London Specialist Regional Roadshow | Retirement & Later Life | H1 2022

More retirees than ever are choosing to separate in later life, with one in four divorces now happening over the age of 50. The end of such a significant chapter is never easy and the strain of divorce isn’t purely emotional. Divorce can also have a huge impact on financial wellbeing, particularly as clients approach retirement. When it comes to sharing assets such as pensions or property, seemingly reasonable decisions can leave your clients seriously disadvantaged. Financial advisers can play a critical role in helping divorcing couples find financial fairness. In this session, Legal & General will focus on the advice opportunities, the challenges and the support that is available for advisers looking to develop their knowledge and expertise in this area.

Learning objectives

• Appreciate the growth and nature of divorce in later life and the holistic advice opportunities this presents.
• Review the scope of advice in respect of pensions and property assets when developing a degree of specialisation in this area.
• Review some of the technical and market support available to help develop your knowledge and expertise.

When considering retirement and later life, investors seeking consistent returns or attractive levels of income have recently struggled. The pandemic has caused increased volatility for global equities, interest rates continue to remain low, ensuring bonds continue to provide poor real returns, and many companies have reduced their dividends. Alternative asset classes can provide stability for an investor’s portfolio in the current climate, helping to achieve the attractive and dependable returns investors are seeking. Advisers focused on client’s overall portfolio construction through exposure to different asset classes may see real value in allocating to alternatives. Throughout this session, TIME will explore the investment benefits of investing in real assets as well as the tax advantages alternative asset classes can offer, including Inheritance Tax mitigation through Business Relief and creating a tax-free income stream through ISAs. With many investors increasingly concerned about how their investments can have a positive impact on the world, many sectors such as renewable energy infrastructure and commercial forestry have environmental benefits that can be quantified and shared with clients. Long income property funds can also have a huge societal benefit, with many focussing specifically on social infrastructure.

Learning objectives

• Understand the important role diversification can play in clients’ portfolios during retirement and in later life
• Identify the positive impact characteristics of some alternative assets
• Articulate why alternative assets a can add value at different life stages

After many years of protracted debate about how to address the issue of social care, the government have now announced the introduction of a cap on the amount that any individual will have to pay towards their personal care. In addition, it is proposed that the capital limits will be increased. There are also other aspects outlined in the proposals that need consideration. In this session Just will look at the various aspects that have been proposed by the government and consider the realities and what effect they will actually have for those that self-fund their care. By using examples, Just will explore the workings of the cap and demonstrate how important regulated, qualified advice will be in order to bring peace of mind for individuals and their families who are all in a vulnerable position. Just will also summarise the different ways that care might be funded from both a state perspective, through to all privately funded options. Importantly Just will also explore how the costs can genuinely be capped and bring certainty to a very uncertain situation.

Learning outcomes:

• Understand the need and importance of regulated advice in the care market
• Consider the workings of the cap and review other aspects of the proposals
• Summarise the different ways that care might be funded

As investors look ahead to later life, their attention turns to maximising wealth: protecting and growing investments to meet their needs, and those of their loved ones. But like a game of Snakes and Ladders, things may not always go to plan. Forces from economic factors to unforeseen personal circumstances can give your clients a lift or hinder them from meeting their goals. So how can you help your clients successfully play the game to both maintain their lifestyle and maximise the legacy they leave their beneficiaries?

In this session, we’ll discuss

• The forces that can influence wealth preservation, both positively and negatively
• The current economic conditions and how challenges like volatility and inflation are changing the rules of the game
• Strategies to help your clients play this most important game and come out on top

As the story goes when Albert Einstein was questioned about a particularly challenging problem, he simply replied, “In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity”. Well, there's no doubt that we've all faced an unprecedented crisis in the last 2 years but where’s the opportunity for advisers? Sadly, many of us will have either lost a loved one or know someone who has, and the reality of the Covid pandemic is that many more people have realised the need to get their affairs in order. Which brings to mind another well-known saying: ‘There are only 2 certainties in life: Death and Taxes’. So, in this presentation we will take a fresh look at the Inheritance Tax (IHT) landscape and the opportunity that this can bring for advisers to engage with their clients and beneficiaries when estate planning.

Key points include:

• UK SME’s & Business Relief
• IHT & the Covid Opportunity
• Business Relief Key Drivers
• IHT Planning: Client Conversations
• Business Relief Planning Ideas

Any firm that provides advice and guidance for those in later life is likely to have to deal with bereavement at some point, typically that of a client or a family member of the client. This is all the more salient following the coronavirus pandemic and finding support following a death can be key to ensuring that the lives of those bereaved can be rebuilt. The National Bereavement Service is a not-for-profit company and a member of the National Bereavement Alliance. It offers practical and emotional support to guide those bereaved through what needs to be done, for example introducing the bereaved to trusted partner organisations in both the private and charitable sectors or providing useful information on the statutory requirements following loss. This session will explore the nature of bereavement and how this service can support financial advisers when faced with client related bereavement.

Learning Objectives

• Understanding the nature of bereavement and the needs of bereaved people
• Appreciate the overall work of the National Bereavement Service
• Assess the nature of support available to clients of financial advice firms from the National Bereavement service and other related organisations

One of the key aspects of giving advice to those in later life is the involvement with fiduciaries, especially those with powers of attorney and in the case where clients have lost capacity deputies and professional deputies. This session looks at Lasting Powers of Attorney, their application, common mistakes when making them and how they interact with key aspects of later life advice. It will also bring delegates up to date with recent proposals from the Ministry of Justice in respect of Lasting Powers of Attorney and the Small Payments scheme

Learning Objectives

•        Review the various types of Power of Attorney and common mistakes when people effect Lasting Powers of Attorney
•        Determine how such Powers interact with key aspects of later life advice
•        Assess recent proposals from the Ministry of Justice in respect of Lasting Powers of Attorney and the Small Payments scheme