Inheritance tax planning and pensions
23rd December 2024
How to make the most of your tax allowances before 5th April
26th February 2025
Nobody knows what the future will hold and things may change along the way, but having a plan in place that is aligned with your goals can help. Reviewing this plan regularly and reflecting any changes that have happened is crucial to ensure you stay on track.
Many people will review their cashflow after something changes, rather than proactively reviewing at regular intervals to adjust and plan for the change.
The start of a new tax year is the perfect time to review your cashflow and your financial plan.
What is cashflow planning?
Cashflow planning looks at your income, your assets and your milestone aspirations. It considers your current stage of life and what you need right now, as well as what you might need in the future. If you can project what you might need through cashflow planning, then we can help you to adjust your financial plan to meet your needs accordingly.
How does cashflow planning help?
Everyone knows that life changes quickly, sometimes when we are not even prepared for it. Having a cashflow plan provides the peace of mind that you have enough to fall back on if needed, whilst still investing for growth. It could help you decide on your investment strategy, particularly in relation to planning for retirement. Will you have enough to sustain your current lifestyle or do you need to invest more now to provide the income required in retirement.
The FCA recently found that customers were not reviewing their cashflow data often enough and recommended that financial planners should challenge clients on the figures provided.
They highlighted that some firms were failing to properly stress test outcomes in line with the potential investments and suggested that stress testing is incorporated.
The Consumer Duty (Principle 12 and PRIN 2A), established in 2023, requires firms to put their customers’ needs first.
We build our entire process around the customer and always put first the customer’s needs. We encourage cashflow planning at the initial investment review and then at every annual review thereafter. We will use our cashflow planning tool to review your goals, when you inform us of any changes to your current situation. Please contact us at [email protected] for more information.
