Mark and Jenny are in their late fifties and approaching retirement. With a redundancy package being offered to Mark, they approached us to help them make some key decisions:

• Mark is commuting four to five hours per day. He’s keen to stop working on this basis as soon as possible, but is concerned that, at age 59, he will not be able to find alternative employment
• Jenny plans to retire at age 65 when her state pension commences, taking benefits from her NHS pension at the same time
• They worry that lower income in retirement might impact their own lifestyle, including new cars, holidays and a busy social life
• Having built their own house some eight years ago, they still have quite a large mortgage. They plan to sell this property, building a slightly smaller eco-house, to which they would retire
• Mark and Jenny have three grown-up sons. Two are married, but their youngest son, David, is yet to marry or buy a property, and they want to be able to help him with this, as they have done for their two eldest sons

Over the initial stages of working with Mark and Jenny, we have:

• Commenced Mark’s pension benefits. Whilst his income remains uncertain, we have used contracts which allow him absolute flexibility to amend his income as needs arise

• Recommended that Mark and Jenny retain absolute flexibility around their current savings, so as not to risk losing their ideal plot of land if they were unable to sell their current property
• Ensured monies are invested in various cash deposit accounts to provide additional income in the short term, but with a view to investing for tax-efficient income in retirement
• Enabled Mark and Jenny to set aside monies for their son, David

We have helped Mark and Jenny in the following ways:

• Mark finished working for his former employer, setting up as a self-employed consultant
• By fulfilling an interim management role, he was able to prove himself to an employer much closer to home, reducing his daily commute from five hours to just one
• They are happy that their lifestyle will not have to change in retirement – they will still be able to eat out regularly, have holidays and weekends away as they do currently, and have even planned a “trip of a lifetime” as soon as Jenny retires