Life planning to avoid the unexpected
Making regular savings while you earn is relatively easy, but when income falls in later life, making the right financial decisions can be tricky. Life planning can help you forecast what cash you will need, and when…
Life planning is the starting point for any conversation with Logic Wealth Planning. We believe that getting a thorough understanding of what you want from life and what you hope to achieve is essential.
From those building blocks you can begin to make solid plans.
Your financial circumstances change across your working life, and during retirement. A good salary means you can save, buy those luxury goods and maybe help others – elderly relatives or your children.
Finishing work doesn’t mean zero income, but what you receive, when and how will change.
Tax free cash sum?
When you reach retirement age you might take a tax free cash sum if you have saved into a company pension scheme. This can be used to pay down any debts or residual mortgage, or sometimes to enjoy those once-in-a-lifetime holidays or to purchase that dream car.
But what then? Will the income from investments, personal and state pensions allow you to live the life you hoped for?
Remember, the state pension is currently around £11,500 per year. Too often people believe that other sources of income will top up what they receive from the government. Some think they will receive an inheritance; others say they will get a part-time job, while some keep faith in a lottery win.
While unexpected windfalls do happen, banking on uncertainties is not the way to plan a secure and comfortable retirement.
Life planning is an ongoing process
Setting out a cash plan is a sensible option. This isn’t just about predicting how much cash you will have going into retirement, it helps to build a bigger picture that encompasses a number of potential scenarios. After all, things change.
It’s important to note that formulating a cash plan is not a one-off exercise. Logic Wealth Planning holds regular reviews with clients, building in market trends, assessing new savings options and continuing to ask questions about personal circumstances.
Maintaining ongoing contact makes sure that your financial position is best reflected moving forward. We have many years of experience dealing with a wide range of situations. Using that knowledge to give you a rounded picture is just part of what we do.
Where appropriate, we’ll make suggestions that we believe can help your continued wellbeing. That might involve downsizing, reducing the stress involved of running a larger house. This can also make tax planning and inheritance issues more manageable, rather than leaving it to other family members when you die.
That might sound rather morbid, but it’s just something we should all think about.
Make retirement easier
Putting realistic cash plans in place will make life in retirement easier to manage. That could involve care fees, something else that most people will need to consider as we are all living longer.
How we can help
One important message is that it’s never too early or too late to map out your future cash flows, although we recommend that the earlier you do it the better. That will give you more time to correct any shortfalls that might be predicted. If you’d like to have that initial chat about life planning please give us a call on 0808 123 4321. Your meeting will be at our expense and without obligation.
Logic Wealth Planning provides independent financial advice in Manchester, Bury, Rochdale, Cheshire, and the surrounding area, but not limited to the region.