Planned Future

Workplace Financial & Mental Wellbeing

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  • enquiries@plannedfuture.co.uk
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“Do I take the higher lump sum or a higher pension?”

"I'm about to retire with a Defined Benefit pension - do I take a higher lump sum or a higher pension?"

How we helped a retiring client navigate the decision between a higher tax-free lump sum and a higher pension, considering their long-term financial goals and tax implications.

Retirement decisions can be overwhelming, especially when faced with the complexities of pension options. One of our clients, a lady from Scotland, approached us with a common dilemma as she neared retirement after 44 years of service in an academic role. She was unsure whether to take a larger lump sum or a higher monthly pension. Here’s how we helped her make an informed decision.

The Challenge

  • Client: A lady from Scotland, retiring after 44 years of service in an academic role.
  • Pension Scheme: Member of a Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.
  • Dilemma: Should she commute part of her pension to receive a higher tax-free lump sum or choose a higher monthly pension with a smaller lump sum?
  • Key concern: What would provide the most financial security for her long-term retirement?

Our Approach

When exploring the options for this client, we considered various factors that may influence this decision. 

Life Expectancy

Based on average life expectancy we explained that mathematically the client would be financially better off taking a higher pension over a lump sum. 

Personal Circumstances

We took into account that the client had no pressing need for a large lump sum, such as paying off a mortgage or making significant gifts to her children.

Taxation Considerations

We also considered how the tax implications of her State Pension and occupational pension and explained that  potential future personal pension contributions could reduce her income tax liability. 

The Outcome

After reviewing her options, she concluded that taking the higher pension was the most financially advantageous decision for her. By walking her through the tax implications and showing how she could better plan for her future, we helped her feel confident in her choice. 

*The case study provided is based on an individual circumstance and the outcomes are not necessarily applicable to everyone as personal situations differ. It is usually necessary to have a one-on-one meeting with a Money Guide to assess your unique situation. These examples are shared to illustrate the various areas where we can offer financial signposting and guidance.

Read more case studies here!

Money Guide Enquiry Form

Request an initial meeting 30 minute meeting with a Planned Future Money Guide. Once you submit the form, our friendly team will assess your requirements and get in touch to arrange a suitable date/time for your meeting.

If you are an Employer booking a Money Guide for your team click here

You can withdraw this consent at any time, by contacting us, or by selecting ‘opt out’ from the bottom of any marketing emails or SMS messages we may send you.

For more information as to how your personal data will be processed, please visit the Planned Future privacy policy.

By clicking on ‘submit’ you confirm that you would like the opportunity to discuss your own financial circumstances with a Money Guide from Planned Future and that you consent to Planned Future processing your personal data (as set out above) for that purpose.

You can remove consent for the appointment by either clicking to cancel or by replying to the email that you have received.

FOR EMPLOYERS

Money Guide Service for your employees

If you are an employer and want to offer the Money Guide Service for your employees, please complete the form and we will be in touch with more information. 

Hear from our clients

Our clients love working with us, just read what they have to say!

"Planned Future is the kind of financial guidance you always wanted but never knew existed. John helped me make crucial decisions about finances that protected my income and saved me on tax. But I also feel confident I can grow my financial knowledge on this journey and build my confidence to change my own money story"
NinaMoney Guide Client
"John approached our conversation with consideration, sensitivity and patience and helped identify clear actions and resources to start saving more effectively. I'd highly recommend Planned Future - they are approachable and practical"
Hannah MMoney Guide Client
"I had a meeting with John through the Money Guide Service, and he was absolutely amazing. He was so patient and kind, and explained different aspects of my finances so well. As someone who is slowly becoming more financial literate, the meeting was very helpful, highly recommend it!"
AashniMoney Guide Client
"I was given lots of useful guidance on platforms I'd not heard of, and fund options I could research. I'd thoroughly recommend John and Planned Future as its a win-win in terms of what I got from this consultation and will consider using his paid service again in future. The paid service offered is very competitive"
NathanMoney Guide Client
What is the Money Guide Service?

Guidance, information, signposting and considering your options in relation to one or more of your financial issues.

What topics can you help with?
  • Retirement planning
  • Employer and Personal Pension scheme options and explanations
  • Savings & investing for the medium to long term
  • Budgeting and money management
  • Student debt
  • Mortgage planning
  • Protection planning
  • IHT and Estate Planning
  • Wills and Power of Attorney
  • Signposting to consumer products and services including savings, investments, and pensions
  • Second opinion and explanations on financial advice you have received 
How much does the Money Guide Service cost?

The initial half-hour meeting with your Money Guide costs just £25. Further Money Guide time is chargeable at £96 for half an hour and £180 for an hour. All prices are inclusive of VAT. 

How is the Money Guide Service delivered?

By video or telephone meeting.

Will my question be answered in the first meeting?

Potentially, if there is a quick and straightforward answer or signposting, this can be done in the first meeting. Usually, further research and a follow up meeting is necessary, which is chargeable.

Do you give financial advice?

