Pension review and strategy
The problem
Stephen & Alice had various pensions and savings that needed review.
Their overriding objective was to be able to manage their working lives until they didn’t want to work any longer, whilst also being able to travel more and to “make memories” with their friends and family. Being able to support their children was also really important.
The process
I started by establishing the cost of their ideal lifestyle.
From here, I was able to project their current and expected future income and assets, relative to the cost of their ideal lifestyle, in order to see if it was going to be sustainable; if not, we could decide what specific actions needed to be taken to make their ideal lifestyle affordable.
This led to specific recommendations for a pension and investment strategy, to ensure their money was working hard enough for them. I recommended that Stephen make use of pension allowances to extract profits from his business tax-efficiently. Both Stephen & Alice were then to make use of their annual ISA allowances to increase their long-term financial security. This also included a rationalisation of their various existing pension and ISA funds.
Finally, recommendations for an emergency fund and income protection policies were given, in order to minimise the risk of an accident or prolonged illness having significant financial consequences in the long term.
The outcome
Stephen & Alice now have greater financial clarity and a plan in place.
The couple now feel confident that they have the ability to stop work when they are ready to.
The pension and investment review has reduced what they pay in administration and investment management charges. They are now investing more in line with their risk profile and consistent with an evidence-based investment philosophy.
They have also introduced a ‘values-based spending’ approach. This encourages the couple to spend in line with what is most important to them and avoid spending money on items that aren’t consistent with their priorities. This way, they are always moving towards living their ideal lifestyle.
Stephen & Alice 's response
“Andrew helped us to look at our life goals and how we could then achieve them. Other previous advisers have focused on the money without really looking at what it is needed for. What could Andrew have done better? He could have come to meetings with champagne and caviar. Apart from that, nothing so far!”
