BUSINESS
CHILD OF THE 60S THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO! Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. We can all say that about the time we were kids and, fortunate or not, I was brought up in the ‘Swinging Sixties’ – when the leash was off; sex, drugs, rock and roll had replaced austerity and rationing, The Beatles changed music and our outlook on life, as did a number of equally memorable world events. By Peter Collier, Business Development Director at Mattioli Woods The Cuban Missile crisis followed by Kennedy’s assassination (and yes I can still remember that day in November 1963); the late, great Bobby Moore lifting the World Cup in 1966, shortly to be followed by those immortal words as the decade closed, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. It is a quirk of maths that children of the 60s are now in their 60s. Sir Alf Ramsey’s eulogised team has just three of the eleven still alive (at the time of writing). Some were taken from us all too early and many have succumbed to that terrible disease of dementia. The lesson here is that it is never too early to
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start planning for the future, and nor is it ever too late. This grey-haired time of life is when a lot of financial commitments might come to an end, such as mortgage and life assurance and the unforgettable costs of bringing up children. Grandchildren could be making an appearance instead – but they go home at night. The state is at last repaying dues through the state pension even though the concept
Plan your income and ❛❛ expenditure needs now and into the future ❜❜
of retirement is not as binary as it used to be. The state pension is moving to a universal payment age of 67. More of us will continue working past this milestone, whether through need or desire. How to fund your lifestyle once you have stopped work is the challenge facing most people in their 60s. Managing income needs in a low interest rate environment requires careful planning, and for those with private money purchase pensions there will be very important decisions to make. If property downsizing is desirable or necessary, capital that is released may need careful investing to meet future needs or objectives. Issues about passing on your assets to the generations below are more in focus, as are thinking about the time when you may not be able to make decisions for yourself and/or you will need looking after. Why not bring some order to what might have been opportunistic and even unplanned savings, investments and protections plans in the past?
