Sumayyah Khan
Tax, Benefits & Family Finance
Sumayyah Khan writes our retirement tax, benefits and family-finance guides. As a Semi Senior Accountant working in the UK, she spends her week explaining HMRC rules to clients - including older taxpayers worried about getting things wrong.
She believes the biggest wins in retirement finance are unclaimed benefits and avoidable tax - and that the people most likely to lose out are those least likely to ask for help.
Outside RetirementExpert, Sumayyah is studying for further accountancy qualifications and writes plain-English explainers for clients facing self-assessment for the first time in retirement.
Credentials
- Semi Senior Accountant
- Studying towards full chartered accountancy qualifications
Recent articles by Sumayyah Khan
- Is the State Pension taxable?
How the State Pension counts as taxable income, how HMRC collects the tax, and what happens if your pension uses up your personal allowance.
- Tax on pension drawdown
How income tax works on flexi-access drawdown, the 25% tax-free element, and how to avoid pushing yourself into a higher tax band.
- Emergency tax on pension withdrawals
Why HMRC often emergency-taxes your first pension withdrawal, the forms you can use to reclaim it, and how to avoid the problem.
- How much pension can I take tax-free?
The 25% tax-free rule, the Lump Sum Allowance, and how the rules apply to defined contribution and defined benefit pensions.
- Marriage Allowance for pensioners
How retired couples can use Marriage Allowance to save up to £252 in tax, who qualifies, and how to apply through HMRC.
- Inheritance tax and pensions
How pensions interact with inheritance tax, the changes scheduled for April 2027, and what passes to your beneficiaries.
- Paying for care home fees
How the local authority means test works, the upper and lower capital limits, and what you can do to plan for care fees.
- Can I give my house to my children?
The risks of gifting your home to your children - inheritance tax, deprivation of assets, gift with reservation, and capital gains tax.
- Downsizing in retirement
When downsizing makes sense, the real costs (stamp duty, moving, legal) and how to weigh it up against equity release.
- Retiring with a mortgage
How to handle a mortgage that runs into retirement - extending the term, RIO mortgages, drawdown to clear it, or downsizing.
- Helping elderly parents with money
Practical steps for adult children - checking entitlements, setting up online banking safely, third-party access and lasting power of attorney.
- Lasting power of attorney and retirement planning
The two types of LPA, why they matter more than a will for retirement planning, and how to register one with the Office of the Public Guardian.
- What is probate? When you need it in 2026 (and when you don't)
Probate depends on how assets were owned, not estate value. Joint tenants need no grant; sole-name property always does. Fees, timescales and the 2026 rules.
- Probate costs 2026: the £526 fee and what you should pay
The probate court fee is £526 in England and Wales - the only unavoidable cost. Compare DIY, fixed-fee and percentage-based routes on a £100k to £1m estate.
- How long does probate take in 2026? Realistic timelines
The grant typically takes 8-16 weeks; full estate administration 6-12 months; money usually reaches beneficiaries at 9-12 months. A month-by-month timeline.
- How to apply for probate yourself in 2026: step by step
Apply for probate yourself in England and Wales: the nine steps, the £526 fee, PA1P and PA1A forms, how to value an estate, and the mistakes that cause delays.
- Executor duties UK: the full list - and your personal liability
Every executor duty in England and Wales, in the order you meet it - plus the personal liability nobody warns you about and the four protections against it.
- Lasting power of attorney UK 2026: costs, types & the deadline
A lasting power of attorney costs £92 to register in England and Wales - but only while you still have mental capacity. The two types, the roles and the deadline.
- How to set up a lasting power of attorney yourself (2026)
A step-by-step DIY guide to making an LPA in England and Wales: the forms, the £92 fee, certificate provider rules, the signing order and what gets LPAs rejected.
- Court of Protection deputyship: when it is too late for an LPA
No LPA and a relative has lost capacity? Deputyship costs £432 to apply and takes 4-6 months. The process, fees, supervision and cheaper alternatives explained.
- Dying without a will: who inherits under the intestacy rules
The intestacy rules decide who inherits when there is no will - and unmarried partners get nothing. The order of entitlement, the £322,000 rule and how to fix it.
- What to do when someone dies: a UK checklist for the first weeks
A calm, ordered checklist for the first days and weeks: registering the death, Tell Us Once, who to notify yourself, funeral costs and bereavement benefits.
- Lasting power of attorney cost 2026: £92, or free if you qualify
An LPA costs £92 to register in England and Wales - £184 for both types. Solicitors add £300-£650 each. When that fee is worth paying, and how to pay nothing.
- How to value an estate for probate (and stay out of trouble)
Value every asset at open market value on the date of death. Asset-by-asset guidance, a worked example against the £325,000 threshold, and how HMRC checks it.