Secured corporate borrowing is typically called a debenture. A debenture is a debt instrument issued by a company, and when it is secured, the lender has a charge over some of the company’s assets to back repayment. This security distinguishes it from unsecured corporate bonds and from government bonds. In this context, a gilt or treasury would be government bonds, not corporate, and a coupon is just the interest payment. So a corporate bond secured over assets is best described as a debenture.

The fundamental idea here is that pension schemes must avoid investments that involve close connections with members or their families. When a scheme buys shares in a close company in which a member’s spouse already holds shares, the transaction has a related-party element and isn’t at arm’s length. In this situation, the tax rules treat the investment as an immediate withdrawal of the funds involved from the scheme, effectively creating a taxable benefit or unauthorised payment for the member. That “withdrawal” is taxed as if the scheme has paid out the value to the connected party right away. The other options don’t create that same immediate, non-arm’s-length effect. Buying quoted shares from an unrelated seller is a standard, arm’s-length investment. Investing in a life company geared property unit fund and purchasing bonds denominated in US currency are not, by themselves, prohibited withdrawals driven by related-party connections. The key factor is the close-company/connected-party nature of the investment, which is why the second option is the correct one.

Death-in-service cover is a form of life assurance linked to a pension scheme that pays a benefit if the member dies while still employed. The benefit is typically a lump sum for the dependants and is often calculated as a multiple of salary (for example, 4x or 5x). This protection is intended to provide financial support to loved ones during the member’s working years, not as a pension to the member after retirement. It is not a pension paid after retirement, nor a lump sum only if death occurs after retirement, nor life cover that starts at retirement. If someone earns £60,000 and the cover is 4x, the lump sum could be around £240,000, payable if they die in service.

The lifetime allowance sets a cap on the total value of your pension benefits that can be taken without a tax charge. If the value of benefits crystallised (taken or tested) exceeds this cap, the excess is taxed. The charge is payable on the excess and reduces the amount you ultimately receive. This isn’t reset next year, nor can any excess be carried forward for relief in future years. There isn’t automatic relief for future contributions to offset the excess.