December 17, 2024
Nicolle has been advising clients since 1997, and many of her clients have stayed with her for all that time – proof that they appreciate a long-term relationship with their IFA.
She recently worked with one of these long-term clients to improve his retirement income, and here she shares this example of how a relationship built on honesty and openness can have a positive impact on your finances.
Nicolle says,
“My client has various health issues, including diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and he stated to me that he doesn’t feel he will live until a ripe old age and would therefore like to stop working, preferring to retire now and enjoy life, but was concerned that he didn’t have enough in his pension pot to support this.
“We looked together at what he had available and his options. Because he had been completely honest with me about his health issues and lifestyle, I was able to get a 55% uplift on his annuity income. This is a significant benefit for my client, who without taking financial advice and exploring the open market annuity options with me may have settled for the lesser amount of income originally offered by the insurance provider.”
When you retire, you have several options for drawing down your pension savings.
Depending on the terms of your particular pension fund, you can:
Nicolle’s client wanted the certainty of a guaranteed income, without his pension fund being exposed to continued investment risk. So a lifetime annuity was his preferred option.
As Nicolle says,
“Everyone’s circumstances are different, and your projected income from a lifetime annuity will depend on your individual position. Insurers look closely at health and lifestyle factors, and in this case, his health conditions, which make a shorter lifespan more likely, meant I was able to get him a better deal.
“I always explain to my clients that I need to know about health conditions when they are looking at pension income options (along with many other financial products), but it was particularly critical in this case. In fact, I quite often encourage clients to go to the doctor before making any important financial decisions, so that we can have all the relevant up to date information – which might affect those decisions – to hand. In this case, his openness with me, and my knowledge of the facts, allowed me to significantly improve his retirement income. And of course, because it’s a guaranteed lifetime income, he’ll now benefit from that extra 55% whatever his lifespan.”
Contact Nicolle to talk about any aspect of your financial plans.
site by motley.co.uk