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Can different inheritance tax allowances be used to make more substantial tax-free gifts to the same person - in this case my son? I am thinking of combining the £3,000 annual exemption, the £5,000 marriage gifts exemption (plus £1,000 for my son's future wife), and the £250 small gifts exemption. I would also like to make additional gifts out of surplus income of up to a few hundred pounds a month to him. Do these IHT-free gifts require any paperwork?

Christopher Groves, partner at solicitors Withers, says that while gifts made within seven years of death are usually included in the donor's estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes, the exemptions mentioned here allow gifts to be made with no liability to IHT even if the donor should die within this period.

The annual exemption can be used in combination with the exemptions for marriage gifts to make a larger gift, as you suggest, but the £250 exemption cannot be applied to the same recipient/s. It can only be used for other individuals, where the total gift to each person does not exceed £250 in any year.

Any unused part of the £3,000 annual exemption can be carried forward one year. So if you did not make any gifts in the last tax year, then you will have an annual exemption of £6,000 available this year. The marriage gifts should be made before or at the time of the marriage, otherwise they will not qualify for the exemption.

The rules for gifts from surplus income are more complex. For these to be immediately IHT-free you must have sufficient income over that required to maintain your usual standard of living. The gifts must be made directly from that income and be "normal expenditure", ie part of a pattern of gifts that you intend to make on a regular basis.

It is important you document your intention regarding the gifts from surplus income and also the basis for your other gifts. If you die within seven years of making the gifts, your executors will need to include them on the IHT return made on your death and claim the exemptions. It is advisable to keep good records of the gifts so it is clear which exemption is being claimed.

I recently saw an offer for an "immediate-vesting pension" paying a "secure income" of about 9 per cent in return for giving up my capital. Is this a better bet than locking into a fixed-rate savings bond paying above 4 per cent (where my original investment would be returned at maturity)? I am a 72-year-old woman with a pension of £300 a month and savings of £200,000. By my reckoning, I would need to live to nearly 85 before the annuity offered a better overall deal than the bond. I have recently been in hospital with a life-threatening medical condition (from which I appear recovered). If I did go down the immediate-vesting pension route, would an enhanced annuity rate be available?

Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, the investment company, says an immediate-vesting pension can be a good idea for investors who are happy to forgo their capital in exchange for a guaranteed income for the rest of their lives.

These schemes are pensions where investors take the pension benefits immediately. Contributions can benefit from tax relief of up to 40 per cent.

Annuity rates are as high as 11 per cent for individuals aged about 75, and for someone in good health such returns can represent a good deal.

However, you are right in thinking you would need to live quite a few years before an immediate-vesting pension would outperform a fixed-rate savings bond - with the risk of the pension being that you die before you have got value from your capital. With the bond, your original investment would not be lost at death, but would go into your estate.

There are annuity companies who might be prepared to offer an enhancement to the standard rate in light of your recent medical problem. If there was a chance that your condition might have some bearing on your life expectancy then I would counsel against buying a standard-rate annuity.

That said, assuming you have no earned income in the current tax year, you will be limited to making an investment of just £3,600 gross. At this low level, only one annuity company - Standard Life (LSE: SL.L - news) - currently offers immediate-vesting pensions and unfortunately it does not offer enhanced terms. I suggest you talk to a specialist annuity broker as they may be able to negotiate a one-off deal for you.