Insights
Practical thinking on retirement, money, and the life you want to live.
The question that matters more than “How do I avoid IHT”?
I'm having more conversations about inheritance tax and gifting money to loved ones at the moment, partly because of the changes coming in April 2027. From then, pensions will count as part of your estate, which could pull more of your wealth into the scope of inheritance tax - and it's got a lot of people thinking about gifting while they're still alive as a way to reduce that bill.
The most important question in financial planning
When someone comes to see me, they often open with a version of the same question: "Is my pension ok?"
The truth is, it’s not really about if your pension's ok. What matters is whether you're ok.
And this is where I think it’s helpful to think about retirement as two doors.
The three real risks to retirement
When you first meet with a financial adviser, one of the topics that you will end up discussing is investment risk.
The problem with accepting good news
One of the most common comments I hear during review meetings is:
"Ok, tell me the bad news."
What's interesting is that this often comes from clients whose investments have actually performed very well.