Case study 1: Leaving the security of corporate life

The problem

Hannah runs a recruitment company and was doing well, but wanted to do better.

Her husband, Peter, had climbed the career ladder, and was in a good job with a large pharmaceutical company. The salary and benefits were great, but after 15-years of pressurised work, he’d fallen out of love with the corporate world.

He decided the time was right to leave and join his wife in her business.

How we helped

Giving up such a secure and well paid job would make most people nervous; Peter and Hannah were no different. They were concerned about the, hopefully at least, short-term reduction in Peter’s pay, especially with two children at private school and a large mortgage to pay.

The loss of other benefits, such as Peter’s pension, his death in service cover and sick pay, were also a great worry for them.

Peter’s impact on Hannah’s business was instant though and turnover increased; that gave them great comfort that he had done the right thing. The mortgage and school fees continued to be paid.

To cover the worst ‘what if’ scenario, we used Relevant Life plans. These paid out a lump sum of money if either Peter or Hannah died, which could be used to repay the mortgage or meet the cost of their children’s education.

The plans we used qualified for tax-relief too, which helped reduce the cost and make them more affordable. It was certainly a nice surprise for Peter and Hannah that the taxman would effectively be paying part of their life insurance premiums!

We also arranged for cover to be put in place should either Peter or Hannah fall ill and be unable to work.

Finally, we set up Personal Pensions for both Peter and Hannah. The contribution levels are flexible, allowing them to make payments from their business, as and when they can afford to do so.

How Peter and Hannah benefited from my advice

The success of their business is entirely down to their own hard work.

However, our advice meant that:

  • Peter replaced the valuable benefits he lost when he left his job. This was especially important as Peter and Hannah have a young family and their illness, or death, would have a devastating financial impact
  • We arranged life cover in such a way that the taxman pays a proportion of their premiums; reducing the cost
  • Peter and Hannah’s retirement plans are still on track, despite the fact Peter is no longer a member of his workplace pension

In short, Peter and Hannah delegated their financial planning to us, and we helped ensure their it was taken care of, leaving them free to build their business.

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