BEYOND RETIREMENT

In many senses, there is much to look forward to for the Baby Boomer generation who are retiring now. Increased longevity, and the extension of good health until later ages, provides greater opportunity for travel, holidays, leisure pursuits and hobbies than ever before. Levels of wealth have also risen, not least through the dramatic rise in property values over past decades, which may make achieving desired lifestyles possible.

However, these opportunities often come hand in hand with financial threats, as many of the old certainties wane. Final salary pensions with their guaranteed benefit levels have proved unaffordable for most employers, leaving millions of people reliant on building personal pension plans to generate benefits. Savers can no longer count on interest rates of 5% or more. Rising property prices may have benefitted those at retirement age, but their children may be struggling to get on the ladder, and may also have suffered work-wise from the recession. Many parents therefore feel the need to help their children financially during their own lifetime. Finally, the flipside of living longer is the possibility of long-term care in some form or another, together with its substantial cost and the ongoing emphasis on individuals to pay for their own care.

We offer a personalised review for people approaching or at the point of retirement. The sharpest focus of this is often on the various pension options and their relative merits:

•  We offer a personalised review for people approaching or at the point of retirement. The sharpest focus of this is often on the various pension options and their relative merits:
•  What are the tax and investment implications?
•  How important are death benefits?
•  Would a full or partial annuity still be prudent, particularly if enhanced rates apply.

However, the review also acts as a checklist for all the financial and legal issues that should be considered at this landmark stage of life:

•  Savings and investments in retirement – capital preservation or income generation
•  Helping children
•  Private medical insurance
•  Care fees planning
•  Inheritance tax planning
•  Options for the house
•  Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney