Preparing For Retirement - Managing Portfolio Cash

Pocket9s

Oh I see - thing is you have a 7 figure net worth and somewhat complex situation. Even though you have a fairly good grip on things there is a reasonable chance a professional will be able to identify flaws in you plan that may save you tens of thousands in tax etc. Also good to get a professional opinion on drawdown (probably you can spend more than you think in the early years) as well as things like care home fees planning, inheritance tax planning etc.
I would invest a day or two of your time, plan a trip to your nearest big town / city and find someone you can work with, preferably a financial planner with chartered status. Once you have found the right person a lot of the work can be done remotely via phone/Skype/email so won’t have to be travelling to see them very often

Pocket9s

This podcast might be useful also
https://meaningfulmoney.tv/2013/03/25/mmp008-how-to-find-a-financial-adviser-podcast/

shinytop

For better cash options you could always use Investec's Minerva SIPP. It seems to offer access to a range of savings accounts and also NSI. As it's fixed fee it wouldn't be worth it for small amounts but could work for a larger SIPP.

bigfer

DairyQueen. i retired last year and my wife last month. I have been using an IFA for the past 8 years to get me in this position and i have no regrets in doing so, even when i look at their fees taken off my portfolio. I was a professionally qualified engineer, he is a professionally qualified IFA.

I agree with you that you need someone who has the correct experience and probably more importantly, you are comfortable with. But with your significant portfolio and future plans, i would respectfully suggest you are completely crackers for trying to manage it yourself using spreadsheets and the (well meaning) advise of total strangers from the internet.

It is one thing plotting your savings / investments up to the point of retirement, but i think it becomes a completely different game when you have to liquidate them in a controlled and tax efficient manner for income. I am as tight as a gnats chuff when it comes to spending money so i will have a bash at most of lifes tasks, however somethings like fixing your own teeth, a colonoscopy, skinning a rabbit, investing your assets for the rest of your life are best suited to those who are qualified in such practices.

No doubt many will now come on and lambaste me for not DIY my retirement and provide proof how easy it is. I am sure they are more than happy people. Me, I sleep well at night and am off on yet another holiday next week knowing I have not invested in Neil Woodford and that i will not pay income tax.
Good luck.

Robert_McGeddon

Somewhat adrift from the original question but have you taken Entrepreneur's Relief into account when selling the shares/assets of your OH's company? If applicable, no need to change shareholding structure and the more you retain in the company (i.e. no dividends) to point of disposal the better.

DairyQueen

Robert_McGeddon wrote: »

Somewhat adrift from the original question but have you taken Entrepreneur's Relief into account when selling the shares/assets of your OH's company? If applicable, no need to change shareholding structure and the more you retain in the company (i.e. no dividends) to point of disposal the better.

Thanks for raising this. I didn't know about this relief so definitely worth researching.

Malthusian

DairyQueen wrote: »

I tried a (very local) one - see above. Not the greatest of experiences. Yes, I could try a few others. It's not the cost, it's the difficulty of locating an IFA with the right experience when you live in the middle of rural nowhere.

Do you regularly travel out of the middle of nowhere? Using an IFA should generally require no more than one face-to-face meeting per year and you can always combine that with whatever else you take the occasional trip to the big city for. Most communication can be done via phone or email.

My parents live in the middle of nowhere 100 miles away from their IFA, but it doesn't matter as they combine their annual review with seeing relatives who live in the same area.

cfw1994

bigfer wrote: »

DairyQueen. i retired last year and my wife last month. I have been using an IFA for the past 8 years to get me in this position and i have no regrets in doing so, even when i look at their fees taken off my portfolio. I was a professionally qualified engineer, he is a professionally qualified IFA.

I agree with you that you need someone who has the correct experience and probably more importantly, you are comfortable with. But with your significant portfolio and future plans, i would respectfully suggest you are completely crackers for trying to manage it yourself using spreadsheets and the (well meaning) advise of total strangers from the internet.

