The need for on-going financial advice

When thinking about retirement planning and all the advice that’s needed for that, you might think it can all stop when you get to retirement.  Right?  Wrong.

Sure, I think we all need some advice when it comes to retirement. I have blogged before about needing to take care and get good, independent advice because there are so many shysters out there.  Turns out it doesn’t stop even when you get to retirement!

Regular readers will know I have been retired for a little over three years now.  Recently we had a get together with our Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) and his para-planner sitting alongside.  They complement each other very well and as for the banter….. well it’s very funny. In fact I might have mentioned how we are probably their poorest clients and yet they do look after us very well indeed.  Reserved parking space, nice coffee and chocolate Hobnobs.

Through our discussions, there’s quite a few things for us to consider and get our act together on:

• Cashflow – making sure this is workable over the coming years; we keep coming back to this as things evolve
• Our emergency fund – everyone should have some easily accessible money but how much?  We are looking at a fund to top up our income should we need to over a five year period, plus a contingency fund (unexpected repairs etc)
• Taxation – this is so relevant for everyone drawing a pension.  Josline Rhodes have published some very helpful information
• Starting to draw on my occupational pension – the process is starting soon
• Policies for our protection – we all need insurance policies – car, house etc

Picking up on the last point, we find ourselves looking at our critical health policies and wondering if we should continue with it (I have blogged about this before).  Turns out my critical health policy is a ‘life time’ policy, meaning the cover doesn’t expire when I hit a specific age.  There are a few issues with this:

• • • • As I get older, the chances of a critical illness increases and so does the cost in relation to the cover
      • We have less need of the cover – no mortgage, children have fled the nest, no salary to replace

So, we are questioning whether we should keep the policies – one for each of us – continuing or whether we should pull the plug?  No doubt I’ll come back to this another time.

Perhaps in place of this, we are also considering an insurance policy to cover inheritance tax when the time comes for both of us to pass away.  As the years tick by we will inevitably look more at how we might provide for our family.

These are all live personal finance issues for us, possibly for you too if you’re around retirement age.  All this is yet another reminder of how we need to be on top of our finances as we are not exactly multi-millionaires and it is reassuring how we can get straight talking answers and advice on these things.

Independent Financial Advisors (IFA) are so valuable for wise life planning, either on an ad-hoc, continuous or one-off basis.  Many places, such as Citizens Advice, can offer this kind of advice, so you don’t always need to be a client of an IFA.