How much do you need to retire? When could you afford to stop working? Could you slowdown or change direction? These are questions we are asked a lot.
If you want answers to these questions, then a personalised ‘cashflow model’ may hold the answer.
‘Cashflow modelling’ doesn’t sound like something to get excited about, but in the hands of an expert financial planner and powered by good quality data, it can help you to visualise your financial future and plan ahead with confidence.
What is cashflow modelling?
Cashflow modelling uses powerful planning software to help you visualise your future financial situation, so that you can see if and how you can achieve your goals.
Visualise your financial future
It helps to answer any questions you might have, such as how much you should be saving for a comfortable retirement and when you could afford to slow down or stop working.
Where are you now?
It’s the only true starting point. You can have the best map in the world, but if you don’t know where you are starting from, you will always be lost. The starting point is to dig out all those savings, pensions and investment policies you’ve filed away and probably forgotten about! If we put it all together, what does it look like? Is it all in the right place? How well is it performing? What’s it worth today, and what might it be worth in the future?
Where do you want to go?
The next step is to explore where you want to go. What’s important to you, now and in the future? You can include these objectives in your model so that you can see if you are on track to achieve your goals. For example, you might want to retire at a particular age, or enjoy a certain lifestyle in retirement.
Are you on track to get there?
If it looks like you’re on track for the retirement you want, you might be able to take a lower risk strategy with your investments, or even retire earlier than you had thought. On the other hand, if you are not quite on track, your cashflow model can show you how much more you need to save – or what level of risk you might need to take – to achieve your goals.
Use the power of the cashflow model to visualise the answers to your questions.
A cashflow model can’t predict the future. But it can allow you to quickly and easily create different scenarios that will enable you to make appropriate provisions for what could happen. ‘How much more do I need to save, if I want to retire two years early?’ ‘Would my family be cared for if I passed away tomorrow?’ Cashflow modelling can help you answer these questions, so that you can achieve what’s most important to you.
Calculate the most tax-efficient way of taking your retirement income.
Retirement planning has become very complicated and you now have the responsibility for taking most of the decisions. As well as comparing retirement strategies, your model can also compare individual elements, such as the amount of tax you are likely to pay over the course of your retirement. It can help you to minimise this by changing the order in which you access your various sources of retirement income.
Simplify things and see everything in one place.
Throughout your life, you have probably built up different kinds of savings and investments, pensions and insurance over the years. Linking these products together in a retirement cashflow model simplifies the view of your financial situation. It enables you to see if they complement each other and make informed decisions on which to keep and which to cancel or replace.
Ongoing reviews keep you on track.
Things will change of course, but that’s exactly what you should expect. Financial planning is an ongoing process that keeps up to date with changes in your personal circumstances as well as tax legislation. Having regular reviews helps to keep you on track to achieve your goals.
Ready to create your cashflow model?
If you want to know how much you need to retire and when you can afford to stop working, we’ll create your own personalised cashflow model, so you can visualise your financial future.
The value of pensions and investments and the income they produce can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested.
TALK TO OUR SPECIALISTS
Let’s talk about how we can help you plan your financial future with confidence.
Book your free initial meeting with one of our financial planners today.
