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- When her father needed her, could Tracy afford to step away from work?
At 65, Tracy wasn’t planning to retire yet. But when her father became ill, she needed to know whether she could afford to stop working.
At 65, Tracy wasn’t ready to leave work and retire. But when her father became ill, her priorities changed.
She needed to reduce her hours and was considering stopping work altogether so she could be there for him. Suddenly, she was faced with a question she hadn’t expected to ask just yet: could she afford to stop working?
Tracy had built up her wealth over the years across pensions, ISAs, cash and investment bonds. She knew she had money behind her but wasn’t sure how it all fitted together or how best to use it.
The priority for Tracy was knowing she could step back from work to support her father, while still feeling confident about her own financial future.
She wanted to understand where she stood financially and how she could use what she already had to support this next stage of her life.
Most importantly, Tracy wanted to feel in control of her finances, so she could focus on her father without constantly worrying about whether she was making the right decisions with her money.
The first step was to use financial modelling and cashflow planning to look at Tracy’s position over the long term. This showed that she had accumulated more than enough to support her planned spending beyond her life expectancy.
With that reassurance in place, the focus turned to how Tracy could use her savings and investments to create an income.
Different levels of spending were modelled across different stages of retirement, including how her plans might change if she moved in with her new partner in the future.
Her finances were then reviewed and restructured where appropriate, including closing an investment bond and using the proceeds to fund new arrangements.
Tracy has now started taking an income from her ISA, providing a tax-free source of income. In the short term, we are helping her manage her cash withdrawals, with other sources of income to be considered once she has settled into retirement and has a clearer idea of what she needs.
Cash ISAs are also being moved into Stocks and Shares ISAs where appropriate, helping to diversify her investments and create more tax-free income options for the future.
Tracy now has a much clearer understanding of her finances and feels more confident about her position.
For now, she can focus on supporting her father without worrying about whether she can afford to step away from work.
She knows she has money she can draw on if she needs it, while we continue to review her income and plans as life changes.
Client names have been changed to protect their identity.
This case study is intended as illustrative purposes only, it does not constitute individual advice and should not be used to inform financial decisions.
They are based upon our understanding (at the time of advice) of current law, HM Revenue and Custom's practice, tax rates and exemptions, which are subject to change.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until age 55 (57 from April 2028 unless the plan has a protected pension age). The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate cash flow planning, estate planning, tax or trust advice.