Understanding your goals
We will start the process with an initial, no-obligation meeting to get to know you and understand your goals, hopes and concerns for retirement. We want every client to feel like they matter to us as individuals (which they do!) and that we are fully invested in achieving the objectives they have for the future (which we are!). To this end, we’ll explore what the ideal retirement lifestyle looks like for you, and the income you think you’ll need to achieve it. For example, you may be looking for a smaller income that covers your essential outgoings before your State Pension kicks in, or a large initial cash injection to fund holidays or travelling.
We’ll also talk about any worries and concerns you may have and how we can work together to overcome them. You might want to retire now but are worried about running out of money, or you might wish to ensure that your spouse will be financially secure if you were to die. Before we even start looking at your finances, we want to get to know you as a person and gain a good understanding of your hopes, dreams and fears for the future.
Calculating your retirement income
Many of our clients are unsure whether they’ll be able to live comfortably and securely in retirement with the pension pot they have built up. We can help reassure you by crunching the numbers and providing you with income projections according to a range of different scenarios, so you can see more clearly how your money will support you in the future.
To start with, we will help you weigh up your current outgoings and gauge how these might change during retirement. For example, you may have five years left on your mortgage, after which your outgoings will drop considerably. Or you might have several years until you receive your State Pension, and require a higher initial income to cover you during this period. We’ll then look at how we can minimise the impact of taxes on your pension pot, enabling you to hold on to as much of your money as possible.
If our calculations still leave you with less income than you’d like, there are things we can do to help. For example, we might advise moving your pension(s) into drawdown, where your funds will remain invested with the potential to continue growing throughout retirement. Or we might advise delaying retirement for a few years and continuing to take advantage of tax relief on your pension contributions. Whatever we advise, our aim is to provide you with all the information you need to make the decision that’s right for you.
Optimising your assets for retirement
When clients come to us, it isn’t unusual for their pension funds to be spread across multiple workplace and personal pensions, each of which may have different benefits, as well as limitations on how the pension pot can be used. It can get very confusing and it’s therefore unsurprising that many clients aren’t really sure of how much they have saved and whether they can afford to retire at all!
If after our initial meeting you decide that you would like to proceed with working with us, we will ask your permission to take a closer look at what you have. We’ll investigate how your pension(s) are structured, the income options your current provider(s) offer and the fees they charge. Depending on what we find, we may recommend transferring your pension(s) to a provider with an offering more in line with your personal goals. We will also look at any other money or assets you have, including inheritances, investments and other income sources.
Likewise, if you have poorly performing investments or cash sat in a low-interest savings account, we might advise that you transfer your investments to better performing funds or make use of your tax-efficient ISA allowance.
Implementing your retirement plan
When you’ve come to an informed conclusion about what you’d like to do with your pension pot(s), we’re on hand to put the wheels in motion. We’ll take care of transferring or consolidating your pensions, moving your funds into drawdown or purchasing an annuity, and restructuring any other savings and investments you may have as we have agreed. We’ll also take charge of all the admin and keep you up to date on your plan’s progress, so you can be secure in the knowledge that everything has been done correctly.
Keeping your plan on track
Life isn’t static and things change all the time. To ensure that your retirement plan changes in line with life events, we’re on hand throughout to monitor your plan and ensure it continues to work for you even as your circumstances change.
We’ll write to you once a year to schedule an annual review, during which we’ll catch up and see if anything has changed since our last meeting. For example, you might have had an unexpected expense that caused you to spend more than your planned income for the year. Or your investments may not be performing as well as expected. You may have received an inheritance and are wondering what to do with it. If this is the case, we will review and make adjustments to your plan to reflect your new situation.
If something changes in the interim, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call us for a chat! We’re available all year round to ensure your retirement continues without a hitch. So, get in touch today to see how we can help you retire with confidence.