Harry and Lucy

Working professionals

Background

Harry and Lucy approached us when they were in their early 50s.

Harry was a senior partner in a successful firm of solicitors, whilst Lucy worked part-time. Harry worked away from Monday to Friday and was desperate to spend more time with Lucy and their children.

When we first met Harry, he was concerned that he had no idea what his pensions would deliver and when he could retire. He was also frustrated with his current adviser regarding both the lack of transparency in relation to fees and the level of service he received.

How did we help?

When we first met Harry, we spent a long time establishing what he wanted to achieve.

Through this discussion, it became clear that he wanted to scale back his working hours and spend more time with his family. He also expressed his frustration with his current adviser. Even though Harry was paying into a pension, he had no idea when he could scale back his working hours and eventually retire. Additionally, he had no idea what he was paying in terms of fees.

During our meetings, Lucy confessed that she had never liked their previous adviser as the focus didn’t appear to be on them, only on Harry’s pension. We reassured them that our focus was on them; the money was purely a means to an end.

After gathering all the information around their assets, liabilities, incomes and expenses, we were able to model their financial future. We modelled a number of ‘what if’ scenarios to stress test their financial situation and establish what they could do to get their finances back on track to delivering the lifestyle they wanted. We also looked at what would happen if either of them died early or suffered an unexpected illness.

What happened next?

Harry has been able to move his work closer to home (meaning no staying away) and can now take Fridays off.

This means he is spending much more time with Lucy and the children. Harry and Lucy are visibly happier and more relaxed at our meetings.

We have maximised Harry’s pension contributions to benefit from as much tax relief as possible; we have also put in place a low cost, efficient portfolio within Harry’s pension and the family’s investments, which is delivering the return Harry and Lucy need to reach their retirement goals. We also restructured Harry’s pension, reducing charges by 1.25% per annum and saving him around £10,000 per annum.

Harry and Lucy are now confident that their finances are well-organised, tax-efficient and on track to deliver the lifestyle they want.

We schedule regular meetings with Harry and Lucy to provide updates and ensure their planning remains on track to meet their goals as they evolve in future years.