We were approached by Mrs Smith, a single lady in her forties, about helping her save for her daughter’s university education. Emma, Mrs Smith’s little girl, was only seven so we were able to recommend long term schemes to save the necessary funds.

The financial review undertaken by one of our wealth advisors demonstrated that Mrs Smith would need to save around £120,000 to cover Emma’s 4-year university fees. It also revealed that Mrs Smith had a surplus every month from her income, which she now puts into a savings account. The regular payments in to the account, plus growth, will ensure Emma has sufficient assets to last her through university when she starts in 11-years.

Mr and Mrs Peters, both in their mid-thirties, living overseas and with no dependents, wanted to start pension schemes. They were looking for a retirement income of £50,000 in today’s terms, and hoped to retire at 60. The couple currently lived abroad due to Mr Peters’ work, and were likely to remain out of the UK for the next 10-years.

After sitting down and having a financial review with us, it was established they would have to build up a fund of around £2m over the next 25-years. At first, this seemed a daunting task for the Peters, but after we helped them create a financial plan, they realised they could manage it by putting away some of their monthly income in to a pension scheme.

We were visited by Mr Jones, who was thinking about retiring early after losing his wife. Mr Jones currently lived and worked overseas as he had done for the preceding 10-years. He was also concerned that his estate should be as tax-efficient as possible too, so his children would not be left with a large tax bill.

Mr Jones’ financial review with us revealed he could not access his pension, without penalty until he was 65 – another 10-years from now – and that his income benefit would be taxed. It also showed that as his wife had passed away, no death benefits would be payable by his ex-employers pension plan thus the entire value would accrue to the scheme rather than his children.

We were able to help Mr Jones transfer his pension in to a QROPS meaning he could invest in a range of income generating products, without having to buy an annuity. He gained further peace of mind as he knew that he could have more income in retirement, and his children would not be liable for as much tax when he died.