When talking to your clients about their retirement plans, there’s a lot for you both to consider. The rules around pensions are complex and professional financial planning is an important part of the process so they don’t make the wrong decisions today that could be costly tomorrow. 

At Rathbones, our financial planners have the experience and expertise to help your clients have the best chance of fulfilling their retirement dreams. We’ll work with you to support them at every stage of the process – from maximising their contributions to implementing the most appropriate investment solutions before and after they retire. 

If the subject of retirement comes up in conversations with your clients, here are three important issues for you to discuss together. 

1. Define some key numbers 

It’s never too early or too late to plan for retirement. A good starting point is to help your clients work out some key numbers. When would they like to stop working or take a step back? How much money do they think they’ll need to support their lifestyle? What size will their pension pot need to reach to fund that retirement? 

Our financial planners will work with your clients to answer these questions. They will then be more informed when making important decisions about their lives. For example, they might find their pension savings are likely to go further than they thought, which could mean retiring earlier than expected or having more money to spend on what they enjoy. 

2. Monitor savings goals 

We’re all living longer, and your clients’ pension savings could be needed for many years to come after they’ve stopped working and earning. That’s why it’s essential to calculate their requirements before making any decisions. Inflation is another factor to consider, which will erode the spending power of their money – and could mean cutting back if their retirement savings start to run out faster than expected. 

When working with you and your clients, we’ll use cashflow modelling tools to build a picture of what their retirement might look like in real terms, taking account of inflation along with other assumptions. By exploring different scenarios, they’ll be able to understand the impact of various factors on their plans, as well as the range of investment returns they can hope to achieve. We’ll then be able to design and implement a financial plan that’s right for them. 

3. Maximise retirement income 

There may be some straightforward steps your clients can take to boost their retirement income. That includes maximising their annual contributions for themselves and their partners to take advantage of the generous tax allowances. They could make voluntary contributions if there are any gaps in their national insurance records and it’s appropriate, so they’ll qualify for the full State Pension when the time comes. We can also explore whether consolidating pensions will be an advantage for their retirement planning. 

For those clients who are already maximising their pension contributions, there are other tax-efficient investment vehicles that could be suitable depending on their objectives and personal circumstances. These might include, but are not limited to, Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), offshore bonds, Enterprise Investment Schemes and Venture Capital Trusts.  

Healthy, wealthy and wise 

Clients often come to us on the recommendation of their advisers, and we pride ourselves on working well with other professionals. We complete the circle of advice for individuals, couples and families who require a wider range of expertise to manage, organise and structure their finances. 

When your clients require financial planning or investment management services – or a combination of the two – we’re here to support you. We’ve established many trusting partnerships with professionals who value the local connections and personal service we provide from our offices across the UK. 

Whether your clients have a specific financial planning issue related to retirement planning they’d like to resolve or they’re looking for ongoing support and advice, we’ll work with them to find the right answers. We have the skills and experience to help your clients define their retirement goals and help achieve them. 

If you’d like to find out more about our retirement planning services for your clients, please speak to your Rathbones contact or get in touch with us.