trustee uses a specific asset in the estate or trust fund to meet, in full or in part, a beneficiary’s entitlement or interest. Personal representatives' common law and statutory power of appropriation PRs have a power of appropriation under the common law over any part of the residuary estate (but not a fund) which may be exercised with the consent of the beneficiary, in or towards satisfaction of a vested legacy or a share of residue, even if payable at a future time. This does not extend to a contingent legacy unless it carries the right to the intermediate income. The power extends to both real and personal property whether or not that property is subject to a trust for conversion. The common law power does not extend to PRs appropriating unauthorised investments. PRs have a statutory power of appropriation under section 41 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925) which allows PRs to appropriate any part of the estate, (including

Potential claims against personal representatives There are a number of ways in which personal representatives (PRs) may find themselves liable for acts or omissions in relation to the administration of an estate or indeed outstanding liabilities of the deceased. See Practice Note: Personal representatives—liability. A major problem that PRs may face, whether they were appointed in the deceased’s Will or were entitled in the priority order on an intestacy, is a claim is brought against them by a beneficiary after the estate has been distributed where the beneficiary was unknown to the PRs or any family members at the time of distribution. For instance, a gift to ‘my children’ may appear to be clear but the deceased may have had another child or children entirely unknown to the PRs and undiscoverable by standard enquiries (eg because none of the deceased’s family are aware of the child’s existence). On an intestacy, the risks may be greater given that a family tree will have to be created to discover the entitled beneficiaries and the more remote the closest

Standard condition 5.2 of the Standard Conditions of Sale (5th Edn: 2018 revision) provides for occupation by the buyer as follows: ‘5.2.2 The buyer is a licensee and not a tenant. The terms of the licence are that the buyer: • cannot transfer it • may permit members of his household to occupy the property • is to pay or indemnify the seller against all outgoings and other expenses in respect of the property • is to pay the seller a fee calculated at the contract rate on a sum equal to the purchase price (less any deposit paid) for the period of the licence • is entitled to any rents and profits from any part of the property which he does not occupy • is to keep the property in as good a state

Executors General An executor is a person appointed by the testator, usually by their Will or codicil, to: • administer their property, and • carry into effect the provisions of the Will The office of executor derives from the testator’s Will or other testamentary document. The grant of probate confirms the executor’s authority to act. In practice an executor can only prove their entitlement by taking a grant of probate and this will often be required by banks and other institutions in order for the executor to be permitted to deal with the asset and collect it in. The testator’s property vests in the executor from the date of death without any interval of time. A testator may appoint: • different executors for different parts of their estate • certain people as executors of their property abroad and others of their property in the UK • separate executors of real estate • separate executors of literary estates The High Court may grant probate or letters of administration in respect of