Review Existing Pension and Investment Plans and Fees

A 'one-off' review of current/existing insurance, pensions and investment plans:  Finding the good, the bad and the ugly in your pensions, investments and insurance plans.

We will conduct independent, unbiased, in depth research, advice and analysis to review your existing policies/investments/plans/pensions charges, fund choices and performance.  It will include a full review of premiums you pay, the charges, investments returns, values, the funds you are invested in and all their available funds to you with our analysis and recommendations for fund switches, retention or transfer paying particular attention to your attitude towards risk and the current economic climate based upon your given income/growth profile and other requirements.  It will include research and a full written suitability report on any suggested portfolio changes and funds recommendations.  The fee includes:

• Named investment fund sector and specific investment fund recommendations in line with your attitude towards risk
• We will arrange and handle any/all fund switch instructions.
• CANCEL HIDDEN COMMISSIONS: To make you receive the lowest ongoing fund management/product services fees and charges from pensions and investment companies we will also, where applicable, cancel any hidden 'legacy' commissions or regular trail fees paid to previous advisers.  Over a period of time, this may save you hundreds/thousands in additional charges that would have been deducted from your funds and paid to any prior adviser meaning more money stays in your funds.
• We do not handle client investment money and will only accept money payable for our agreed advice fee
• VAT free as majority of works are for intermediation on regulated products.

NOTE: This task does not include works to transfer policies to another company or to assist in any encashment or partial encashment.  This may involve additional works and we may discount that additional work given the works already completed above.  This initial review is a 'one off' review and not part of our ongoing Money MOT Review Service.  Any ongoing Silver, Gold or Platinum MOT Review Service you select (if any) will only commence with your authority after any initial review is completed.

Fees are made up of two parts to make up the total fee:

1. Fixed Fee Element - this is a fixed, flat fee per review.  There are core elements that we do for all reviews such as ' factfinding' i.e.  learning about you, your financial position, your requirements, your objectives, your financial knowledge and experience and your attitude towards investment risk and tolerance towards investments losses.  Whether you need  5 X pensions reveiwing or 1, the same 'timed core work' and analysis is required.  Up to 25% discounts apply when selecting Non Face to Face/Remote services and/or Paid Upfront.
2. Policy Numbers Element – this is a 'one off' fee based upon the number of policies/plans/pensions you need us to review.  It is representative of the work that we do for you.  E.g.  If you need 5 pensions reviewing, this is 5 X the work of reviewing just 1 X pension plan, hence a proportionate charge for this.
3. These are 'ONE OFF' fees.  There is NO ONGOING % adviser charge paid to us, unlike many other advisers who take an ongoing % each year meaning more of your investment and growth stays in your fund.

Pricing / Purchase Options

A 'one-off' pre-retirement review of current/existing policies/investments/plans/pensions: Finding the good, the bad and the ugly in your pensions and investments portfolio and formulating a structured plan for your retirement.  This may be 6 months, 1,2, 4, 5 or 10 years ahead of your planned retirement but the need to do so and have projected pension income, other income, expenses forecasts and cash flow modelling into retirement to normal life expectancy and beyond is a must.

We will conduct independent, unbiased, in depth research, advice and analysis of your current pensions and investments portfolio to include a full review of premiums you pay/paid, the charges, investment returns, values, the funds you are invested in and all their available funds to you with our analysis of retirement options and recommendations for fund switches, retention or transfer paying particular attention to your attitude towards risk and the current economic climate.  We will arrange and handle any/all fund switch instructions.  This will not include new named pension companies or retirement annuity products or flexible pension drawdown products but a review of your options both with existing schemes and new schemes as well as suggested options for your retirement i.e.  a pre-retirement planning exercise and cash flow modelling into retirement where appropriate for say “flexible pension drawdown”, lifetime allowance calculations/protection, uncrystallised fund lump sums, guaranteed annuity rates etc.  It will include research and a full written suitability report on any suggested portfolio changes and funds recommendations.