No, we are not Regulated Financial Advisers and legally we are unable to give specific advice or personal recommendations. We can refer you to an Independent Financial Adviser if this is appropriate.

Who are the Money Guiders?

Although our Money Guiders are not Regulated Financial Advisers, they all have extensive experience in the personal finance arena.
This includes planning for retirement, defined benefit & defined contribution pension options, savings & investments and many other areas.

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Money Guide Service Terms and Conditions

Please read and accept the Terms & Conditions by completing the form at the end of the document. 

  1. INTRODUCTION

This agreement sets out the terms under which our Services are to be provided.

Planned Future Wellbeing Ltd is a leading provider of financial guidance and education. We aim to improve financial literacy for individuals whatever their financial circumstances or status and empower people to make informed, intelligent financial decisions. We offer you an initial 30-minute consultation at a fixed fee which is notified to you at the time of booking. Following our initial discussion, should you decide to book further appointments, the cost for our services is set out in the applicable Email Confirmation.

  1. DEFINITIONS

“Ad Hoc Support” means Services that are provided to you on an individual engagement basis.

“Email Confirmation” means an email exchange between you and us to confirm the Services to be provided by us to you.

“Initial Period” has the meaning given to it in clause 4.

“Ongoing Support” means Services that are provided to you on a subscription period basis.

“Planned Future”, “we”, “our” or “us” means Planned Future Wellbeing Ltd (company number 09367736).

“Privacy Policy” means Planned Future’s privacy policy which is set out on our website here: https://plannedfuture.co.uk/privacy-policy/.

“Renewal Period” has the meaning given to it in clause 4.

“Services” means the “Money Guide” financial guidance and education services as set out in clause 3 and as more particularly described in the Email Confirmation.

“You” and “your” means a client user of the Services.

  1. OUR SERVICE

We will provide financial guidance and education services to you. Financial guidance and education is the process of providing information, signposting, guidance and considering your options on a wide range of financial issues. Our service is impartial. We will not provide any personal recommendations and any investment and/or financial decision made by you will be yours. Where relevant, we will explain the different options available and outline the pros and cons of each. We can provide signposting information to you and provide help with using products and services that are available direct to consumers, but we do so without recommending such products or services. Where appropriate, we can at your request refer you to regulated financial advisers or legal or tax advisers . Every element of our Services is designed to empower you to make your own informed financial decisions, for example understanding your pension scheme options and considering whether you are on track to achieve your financial goals. Following your initial 30-minute consultation, we offer both Ad Hoc Support and Ongoing Support services.

  1. COMMENCEMENT aND TERM

This agreement shall commence on the date that you indicate agreement by email to an Email Confirmation and shall remain in force until terminated in accordance with the Cancellation section below.

Where you have subscribed to Ongoing Support, on the expiry of the initial subscription period (the “Initial Period”) for such Service, this agreement renews automatically for successive periods of such subscription period (each a “Renewal Period”) unless:

  • either party gives the other party not less than 30 days’ notice to terminate prior to the end of the Initial Period or Renewal Period (as applicable), in which case this agreement ends on the expiry of the Initial Period or the then-current Renewal Period (as applicable); or
  • unless terminated earlier in accordance with accordance with Cancellation Section
  1. FEES

Following your initial consultation, should you decide to book further appointments, the fees for our Services are set out in the Email Confirmation.

You must pay the fees for the Services to Planned Future within the period specified in the Email Confirmation or, if no such period is specified, within 7 days following the issue of an invoice by Planned Future.

You must pay the fees by bank transfer or by such other form of payment as agreed by the Planned Future (using such payment details as are notified by Planned Future to you from time to time).

If you do not pay any amount properly due to Planned Future under this agreement and/or an Email Confirmation, Planned Future may charge you interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 3% per annum above the Bank of England base rate from time to time (which interest will accrue daily until the date of actual payment and be compounded at the end of each calendar month).

Changes to fees

 

We may increase the fees for our Services from time to time by providing written notice to you. If you are an Ongoing Support client, where we do make changes to the fees, those changes will not affect you until your subscription is next due for renewal.

  1. ACCURACY OF INFORMATION

 

Any guidance and education provided by us will be based on the information that you give to us, so it is vital that you provide us with accurate information about your circumstances and objectives. If you provide inaccurate information to us, it could affect the suitability of the guidance and education given. You agree that we shall have no liability to you in the event that any information you provide to us is inaccurate or misleading.

  1. CANCELLATION

 

Ad Hoc Support

Where you are a user of Ad Hoc Support services, we may terminate this agreement by giving you at least 10 business days’ written notice. Where you are a user of Ad Hoc Support services, you may terminate this agreement at any time, without penalty. Notice of this termination must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt. Termination is without prejudice to any Services already provided to you. You will be liable to pay for any Services provided to you prior to termination and any fees outstanding, if applicable.

