Background

On the cusp of turning 40, Julie wanted some help planning for her future. Having worked in science since leaving university and recently landing the big promotion, getting her finances in order became ever-more important.

Julie had accumulated three different employer pensions, however two years ago had consolidated these with a ‘direct to customer’ platform. She was also making use of ISA allowances. While Julie had been interested in managing her own finances when she set these up herself, she now felt out of her depth and wanted some professional help.

Pension legislation was giving Julie concern, as she had read about the limit on higher earners and she was now impacted with her salary increases. She also had spare income each month that she wanted to invest tax efficiently.

Our approach

In our first meeting we gathered full details about Julie’s future and aspirations along with details of her pensions and investments. She had most of the information we needed electronically and was able to supply us with historical earnings information which was needed to review the pension funding position.

We collated detailed information on Julie’s pension and investments, and this raised some key areas where advice was needed.

We then provided Julie with our report detailing our advice in relation to her existing plans, the impact of pension legislation and what to do with her spare income.

The outcome

Straight away Julie was reassured to know that things were set up as they should be for her, and that she was not going to receive any surprise tax bills.

In the year following the advice being implemented, we saw another change in pension legislation, which allowed us to review how Julie allocated her spare income and benefit from additional tax relief.

We are on hand now when Julie needs us and have been involved in helping her make decisions on the benefits her employer offers as well as moving to a new house.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until age 55 (57 from April 2028 unless the plan has a protected pension age). The value of your investments (and any income from them) can down as well as up which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Your pension income could also be affected by the interest rates at the time you take your benefits. The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances, tax legislation and regulation which are subject to change. You should seek advice to understand your options at retirement.