If Applicable:  Lump Sum Allowance (LSA), Lump Sum Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA), Abolition of Lifetime Allowance (LTA) and/or Annual Allowance and/or Carry Forward Calculations (where appropriate for High Earners and/or Larger Accumulated Pension Funds).  To look at your past, present and anticipated employer/employee pension contributions/benefits and values with the basic principle of dealing with one or more of the following technical pension issues:

• LSA, LSDBA and LTA Issues: following LTA abolition on 06/04/2024, interaction with new LSA/LSBDA allowances with work/advice/calculations and interaction with old Fixed or Individual Lifetime Allowance Protections, Tax Free Cash Certificates and strategy for lump sums, death benefits and beneficiary drawdown and excess over current allowances. 
• Annual Allowance Issues: Maximising pension contributions/minimising tax penalties now for rules for higher earners/high pension values.
• Carry Forward Calculations: Input periods and changes, calculations for maximising pension contribution, carry forward calculations etc.  to facilitate decisions on the preferred action for any pension/dividend/income planning before any final decision is made regarding increase/decrease contributions/resign from scheme/adjust for tapered annual allowance.

The fee includes:

• Named investment fund sector and specific investment fund recommendations in line with your attitude towards risk.
• We will arrange and handle any/all fund switch instructions.
• CANCEL HIDDEN COMMISSIONS: To make you receive the lowest ongoing fund management/product services fees and charges from pensions and investment companies we will also, where applicable, cancel any hidden 'legacy' commissions or regular trail fees paid to previous advisers.  Over a period of time, this may save you hundreds/thousands in additional charges that would have been deducted from your funds and paid to any prior adviser meaning more money stays in your funds.
• We do not handle client investment money and will only accept money payable for our agreed advice fee.
• VAT free as majority of works are for intermediation on regulated products.
• This initial review is a 'one off' review and not part of our ongoing Money MOT Review Service.  Any ongoing Silver, Gold or Platinum MOT Review Service you select (if any) will only commence with your authority after any initial review is completed.

NOTE: This task does not include works to transfer policies to another company or to assist in any encashment or partial encashment or arranging retirement 'products'.  If as a result of this review, the advice is to transfer one pension to another pension scheme this will involve ADDITIONAL works and given the works already completed in this review, we will discount, in proportion, part of the fee paid for this service against any new/additional pension transfer work. 

Defined Benefit:  If you have defined benefit/final or career average salary schemes or other 'safeguarded rights' or guarantees, they can be included in this pre-retirement review but will not include any regulatory required 'Transfer Value Analysis Scheme' TVAS report, as we have suspended advising on 'opting out' i.e., transferring away and giving up guaranteed, defined benefit pension schemes.

Fees are made up of two parts to make up the total fee:

1. Fixed Fee Element - this is a fixed, flat fee per review.  There are core elements that we do for all reviews such as ' factfinding' i.e.  learning about you, your financial position, your requirements, your objectives, your financial knowledge and experience and your attitude towards investment risk and tolerance towards investments losses.  Whether you need  5 X pensions reveiwing or 1, the same 'timed core work' and analysis is required.  Up to 25% discounts apply when selecting Non Face to Face/Remote services and/or Paid Upfront.
2. Policy Numbers Element – this is a 'one off' fee based upon the number of pension plans you need us to review.It is representative of the work that we do for you.  E.g.  If you need 5 pensions reviewing, this is 5 X the work of reviewing just 1 X pension plan, hence a proportionate charge for this.
3. These are 'ONE OFF' fees.  There is NO ONGOING % adviser charge paid to us, unlike many other advisers who take an ongoing % each year meaning more of your investment and growth stays in your fund.

Pricing / Purchase Options

Unused pension fund values are included in the estate for Inheritance Tax calculations with effect from April 2027 as part of an amendment to the Inheritance Tax Act (1984).  

