Many people that come to see us are approaching or in early retirement and over the years have accumulated various different savings accounts, pensions and investments. They have spent years working and accumulating their wealth, but haven’t really stopped to think about what they really want their money to do for them when they retire.

We’re often asked ‘how should I invest my capital?’ and ‘what should I do with my pensions?’ This is the same as asking ‘how long is a piece of string?’ The answer is ‘It depends’.

 Before you can make good financial decisions you need to know your ‘why’.

• Does retirement mean stopping work completely or a change of direction?

• Do you want a similar lifestyle or would you like to be spending more?

• Do you want your family to benefit from your wealth now or in the future?

More than ever before, we are enjoying good health to an older age and many of us are capable of working well beyond retirement age, we also have the desire to do so.

 For others retirement is about stopping work completely and being able to spend more time in the garden, on the golf course, travelling or helping families and charitable organisations. 

 Once you have established your ‘why’ you can then start to make decisions about making your money work harder for you or how and when to take benefits from your pension.  

 At Fort Financial Planning, we have The Visual Forecast™  . This enables you to see visually what your financial future might look like and helps you make decisions about the future. It can help us answer the real questions about money like ‘how much longer do I need to work full time?’ and ‘How much more can we spend in retirement without running out of money?’ In relation to inheritance tax planning it helps you see how much you can help your family now and in the future.

 The Visual Forecast™ is provided as part of FFP’s Comprehensive Financial Planning service and will provide significant value for people with combined savings and pension funds in excess of £250,000.