Planning for retirement – Catherine

Background

Catherine was a freelance TV producer in her late 50s. She was single, with no dependents.

Catherine enjoyed work but didn’t want to work full time throughout the year; she preferred to work on a project basis, with a few months on followed by some time out.
Catherine owned her property outright and was looking to raise funds for home improvements to allow her to accommodate a lodger for additional income. She had some pension savings in place, but little cash.

What did we do?

We arranged an Equity Release mortgage for Catherine so that she didn’t have the pressure of monthly payments. We worked out that she wouldn’t be able to raise enough on a standard mortgage; it also wasn’t appropriate to release funds from her pension.

We then identified how much she needed to be earning each year to fund her current and future lifestyle. We consolidated her pensions so that she can access funds flexibly if needed.

We also created an investment portfolio for Catherine at an appropriate level of risk and in line with her ethical preferences.

The outcome

Catherine now has a clear idea of what she needs to do each year to achieve her goals, with flexibility to take longer periods of time out from work in order to achieve her personal goals.

This has allowed her to live a lifestyle she loves: travelling and enjoying life in London. She also has plans to rent out a room in her home occasionally via Airbnb.