Gifts on death to legally married spouses/civil partners remain inheritance tax free but you may have been planning for your unused pension funds on death to be inherited by other loved ones such as your children or 'common law' partner.

• Death before age 75 and before 6th April 2027 – income tax free for e.g., your children and inheritance tax free within remaining Lump Sum Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA).  
• Death after age 75 and before 6th April 2027 – subject to normal income tax rates for e.g., your children and inheritance tax free within remaining Lump Sum Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA).
• Death From 6th April 2027 – unused pensions funds on death are included in your estate for inheritance tax purposes.
• If you gift to your legally married spouse or civil partner, there is no inheritance tax to pay.
• If you gift to other loved ones, family members or friends e.g., children, there may be inheritance taxes to pay.

In addition, the Care Act 2014 was supposed to be in force from October 2025 offering higher capital limits that are not means tested for social and personal care fees.  This was abolished by the new Labour Government in 2024 meaning for the time being we are still subject to extremely low capital thresholds that we are allowed to keep as part of means testing across England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.  These capital limits started in 2010 and are clearly out of date meaning the amounts of capital value we are allowed to keep or pass on to loved ones is ever decreasing in ‘real’ terms as the years progress.

Description of Service Offered:  A 'one-off' Pre or In Retirement, Investment, Inheritance Tax, Later Life and Care Planning Strategy Review.   For your current wealth including property, investments, pension funds, business assets and other wealth to offer solutions and advice for you for tax efficient income needs from pensions and/or investments, with some focus on later life care needs and/or your property, your estate, your pensions and inheritance tax planning.  We will explore:

• Gifting or investing wealth.
• Gifting of income.
• Assignment of investments.
• The use of absolute (bare), flexible and discretionary trusts, vulnerable persons trusts and child trusts, as well as spousal bypass trusts for life insurance, investments and pensions.
• Investing in discounted gift trusts and loan trusts to protect your investments and future growth from inheritance taxes.
• Property ownership, severance of joint tenancy and the use of Life Interest Trusts to protect your property from care fees means testing and future house price increases (and therefore, increased inheritance taxes as a result).
• Investing in business assets for Agricultural and Business Property Relief.
• Consider pension funds and retention or flexible drawdown, and annuities to make best use of your capital and both ad hoc and regular income to mitigate inheritance taxes.
• Consider the use of deferred and immediate care annuities.
• Consider other solutions that we may think suitable as part of your care and estate planning.
• Cash flow modelling in retirement, later life care and in death.

For all of the above areas of consideration, we are 'driven' by your needs and will focus on some areas more than others depending upon your requirements.  E.g., if your focus is tax efficient income and asset disposal for income or gains for the next 1-10 years or your requirement is to focus more on later life planning or estate planning, then that is where our advice will be centred on, with less focus on areas that you are less concerned with currently.  Our goal is to deliver the answers and advice in the areas that you want prioritised today with some guidance for other lower priority areas too.

Option A - Include Focused Review of Investments and Pensions? Simply select the number of policies/plans you would like us to review e.g., 1,2,3,4 or 5 etc.

This may be suitable if you have never used our initial or pre-retirement reviews or ongoing Gold/Platinum review services.

