Welcome to CharterGroup
Financial Management.

We are a small network of Independent Financial Advisers directly regulated by the Financial Services Authority, and mainly linked to firms of Chartered Accountants in The CharterGroup Alliance.

Empty nest: ages 50 to 65

Things that may occur:

  • Children leaving home
  • further education
  • getting married Couple
  • more disposable income
  • downsizing property 
  • paying off mortgage at last 
  • living abroad
  • health issues
  • parents needing care or passing on
  • inheriting lump sums
  • working part-time
  • becoming grandparents.

How we help: Investing for growth and/or income, mortgage, income protection, life assurance, private medical cover, Long term care planning, final push on pensions, trusts, Inheritance Tax planning

  • In the run up towards retirement you should have the most disposable income of any time, kids may have left home, mortgage has been paid off and you may even be thinking of moving to a smaller property? At this age, you can get a real idea of what income you can expect in retirement, have you done enough? We can help you work out exactly what you can expect from your state pension, any other pensions you may have, and work out how much more you need to save to ensure your later years are not spent scrimping and scraping
  • Mortgage/ Remortgage – if you haven’t saved enough to pay for kids getting married, or other major events you may need to borrow extra to cover this, we can help you find a suitable loan/ mortgage to do this at the most cost effective rate
  • Commercial finance – you may need finance to help start your own business, whether it is borrowing from the bank, Venture Capital or perhaps a “Business Angel”, we have the contacts and know how to help you through the problems and pitfalls you may encounter
  • Buy to let mortgage – As with ordinary mortgages, we have the whole market to choose from, but we will also help you decide if buying property is right for you as an investment. If it doesn’t add up, we will tell you so, and look at alternatives that may be better suited.
  • Income protection - most employers will only pay you statutory sick pay if you are off work for any time. This is currently only £81.60p.w. which is probably substantially less than you are used to. An Income Protection policy will pay you up to 75% of your earnings on top of any state benefits you may receive, plus it is usually tax free, making it even better. We can even provide cover if you are self employed. This should not be confused with PPI insurance which has been widely miss-sold by the Banks in the recent past.
  • Private medical insurance – such as BUPA for example, we can help you find the best policy for you at the price you can afford. Premiums can be kept to a minimum by agreeing to a high excess, or you can get a policy that will only provide private cover if you cannot get your condition sorted on the NHS within 6 weeks.
  • Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning – it may seem a bit soon to consider what tax your children may have to pay on your estate when you die, but at this age the options are much wider and cheaper than leaving it until you are much older. Why not try our calculators to see what the potential IHT may be on your estate, then come and have a chat with us to see how we could mitigate any liability? We can also help you set up the right trusts for your children to safeguard things like your pension or property.
  • Pensions & SIPPs – now that your pension funds are building up, could a SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) be right for you? With a SIPP, you can invest in a much wider range of assets, including direct investment in commercial property. You can even borrow up to 50% of the value of your funds to boost the available capital to purchase with, so for example if you had £200,000 in your fund, you could borrow another £100,000 so you could buy a property worth £300,000! If you currently run your own business out of a property you or the business owns, we can even arrange an “in situ” transfer which can release valuable cash back to you or the business for cash-flow purposes.
  • Pensions & Divorce – if your marriage breaks down, your pension may be one of your most substantial assets. Getting advice early about the value of investments and pensions can make a huge difference to how long it takes to wind up your marriage, and ultimately what it costs you in Legal Fees. We can help and advise you in this area, and possibly steer you in the direction of mediation rather than fighting things out in court?
  • If you decide to emigrate, it makes sense to plan well in advance. Arranging your investments offshore could save you substantial amounts of tax for example. Advice of the tax situation in your chosen destination, arranging international private medical cover and organising your pensions is essential. Will you need to buy property abroad? We could help you with different currency mortgages for example.
  • Long Term Care – probably not for you at this age, but again making plans now could save substantial amounts in the future. Whether considering local authority care or private care, getting your estate in order may help maximise the amount you receive in “state funding” and/or protect the family home if you were to need long term care either in your own home or a “Residential Home”. We can show you ways you can legitimately remove certain assets from consideration when it comes to assessing any funding you may be entitled to.