In a heated debate in the House of Lords on the impact of inheritance tax (IHT) on unused pension pots, Treasury minister Lord Livermore faced vocal criticism as he staunchly defended the government’s plans.

Lord Forsyth asked Lord Livermore whether he thought it was wrong to ‘raise any tax of any kind on people who do not have the cash to pay it’.

But the minister said people with an estate worth £1m would have the ready cash to pay the IHT bill.

‘If you’re leaving £1m you probably have the cash to pay the tax,’ claimed Lord Livermore.

One of the strongest advocates of pension rights, Baroness Altmann (pictured) asked ‘whether the government has actually properly considered the real world impact of these unworkable proposals, with its aim to hit minority wealthy pension owners, this could actually damage millions of less well-off families’.

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