• You can choose to include a formal review of current/existing policies/investments/plans/pensions focussing on: Finding the good, the bad and the ugly in your pensions and investments portfolio.  We will conduct independent, unbiased, in depth research, advice and analysis of your current pensions and investments portfolio to include a full review of premiums you pay/paid, the charges, investment returns, values, the funds you are invested in and all their available funds to you with our analysis of retirement options and recommendations for fund switches, retention or transfer paying particular attention to your attitude towards risk and the current economic climate.  We will arrange and handle any/all fund switch instructions.  This will not include new named pension companies or retirement annuity products or flexible pension drawdown products but a review of your options both with existing schemes and new schemes as well as suggested options for retirement and cash flow modelling into retirement where appropriate for say “flexible pension drawdown”, lifetime allowance calculations/protection, uncrystallised fund lump sums, guaranteed annuity rates etc.  t will include research and a full written suitability report on any suggested portfolio changes and funds recommendations.
• If Applicable:  Lump Sum Allowance (LSA), Lump Sum Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA), Abolition of Lifetime Allowance (LTA) and/or Annual Allowance and/or Carry Forward Calculations (where appropriate for High Earners and/or Larger Accumulated Pension Funds).  To look at your past, present and anticipated employer/employee pension contributions/benefits and values with the basic principle of dealing with one or more of the following technical pension issues:
• LSA, LSDBA and LTA Issues: following LTA abolition on 06/04/2024, interaction with new LSA/LSBDA allowances with work/advice/calculations and interaction with old Fixed or Individual Lifetime Allowance Protections, Tax Free Cash Certificates and strategy for lump sums, death benefits and beneficiary drawdown and excess over current allowances. 
• Annual Allowance Issues: Maximising pension contributions/minimising tax penalties now for rules for higher earners/high pension values.
• Carry Forward Calculations: Input periods and changes, calculations for maximising pension contribution, carry forward calculations etc.  to facilitate decisions on the preferred action for any pension/dividend/income planning before any final decision is made regarding increase/decrease contributions/resign from scheme/adjust for tapered annual allowance.

Option B – Holistic Review - Exclude any Focused Review of Investments and Pensions? Simply select ‘0’ in the number of policies/plans you would like us to review.

This may be suitable if you have already used our initial or pre-retirement reviews and/or ongoing Gold/Platinum review services.

Our fees include:

• Named investment fund sector and specific investment fund recommendations in line with your attitude towards risk (if focused policy reviews are included).
• We will arrange and handle any/all fund switch instructions (if focused policy reviews are included).
• CANCEL HIDDEN COMMISSIONS: To make you receive the lowest ongoing fund management/product services fees and charges from pensions and investment companies we will also, where applicable, cancel any hidden 'legacy' commissions or regular trail fees paid to previous advisers.  Over a period, this may save you hundreds/thousands in additional charges that would have been deducted from your funds and paid to any prior adviser meaning more money stays in your funds.
• We do not handle client investment money and will only accept money payable for our agreed advice fee.
• VAT free as majority of works are for intermediation and advice on regulated products.
• This initial review is a 'one off' review and not part of our ongoing Money MOT Review Service.  Any ongoing Silver, Gold, or Platinum MOT Review Service you select (if any) will only commence with your authority after any initial review is completed.

NOTE: This task does not include new/additional works as a result of this review such as:

• If the advice is to set up new flexible drawdown scheme, annuities or transfer a pension to another pension scheme, a new fee quote will be issued with additional discounts.
• If the advice is to set up new investments, insurance policies, care fees annuities or trusts, a new fee quote will be issued with additional discounts.
• If the advice it to arrange new Lasting Powers of Attorney or new Wills, Nil Rate Band Will Trusts or Property Life Interest Trusts within your Will and sever joint tenancy on property, a new fee quote will be issued with additional discounts.

40% Discount on New Related Works

If there are new works to be done as a result of advice in this review, we will offer an additional 15% discount off our standard fee in addition to the existing non-face to face and fee paid upfront discounts of up to 25%, meaning a total discount of up to 40% off our standard fee for additional works/actions advised on as part of this review.

Fees are made up of two parts to make up the total fee:

1. Fixed Fee Element - this is a fixed, flat fee per review.  There are core elements that we do for all reviews such as ' factfinding' i.e.  learning about you, your financial position, your requirements, your objectives, your financial knowledge and experience and your attitude towards investment risk and tolerance towards investments losses.  Whether you need 5 X pensions reviewing or 1, the same 'timed core work' and analysis is required.  Up to 25% discounts apply when selecting Non-Face to Face/Remote services and/or Paid Upfront.
2. Policy Numbers Element – this is a 'one off' fee based upon the number of pension or investment plans you need us to review.  It is representative of the work that we do for you.  E.g.
1. If you need 5 pensions/investments reviewing, this is 5 X the work of reviewing just 1 X pension plan, hence a proportionate charge for this.
2. If you need 0 pensions/investments reviewing and we just include details and values without a focussed review of them, then simply select 0 and there will no charge for reviewing individual policies/plans.
3. These are 'ONE OFF' fees.  There is NO ONGOING % adviser charge paid to us, unlike many other advisers who take an ongoing % each year meaning more of your investment and growth stays in your fund.

