Who this is for

• Couples and individuals whose home, savings, investments and pensions add up to more than the inheritance tax allowances.
• Families who want to help children or grandchildren now, not just in a will.
• Business owners and farmers affected by the new limits on business and agricultural relief.
• Anyone whose plans relied on pensions passing free of inheritance tax.

Inheritance tax in a paragraph

Each person can leave £325,000 free of inheritance tax, plus up to £175,000 more when their main home passes to direct descendants, such as children or grandchildren. Married couples and civil partners can pass unused allowances to each other, so a couple can have up to double the allowances: up to £1 million in total. Above these allowances, tax is usually charged at 40%. The extra home allowance reduces for estates over £2 million.

The April 2027 pension change

For deaths from 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds count as part of your estate for inheritance tax. For many families this is the biggest change in years, and plans made before it may need a fresh look. Read our guide →

How we help

1. Your inheritance tax forecast. What your estate could owe today, and in ten and twenty years, built into your cash-flow plan.
2. A gifting plan. Using your annual gift exemptions, regular gifts from surplus income and the seven-year rule.
3. Trusts, where they help you keep control while reducing tax.
4. Life cover written in trust to pay a tax bill, so your family does not have to sell assets.
5. Pensions, reviewed for the 2027 rules: who to nominate and what to draw first.
6. Wills and lasting powers of attorney through our partner, The Will Company, or your own solicitor.
7. A family meeting, if you would like your children involved, in person or by video.

Questions people ask

Inheritance tax and trust planning are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Tax rules can change and their effect depends on your circumstances.

Who this is for

• People within ten years of retiring, or recently retired.
• Anyone with several old workplace or personal pensions.
• Couples deciding when they can afford to stop work.
• People choosing between drawdown, an annuity or a mix of both.

The choices, in a paragraph

Most people can now take their pension in many different ways: as tax-free cash, as a flexible income through drawdown, as a guaranteed income from an annuity, or a combination. That flexibility is valuable, but the order you draw on pensions, ISAs and savings can make a real difference to how much tax you pay and how long your money lasts.

How we help

1. Your retirement income plan. How much you can sensibly draw each year, tested in your cash-flow plan.
2. Old pensions, reviewed. Whether combining them helps, checking first for valuable guarantees or exit charges.
3. Drawdown and annuities. The right mix of flexibility and certainty for you.
4. Tax-efficient withdrawals. Which pots to draw on first, year by year.
5. Nominations and the 2027 rules. Who receives your pension, and how inheritance tax will apply.

Questions people ask

The value of pensions and investments can fall as well as rise. Tax rules can change and their effect depends on your circumstances.

What a cash-flow plan shows

We bring together your income, spending, pensions, investments, property and plans, then project them forward, year by year, to age 100. It turns "will we be all right?" into a picture you can see and talk through together.

Hypothetical figures, assuming growth of 3.5% a year after charges. Not a forecast; real plans use your own figures and several sets of assumptions.

"What if" questions it answers

• Can we afford to retire at 60?
• How much could we give the children now without running short later?
• What happens if markets fall early in retirement?
• What if one of us needs care?
• How does the April 2027 pension change affect what our family receives?

How it works

1. We gather the facts at your first meetings: income, spending, assets and plans.
2. We build your plan and test it against different returns, inflation and life events.
3. We talk it through with you, and with your family if you wish.
4. We update it at every review, so it stays a living plan.

Who this is for

• People with savings, ISAs, pensions or bonds that they want invested with care.
• Anyone who has received an inheritance or a lump sum.
• Investors who want a second opinion on what they hold and what it costs.

Our approach

We start with what the money is for and how much risk you are comfortable with. Then we choose from a researched range that we review at least once a year, rather than chasing last year's winners:

• Passive model portfolios: low-cost, index-based investing.
• Active model portfolios, including an ethical range.
• A bespoke portfolio from our shortlist of researched funds, useful for larger general investment accounts where capital gains tax needs managing.

If you do not need ongoing advice, a single multi-asset fund may suit you better. Either way, we keep costs in view and show them to you in pounds, not percentages buried in small print.

How we help

1. Your attitude to risk, agreed with you, and checked against what you need the money to do.
2. A portfolio built around your goals, across ISAs, pensions, bonds and general investment accounts.
3. Held on a leading investment platform, so you can see your investments online at any time.
4. Reviewed and rebalanced, so your portfolio stays in line with the risk you agreed.

Questions people ask

The value of investments, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not a guide to the future.

Who this is for

• Families with a mortgage, or a partner or children who rely on their income.
• Anyone whose cover through work would stop if they changed job or retired.
• People expecting an inheritance tax bill who want it covered, so their family does not have to sell assets.
• Business owners who want to protect the business if a key person or shareholder dies or falls seriously ill.

Protection in a paragraph

Life insurance pays a lump sum or a regular income if you die during the term of the policy. Critical illness cover pays out if you are diagnosed with a serious illness the policy covers. Income protection replaces part of your earnings if illness or injury stops you working. Written in trust, a life policy can usually be paid out quickly and kept outside your estate for inheritance tax.

How we help

1. What you already have. Cover through work, existing policies, and what would happen to your family today.
2. How much cover, and for how long. Worked out from your cash-flow plan, not guessed.
3. The right insurer. We search the market for suitable cover at a fair price.
4. Help with the application, including the health questions, so nothing is missed that could affect a claim.
5. Policies written in trust, so a claim reaches the right people quickly.
6. Business protection. Key person and shareholder protection, working with your accountant and solicitor.
7. Reviewed with your plan, so your cover keeps pace as your life changes.

Questions people ask

Most protection policies have no cash value unless you make a valid claim. If you stop paying the premiums, your cover will end.