The actor and the author, planning their retirement
Why they came to us
They didn't know if they had enough money to live the life they wanted. They continued to take on work they didn't particularly enjoy and held back from doing many things on their 'wish list'. However, life isn’t a dress rehearsal: they wanted to find out what was possible.
They had an impressive array of advisers including accountant, solicitor, investment manager and a private bank, all competent in their fields. However, no one showed them how their money could help them live the life of their choosing.
First we found out what they really wanted out of life
We asked them what they would they would have regretted not having done had they 'died yesterday'. An expenditure forecast of the lives they wished to lead (rather than the lives they were leading) quickly showed what they really wanted. The things that were important to them were philanthropy, working less, producing a book and spending more on themselves.
Second we helped work out how much capital they would need if they lived until age 100
We included a comfortable margin, including potential care costs in 'old age'. This showed they already had more than enough – quite a lot was surplus.
What was achieved
- The plan gave them confidence to change their lives immediately.
- He (on the very day we went through their financial plan) called his agent and stopped doing commercials. He didn't like doing them.
- She produced a book in time for the Christmas market (profit going to charity). We showed her she had enough money to do this.
- They take more holidays, flying business class.
- They spend more on theatres, clothes and having fun. They refer to this as 'Lenging it'!
- They updated their wills. Leaving 10% to the charities of their choice means that they take advantage of reduced inheritance tax.
- Their investment manager can plan ahead. They draw a specific amount each year and don’t need to make provision for any ad hoc requests.