Costs v Reward

Starting at a minimum ‘core’ fee of just £2,145 (with no focused review of individual pensions and investments included, just their generic values etc), the fee may not appear cheap but:

• If we protect just £10,000 of your property or wealth, this may save your estate up to £4,000 in inheritance taxes.
• If we protect £100,000 of your property or wealth, this may save your estate up to £40,000 in inheritance taxes.
• If we protect £500,000 of your property or wealth, this may save your estate up to £200,000 in inheritance taxes.
• Does £2,145 now seem that much?

Pricing / Purchase Options

A 'one-off' 'read through' by our Chartered Financial Planner experts of Pensions, Investments, Insurance, Tax, Trusts or Wills documentation supplied by you to enable us to provide a verbal summary overview and guidance only for current/existing tax, trust, estate, insurance, pensions, and investment arrangements.

We will read through and make notes on the relevant documentation that you send us, explain this to you in plain English (no jargon) and explain what options are available to you or repercussions for any actions/changes proposed.

This is a non-standard service designed to save you money in billing only for the time that we work for and with you in delivering verbal explanations and guidance only for regulated pensions and investments, Wills, trusts or taxation. 

For example:

• I don't understand what I have or I don't know what to do.
• I don't understand what my options are.
• I can't find anyone to help me, I don't know who to contact or what to do to take matters forward.

No need to pay for full, written 'suitability' financial advice reports if all that is needed is for an expert to review documentation that you have, explain to you what you have and explain what options you have and where/how/who to deal with those options.

This is NOT an ADVISED Service.  There will be no personal finance advice offered by us.  This does not mean that it is ‘generic’ as it will be focused on the specific documentation and/or named pensions and investments that you have but there will be no regulated advisory recommendations included and no written report by us.  E.g.: If you ask us "What should I do with this pension?”, this would be asking us to make recommendations (advice), we will not do this, but we will explain your options and guide you to help you make a decision on “what, where, when, who?”

What is included?

• Our time in reading, summarising, and making notes on your 'paperwork'.
• Our time in explaining what you have/have not.
• Our time in explaining what your options are.
• Our time in explaining who to contact or what actions to take to move things forwards.

This is a non-face to face remote ‘adviser time’ service designed to save you costly full advice fees. 

• You supply us with policy/scheme/Will/trust/tax documentation.  We then review the documentation.
• Telephone or Video link call with us offering you explanations and guidance.

There are four pricing options, allowing you to save up to 25%.  Fees are made up of two parts to make up the total fee:

1. Fixed Fee Element - this is a fixed, flat fee per guidance review.  There are core elements that we do for all reviews such as 'factfinding' i.e.  learning about you, your financial position, your requirements, your objectives, your financial knowledge and experience and your attitude towards investment risk and tolerance towards investments losses.  Whether you need  5 X pensions reviewing or 1, the same 'timed core work' and analysis is required.  Up to 25% discounts apply when selecting Non-Face to Face/Remote services and/or Paid Upfront.
2. Policy Numbers Element – this is a 'one off' fee based upon the number of policies/plans/pensions you need us to review.  It is representative of the work that we do for you.  E.g.  If you need 5 pensions reviewing, this is 5 X the work of reviewing just 1 X pension plan, hence a proportionate charge for this.
3. These are 'ONE OFF' fees.  There is NO ONGOING % adviser charge paid to us, unlike many other advisers who take an ongoing % each year meaning more of your investment and growth stays in your fund.

Pricing / Purchase Options