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Retirement case studies – real stories

1. Retirement Timing

Mr Green was two years older than his wife and had reached the age of 60. They were both tired and were wanting to finish work. They were worried that they wouldn’t have enough income to support their future lifestyle needs. Before seeing their financial plan they were contemplating working for at least another five years.

After our financial planning meeting they went for a meal and decided that night to hand in their notices the next day, confident they would have enough income to be comfortable in retirement.

2. Reducing The Risk

When we met with Mrs Brown, she had an investment portfolio which reflected someone with a medium to high attitude to investment risk. Unfortunately Mrs Brown didn’t like taking risk and we were able to show her through her financial plan that she didn’t need to take an unnecessary amount to enable her to maintain her standard of living. By de-risking her portfolio she could confidently afford to live the life she wanted and most importantly, she could sleep at night.

3. Business Dependent

James and Sue run their own business and are looking forward to selling it at some point in the future to give them the lifestyle they have always wanted. Through our financial planning process they were able to see how much they would have to get for the business to enable them to afford their plans. We were also able to share with them the consequences of not being able to sell it for the required amount. We are now working on plans to help them to become independent from their business.

4. Affording Dreams

Many people dream of owning a property abroad. Matthew and Penny already had an apartment in Southern France but they dreamt of building their own house on a piece of land in the countryside. Their plans were on hold because they didn’t believe they could afford to start the project without selling their apartment.

Their financial plan showed them that they could afford to build without selling and they have bought land that they couldn’t afford to miss! The new property will be ready in the next year or so and although the apartment is still up for sale they are in no hurry to sell.

5. The Ability to Reduce Your Estate

Giving away money can be a worry especially if you are not too sure how much to give and still be financially secure. Mary was stuck in this dilemma, with an inheritance tax bill likely on her death but afraid to give away more than was prudent.

Her financial plan was able to show her how much she could comfortably give away without the stress of uncertainty whilst at the same time reducing the potential tax bill on her estate.

6. Protecting Your Family

How much is enough?

This is a common question that Robert asked us with regard to his life cover. Having a family focuses the mind when talking about protecting them in the event of death or disability. Robert was concerned to know that his family could continue with their lives without having to compromise financially if he should die. Our financial planning systems were able to show him what his family would need and how much protection he would require in order to answer that need. Peace of mind comes from knowing there is enough cover in place to protect your family.

7. Will The Money Last?

Lenny had a terrible accident at the age of 27 and received a very large settlement in compensation. This money was to last him a lifetime. With no income and large care costs he was rightly concerned that this fund would not run out.

We were able to create a plan, making agreed assumptions, which gave Lenny the confidence to believe that these funds would last. We also reviewed this plan year on year to make sure that the plan was accurate and continues to answer Lenny’s care needs.