Pension Planning-

Bonus Sacrifice:

Two company directors were looking to maximise pension contributions.

With only days to the end of their company year end, we were able to make single payment pension contributions substantially higher than their salaries into both Director's pension schemes by arranging them to forego bonuses which would have been taxed at 40% + NI

A fifty two year old wanted to take tax free cash from his money purchase pension scheme.

The client had a more substantial final salary pension scheme which he did not want to touch. We recommended a flexible annuity with capital protection so that he did not have to take a poor annuity for a 52 year old.

Retirement Planning:

One client had been conscientiously paying into an old style pension plan for many years.

The effect of charges on a new cheaper plan meant that, ( based on charges only) at retirement he would receive 50% more than had he stayed in his old plan.

Investment and Wealth Management:

An elderly client, in poor health, referred to us by her solicitor, sold her home to move into care where she didn't have to pay for the care home costs.

We invested the proceeds into a life assurance bond with a minimum guarantee of 125% return in the event of death, irrespective of what the bond was worth. In the meantime, she was able to withdraw money from the bond to supplement her income without affecting the eventual return.

Retirement Planning:

A fifty year old client had built up a very respectable pension pot but he had become disenchanted with the thought of having to buy an annuity when he wanted to crystallize benefits.

We were able to show him how he could create and take two lots of tax free cash by going into an income drawdown plan, taking the maximum income possible, and then reinvesting it into a new plan. The income taken was tax neutral due to the tax relief applied to the new contribution.

Investment and Wealth Management:

A new elderly client had purchased PEPs and then ISAs direct from discount brokers, for a number of years, without realizing how the money was invested and whether it matched his risk tolerance. He had subsequently switched between different providers incurring set up costs each time. He received different levels of income payments at different times according to each individual provider.

We registered all the investments, without losing the tax wrapper benefits on to a platform or fund supermarket, so that in the future he could switch, free of charge, between funds and managers, and receive an acceptable level of income at set dates throughout the year.

Inheritance Tax Planning:

An 89 year old widower with a low risk profile, who had, a few years ago suffered a heart attack, had an estate of over £1.2m. We created debts against his estate by taking out the maximum equity release mortgage, and a buy to let mortgage on an investment property.

The money released was invested into investment bonds with extra life cover guarantees, and then assigned over to his two daughters to start the seven year clock for gifts without reservation rule, If he were to survive the full term, there would be an IHT savings of over £260,000. In the meantime, the daughters could make withdrawals from the bonds, and hold the money on behalf of their father to supplement his income needs.