It is one thing plotting your savings / investments up to the point of retirement, but i think it becomes a completely different game when you have to liquidate them in a controlled and tax efficient manner for income. I am as tight as a gnats chuff when it comes to spending money so i will have a bash at most of lifes tasks, however somethings like fixing your own teeth, a colonoscopy, skinning a rabbit, investing your assets for the rest of your life are best suited to those who are qualified in such practices.

No doubt many will now come on and lambaste me for not DIY my retirement and provide proof how easy it is. I am sure they are more than happy people. Me, I sleep well at night and am off on yet another holiday next week knowing I have not invested in Neil Woodford and that i will not pay income tax.
Good luck.

What’s wrong with fixing your own teeth? :rotfl:

More seriously....congrats on retiring! I assume “early” retirement.

& perhaps a slight derail, but still relevant for DQ I would think:
What areas do you feel your IFA particularly helped with, particularly with regard to your point about “liquidate them in a controlled and tax efficient manner for income”?

Any specific tricks, and what sort of level of income (if not too personal!) are you talking about?

bigfer

cfw1994 wrote: »

What’s wrong with fixing your own teeth? :rotfl:

More seriously....congrats on retiring! I assume “early” retirement.

& perhaps a slight derail, but still relevant for DQ I would think:
What areas do you feel your IFA particularly helped with, particularly with regard to your point about “liquidate them in a controlled and tax efficient manner for income”?

Any specific tricks, and what sort of level of income (if not too personal!) are you talking about?

I retired last year at 56 and have been with the same IFA for around 10 years. Prior to that i decided to start saving and investing in ISAs every tax year. Having absolutely no experience or interest in the field of investment, i picked my own ISA based solely on the recommendations published in the Daily Mail and HL Wealth 150 list....yes I know.....
I also "dabbled" in stocks and shares (Beacon Hill Resources and Patagonia Gold anyone?)
Anyway as you can imagine my finances were all over the shop. My IFA restructured them based upon my risk profile and over the last 10 years they have (for my purposes) done sufficiently well enough to put me in a position to leave work.
I was fortunate that i had a DB and DC works pension. If it had been up to me I would have left them both till I was 65, but having let my IFA review them and permitted him to speak to the pension provider, i received a 79% tax free lump sum and took my DB pension early at an attractive rate and under the personal tax bracket. I am not saying he magically renegotiated the terms, they were always available to me, its just when you get all the paperwork, it is very daunting and intimidating. As I originally said, I was a professional engineer. I did pumps and stuff, not financial planning for the next 30+ years.
Now in retirement, he has restructured my portfolio to maximise income funds to allow me to take capital when i eventually need to. Without him, i would be either waiting for the gold rush to start or Woodford to open up his piggy bank.
My decision to use (and trust) a IFA was also garnered from seeing too many relatives/colleagues struggle with their finances after retirement. Also if anything did happen to me or Mrs BF, then the kids take the will and know to see the "bald man with the flash car" to get the cash. No messing around with out of date files/accounts, spreadsheets and bits of paper shoved in a shopping bag...thank you Grandad...
So back to your original question any specific tricks....mmm well to be honest, I don't know, because as i have demonstrated, i leave it all to my IFA. If you are asking how to retire at 56, that's easy, read MSE forums and do not spend money. Pay off your mortgage as soon as possible, put as much as you can into ISAs and drive a 15yo car. Zero street cred,but you get it back on the other side like yesterday - sitting in my back garden in my whaps, 26degC with a cold homebrew(another money saver) taunting my ex-colleagues on Whatsapp and planning my next sub £500 holiday courtesy of Ryanair and airbnb.
Good luck to all. Remember, running out of money is optional, running out of time is mandatory.

cfw1994

Sounds good for you...& I certainly plan to join that early retirement crowd!

It is a very good point for those of us (in my case, so far!) DIYing: to clearly document where the gold is buried & help those left to sort things out, whenever that day comes. We have a small safe with a short summary we refresh whenever there are major changes...the kids know what to do

Enjoy :beer: