Time for the grandchildren

Those who are fortunate enough to have grandchildren will know what a huge amount of pleasure they can bring. They will also know that it’s great to be able to hand them back to their parents at the end of the day.

You might want to share some of your hobbies with your grandchildren or take them to some of your favourite places. You may also wish to support your children financially as they start families of their own, or make provision for your grandchildren’s future.

Although retirement is generally a time of reduced expenditure, your outgoings in the first years of retirement may increase as you pass on some of your wealth to younger family members when they need it most.

Regular meetings with your Financial Planner will help to ensure that you have enough income to treat your children and your grandchildren whenever you desire.

Opportunities for travel

You’ve said goodbye to the day-to-day rat race of paid employment. You’ve achieved something many people look forward to – retirement.

Now is the time to fulfil all those promises you made to yourself during the years at work. During their career, most people dream about the places they would love to visit when they retire, but not all are financially able to fulfil those goals. Just as you would carefully plan your trip to the Seychelles for example, so you should carefully plan your finances through life and into retirement.

Regular meetings with your Financial Planner can help ensure that you achieve in retirement what you have always promised yourself.

Time for your own interests

You should now consider provision for possible future nursing-home care, and ensure that your will is up-to-date (as you should regularly, from the moment you write it).

Falling ill

If you fall ill, how will you support your family and pay for the additional care caused by your illness? Your Financial Planner can suggest ways to provide your family with adequate cover during illness.

Passing on your inheritance

Whether you have millions of pounds or just a set of china and some mementos to leave to your children, you should regularly review what will happen to your possessions after your death.

Wills are not just for the super rich – the amount is irrelevant. To quote a well known saying “How much will you leave? Answer: Absolutely everything.” A will ensures that the assets you do have will be distributed in exactly the way you wish.

In the UK two out of every three people die without leaving a will* – don’t be one of them. And make sure your estate doesn’t add to the estimated £2.9 billion ‘inherited’ by the HM Revenue and Customs each year. **

Effective financial planning will undoubtedly help in this often complex area.

* source: www.saga.co.uk 17/12/07
** source: 2009 HM Treasury Budget Report