You have been the one organisation that has NOT made my mortgage transaction more stressful.  Keep up the very good work that you do.

Terri Scott

Through my relationship with Finance Together I have received good general advice with a concern to reduce management fees and would describe them as “thoughtful”.

Peter Lawson

I found Finance Together’s advice very helpful and innovative particularly in the field of IHT planning and have no hesitation in recommending their services.

DS

Pension income –  £13,000 per annum

Total assets –  £650,000; £250,000 in cash, £400,000 invested

The personal details

• Single lady, age 84
• Inherits a large amount money
• Doesn’t really understand financial matters, found having so much money a burden
• Very risk averse
• Keen to utilise capital to generate additional income
• Wanted to pass on assets, worried about inheritance tax implications

Our solution

• In conjunction with our client’s solicitor, we invested some of the capital into two tax efficient trust arrangements. This immediately reduced the size of the taxable estate
• Withdrawals from the trust increased our client’s income and not income tax
• We reduced the level of risk in the investment portfolio in line with our client’s preference for low risk
• Our client’s solicitor was appointed as trustee to the trust.

The outcome

• Significant protection from Inheritance Tax
• The value of the estate will reduce still further over the next seven years reducing Inheritance Tax liability still further
• Our client’s income was increased by £625 per month, tax efficiently

Our client has the peace of mind that she has a professional team looking after HER interests.

Home – £800,000
Mortgage – £60,000
Investments – £50,000
Pension fund – £650,000
Pension income – £20,000

The personal details

• Married couple in early retirement
• Worried about being able to maintain their standard of living
• Wanted to avoid becoming high rate tax payers
• Husband worried about his wife’s security in the event of his death

Our solution

• We restructured our client’s pension plan into a more flexible, progressive arrangement with potentially better investment returns
• We selected a specialist external investment managers to provide expert fund management and research on an ongoing basis
• We released tax-free capital to pay off all debts including the mortgage
• We established a sustainable level of income using the client’s tax allowances.

The outcome

• Our clients’ are now mortgage and debt free saving on interest payments each month
• Income was increased by £1,400 per month
• Maximum flexibility was retained on future access to further income and capital
• The structure of the plan ensures the wife has full access to the income and capital in the event of her husband’s death
• The risk and return characteristics of our clients’ investment portfolio has been improved.