Dermot's story

Creating the financial foundation for retirement

mature male business owner at his desk reading business planning documents

“Sometimes having a successful business and a paid-off mortgage isn’t enough, especially if you have dependents like my 37-year-old son, who has always lived at home.”

My accountant recommended Aetas Partners to me, and they’ve provided practical advice from updating our wills, to pension contributions and creating a trust. It’s a relief to know that we can enjoy retirement, without worrying about our son’s future.

Growing concerns…

I’ve been happily married for 40 years and we’ve lived in the same house since we had our only child, who is now 37, and still lives with us at home, because he was diagnosed with autism and requires a fair amount of care. 

We already have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place for him, and for each other, but not much else. With retirement on the horizon – probably within the next 5 years – we’ve been thinking more and more about what will happen to our son as we get older.

Financially, I’ve been fortunate to have built a successful business, and this year I’ll pay off our mortgage. Despite these achievements, I’ve been worrying about a few things and felt that I needed some help to make the right decisions for our family’s future.

 

My questions

  • How do I ensure that my wife feels financially confident. How could I organise our affairs in a way that would allow her to manage everything smoothly, if something should happen to me.
  • What can I do to make sure we have enough money to live comfortably during our retirement years?
  • How can we ensure that our son is well looked after in the future when we’re no longer around?

 

How Aetas helped us:

My accountant introduced me to Aetas Partners, and it turned out to be a turning point in our financial journey. Aetas quickly provided comfort and reassurance regarding my retirement and the legacy we would leave for our son. They helped us to:

  • Update our wills: The Aetas wealth adviser suggested we update our wills to ensure that our wishes are accurately reflected, and so that my wife has the necessary support and instructions in place in case something happens to me
  • Transfer my files onto the PC: and organise them into easy-to-understand categories that could be easily managed by my wife or someone else
  • Inheritance Tax (IHT) Planning: Aetas recommended some IHT planning strategies. These include utilising the nil-rate band and making gifts, so that we reduce the potential inheritance tax burden on our estate.
  • Cash Flow Planning: To alleviate our concerns about retirement finances, Aetas conducted a comprehensive cash flow planning exercise. This exercise helped reassure us about our standard of living during retirement and allowed us to identify potential gaps in our financial plans.
  • Maximizing Pension Contributions: To further reduce our inheritance tax liability, the Aetas adviser suggested that I top up my pension contributions to the maximum annual allowed amount. This also has additional tax benefits.
  • Creating a Trust for our son: Because we want to ensure his well-being, Aetas recommended that we create a trust for him. This trust protects a capital sum for his lifetime, ensuring he will be cared for even when we are no longer around.
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From concern to relief

"Aetas provided us with a clear and well-structured plan, which gives me the confidence to look forward to retirement. Now I know that we can enjoy ourselves without worrying about our son's future, because we have made comprehensive provisions for his care and well-being.

Thanks to Aetas, my wife and I are now on track with building a solid financial foundation for our retirement and with securing a bright and comfortable future for our son. Their expertise and guidance has given us the peace of mind we need, in the knowledge that we've made thoughtful and well-informed decisions to protect our family's financial security and legacy."