 

Ongoing Support

Where you are a user of Ongoing Support services, you may terminate this agreement at any time by simply informing us in writing. However we reserve the right to charge you for any unused credits in relation to the remainder of the Initial Period or Renewal Period, whichever is applicable. Termination is without prejudice to any Services already provided to you. You will be liable to pay for any Services provided to you prior to termination and any fees outstanding, if applicable.

  1. DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

Financial guidance is not an activity that is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and neither we nor our directors, officers, employees or agents are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Planned Future will not offer any advice that is regulated or conduct any other regulated activity, including without limitation holistic advice, simplified advice, advising on which funds to invest in, which mortgage or insurance products to purchase or whether or not to transfer a pension. This means that it is your responsibility to ensure that the actions you take as a result of our financial guidance are right for you. You will not be covered by the government’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme with respect to our Services or by Planned Future if something goes wrong.

If you require regulated services, we may at your request notify a third party of your requirements and refer you to such third party individual or organisation that offers or provides regulated financial advice. If you have more complex needs such that the Services are not suitable, then we may help you find a suitable third party adviser for such needs.

We are not responsible for any guidance, advice or recommendations given to you by a third party adviser, including any third party financial advisers you are referred to by us. If you choose to speak to a third party adviser, you will have to agree to their terms and conditions which are independent of and separate to the terms of this agreement you have with us.

Except for any liability arising from (a) death or personal injury caused by negligence; or (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any other matter for which it would be illegal or void at law for a party to limit or exclude its liability, we exclude and do not accept any liability to you in connection with any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the guidance, information, signposting  or options contained, considered or referenced in the Services.

You acknowledge that you take full responsibility for your finances and well-being, as well as the finances and well-being of your family and all financial decisions now or in the future. We are not responsible for any financial decisions or funding decisions that you make, or which you fail to make. You hereby waive any and all claims against us, our directors, officers, employees and agents in relation to the Services or the consequences that may occur as a result of following the guidance, information, signposting or options given under this agreement.

 

Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with the Services we have provided, you are entitled to make a complaint. We have a complaints procedure that is available on request. If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us:

 

In writing:                 John Chadwick

Planned Future Wellbeing Ltd

Suite 3, 3rd Floor, Refuge House

Watergate Row South

Chester, England, CH1 2LE

By phone:                 +44 (0) 344 9672567

By email:                   john@plannedfuture.com

Please be assured we treat all complaints seriously and we will endeavour to respond to a complaint within thirty (30) days of receipt of the complaint.  

  1. DATA PROTECTION

To provide the Services properly, we will need to collect information about your personal and financial circumstances. We will only use your personal information to deliver the Services. Full details of what information is collected by us and how it is used can be found in our Privacy Policy. By using the Services and/or agreeing to this agreement, you accept our practices regarding personal data and how it will be treated.

We will never share your data or information with any other third party except when it is directly required to provide the Services you have requested or where you have given us explicit permission in advance.

We shall use appropriate safeguards to maintain the privacy and security of your personal data, as further outlined in our Privacy Policy.

Under data protection laws, you have the following rights:

  • You can ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you. We will provide this free of charge, unless your request is repetitive or excessive, in which case we reserve the right to charge you a reasonable fee.
  • You can inform us of any changes to your personal information, or of any corrections you would like them to make to any of the personal information we hold about you.
  • In certain situations, you can ask us to erase the personal information we hold about you, or object to particular ways in which we are using your personal information. Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes, to complete any Services that have begun prior to your request, or for other purposes as required or permitted by applicable law.
  • Where we are using your personal information on the basis of your consent, you are entitled to withdraw that consent at any time.
  • Where we process your personal information based on legitimate interest or the public interest, you have the right to object at any time to that use of your personal information.

You may exercise any of the rights set out in the paragraph above by writing to us (by email or by post).  For security reasons we may ask for proof of your identity before disclosing information about you, or to you, via email or over the telephone.

  1. GENERAL

 

Amendments

 

From time to time it may be necessary to amend the terms set out in this agreement. If this is the case we will write to you with details of the changes at least thirty (30) days before the amended terms take effect. Your continued use of the Services shall be deemed to constitute its acceptance of any such revised terms.

 

Communicating with you

We may communicate with you by telephone, post, email or in person. All our communications with you will be in English.

 

Miscellaneous

If any provision or part-provision of this agreement is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it will be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal and enforceable. If that modification is not possible, the relevant provision or part-provision will be deemed deleted. Any modification or deletion under this clause does not affect the validity or enforceability of the rest of this agreement.

 

Jurisdiction

This agreement is governed by and should be interpreted in accordance with English law and you agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

 

Legal and accounting advice

Neither we nor our directors, officers, employees or agents are qualified to render legal or accounting advice or to prepare any legal or accounting documents. It is hereby understood and agreed that the onus is on you, the client, to refer to a solicitor or accountant any point of law or accountancy that may arise during the course of discussions with us.

  1. YOUR CONSENT

 

These are our standard client terms and conditions upon which we intend to rely. For your own benefit and protection, you should read these terms carefully before indicating your agreement to an Email Confirmation. If you do not understand any point, please ask for further information.

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