Many of us look forward to retirement where we can spend our days doing whatever we wish, take up new pastimes and travel the world. As life expectancy is increasing, our retirement can now represent more than a third of our lifetime, so it is becoming more important to ensure we have a robust financial plan to meet our income and capital needs when we retire.
We can help you plan the financial aspects of your retirement, whether you are many years from or approaching retirement with our ‘Retirement Service.’ We focus on six separate areas summarised as follows:
Establish what you Need – Help you understand what your expenditure may be in retirement and factor in the impact of other variables such as inflation. A retirement budget planner is used to aid this process.
Establish what you Have – Estimate what potential income you may have at retirement taking into account your savings, investments, state and private pensions.
Bridge the Gap – Our cash-flow planner will illustrate any shortfall / surplus between what income you may need and your current savings. It can also illustrate whether you may run out of capital in later life, the impact of higher than anticipated levels of expenditure, inflation and investment growth levels so you can consider a range of variables. We can then advise on what changes you can make to both your savings and investment strategy to achieve your required goals.
Discuss your Pension Income Options – Once you reach retirement, you may either opt to secure pension income through purchasing an annuity and / or select a more flexible pension income option such as drawdown. We will advise on a range of strategies according to your circumstances, incorporating your objectives and risk profile as well as considering inflation, tax, investment approach, access to capital and death benefits.
Consider Non-Pension Savings – Advise on how other investments held such as ISAs and share portfolios can be used to supplement your income needs in retirement.
Inheritance Tax and Estate Planning – Advise you on how to structure your affairs to potentially mitigate inheritance tax through considering a variety of solutions which will prioritise your own financial needs whilst seeking to protect assets for the next generation.
Our service does not stop there. It is important to provide an ongoing service “In Retirement” in order to ensure that your goals are being met and any income is sustainable. We will regularly appraise your investments, your pension income options, legislation and changes to your lifestyle.
If you would like to discuss this further with one of our consultants please get in touch here.