Rachel Reeves to snatch up to 87% of your pension - a tax raid that's definitely happening

And understandably so. There's an awful lot to worry about. Rachel Reeves is likely to hike taxes by another £30billion, possibly more. She'll target our pensions, our properties, our inheritances and maybe even our Cash ISA savings.

But we shouldn't only worry about what Reeves may do on November 26. We should also look back to last year's Budget and remember what she did then. One of her most aggressive moves was to slap inheritance tax (IHT) on unused defined contribution pension pots.

These are the pensions that private-sector workers build up by investing in shares and other assets. They're risky and less rewarding than the gold-plated defined benefit schemes that public-sector staff enjoy, but Reeves won't touch those of course. They're sacred. Private pensions, by contrast, are fair game.

New research shows how the Chancellor's pensions IHT grab could be even more brutal than most people think.

Incredibly, it could swallow up 87% of money people leave behind for loved ones. It is the greediest tax of the lot.

And as I said, this isn't frantic pre-Budget speculation. This is something Reeves has already announced. The pension industry is warning of the dangers, but that's not going to stop her. She's merely finessing the details. You need to be ready for it.

From April 2027, any unused defined-contribution pension will be counted as part of someone's estate for IHT purposes when they die. Today, they're not.

At that point, HMRC will take its usual 40% cut on anything above the standard £325,000 nil-rate IHT band, plus the additional £175,000 residence allowance if a main home is left to children or grandchildren.

That's just for starters. If the policyholder was 75 or older when they died, beneficiaries will also have to pay income tax when they withdraw money from the pension.

It means HMRC will tax the same pot twice.

Income tax will be charged at their own marginal rate, which could be as high as 45%, especially if they take large withdrawals.

In that case, someone could be left with just £33,000 of a £100,000 pension. The combined tax rate is a punitive 67%.

With frozen tax thresholds dragging more people into higher bands each year, millions could eventually be caught.

Incredibly, some will pay an even higher rate of tax.

Once an estate exceeds £2million, the residence nil-rate band begins to taper away, disappearing completely above £2.35million.

In those cases, the combined IHT and income tax hit can be enormous. Wealth At Work calculates that where the taper applies, a £350,000 pension pot could suffer a total tax charge of £304,500. That's an eye-watering effective rate of 87%.

Technically only larger estates will hit that maximum, but even far smaller ones could face punishing double taxation.

The change takes effect in less than 18 months. Families need to start preparing now. What can you do?

First, check if you're affected. If so, gifting money while alive is one option, but that needs careful planning. You might lose control of the money, and the next Budget could make IHT gifting rules even tighter.

Alternatively, drawing down the pension early to spend it is an option, but you must make sure you still have enough for later life.

Anyone with a larger pension pot needs to take this seriously, because this one is almost certainly happening. If affected, plan now.