Client Stories

Providing advice and peace of mind

Read our client stories…

Chris from Norwich

Making a real impact not only to the long term inheritance tax liability but also the life of the client’s family.

We recently finalised over three years of planning with a client that will significantly reduce his long-term inheritance tax liability. That’s the glamorous end result, however it began with much humbler beginnings; our starting point, as with all our planning, was the client’s cash flow analysis and meaningful discussions around what was important to him. The cash flow demonstrated, amongst a range of other planning areas, that he had an inheritance tax liability that was not only sizeable now, but likely to grow in the future. Our cash flow not only highlighted the issue but also allowed us to test the impact of a range of different strategies, making sure we never tipped the balance of impacting our client’s lifetime needs.

We were able to make a real impact not only to the long term inheritance tax liability but also the life of the client’s family. He was able to confidently assist with house purchases, private education and long-term savings with the peace of mind that he was secure for life.

Dan from Eaton

Creating a strategy to reduce his income tax liability, but increase his own private savings to help him achieve his retirement goals.

We worked with a new client recently who due to his busy schedule running his business had not had a chance to properly sit down and look at practical steps he could take to reduce his tax liabilities. For many years any excess income had been cultivated back into his company, but he was not seeing the fruits of his labour. We discussed with him the use of pension contributions and other investment vehicles that offered immediate tax relief.

By working closely with the client’s accountant, we were able to come up with a strategy that not only enabled him to reduce his income tax liability, but increase his own private savings to help him achieve his retirement goals.

Laura from Norwich

The family had enough things to worry about – because of the life cover, money wasn’t one of them.

The spouse of one of our clients passed away suddenly at a relatively young age, leaving behind them and their children who were still in full time education. They had paid off all of their debts, however for the family there was not only the loss of a loved one to deal with but also the financial impact of the losing the main income stream.

A widow’s pension covered some of their ongoing costs, however our client was not in a position to return to work full time at all. There was life cover in place which paid out a large lump sum and this made such a huge difference. It allowed them to delay their return to work, including a career change, gave them money to take their children away on a well-deserved break to build new positive memories, and gave them another very important benefit – financial breathing space.

The family had enough things to worry about – because of the life cover they put in place years before, money wasn’t one of them.

Mr & Mrs B from Lowestoft

Providing peace of mind that their lifestyle has a strong foundation built on a real financial plan.

Mr B (60) and Mrs B (59) had run a successful small business for many years, however due to pressures from larger national companies they had lost a number of their large contracts in quick succession. With their income falling significantly it became a very worrying time for them both, even more difficult was that this business had been their lives for many years, the idea of giving up completely and ‘retiring’ felt alien to them.

With our help they began to unravel the stress and anxiety that had bound them for many months. The questions turned from; ‘what are we going to do? we are going to run out of money!’ to, ‘what opportunities and freedom does this now give us?’.

We completed a full review of their financial position, analysing their assets, income, various investments and pensions that they had collected over the years with different providers. Plugging this information and their ideas for their future into detailed cash flow modelling software, the dark clouds began to disappear. With some simple planning steps; investing capital, creating an additional income stream and simplifying their financial arrangements, financial confidence had been returned.

Mr and Mrs B are now able to enjoy running their company again; taking on much less work, having a Friday off for golf (Mr B), help with grandchildren whenever they wish, all with the peace of mind that their lifestyle has a strong foundation built on a real financial plan.

Susan from Norwich

Unable to get a standard mortgage, we advised the client she was still able to purchase a new property to live in.

Recently divorced client, age 62, working 20 hours per week, was unable to raise standard mortgage borrowing but has a good deposit via divorce settlement. We advised the client she was still able to purchase a new property to live in via lifetime lending as this type of lending is not affordability based and interest can be serviced (to keep the loan amount at its original value) or rolled up (and added to the loan). The loan is not repayable until the client dies or leaves the property for long term care.

This has meant the difference for this client between going into rented accommodation, and potentially losing the entire divorce settlement in future rent or owning and residing in her own property.

This is a lifetime mortgage. To understand the features and risks, ask for a personalised illustration

Client Testimonials

Making a real impact to our clients lives

See what they had to say…

I would like to thank you very much for your 5 star service as usual. Thank you very much for your letter, explaining everything so clearly. I will continue taking your advice going forward. Once again Jeremy thank you for your support and advice.

DG

People buy from people, and people like buying from people they like! Smith & Pinching have that special knack of employing very amiable people who are experts in their field and are a pleasure to deal with. After being a very happy customer for more than 30 years, I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Mike, Norfolk

Working with Lisa Tuck, and Team (Hollie Harris and Liam Frost).
Providing attention to detail, responsiveness, appropriate and relevant advice without feeling pressurised or pushed. Open and transparent re costs, fees, risks and benefits.
In addition to Pension advice and management, for me, they have also provided appropriate, relevant and timely advice on alternative investment options for consideration again no pressure, no hard sell just provision of relevant details and options to make a decision on.
In my experience Smith and Pinching have been and continue to be, professional, supportive, informed, knowledgeable, client focused and above all approachable. Highly recommend.

Mr M

When I wanted to switch my pension to a different provider, my husband suggested Smith & Pinching as he had been using them for many years. I have not been disappointed. I first had Lisa Tuck as my adviser and am now looked after by James Bulman. James has looked after my Finances for a while now and I always find him polite, helpful and incredibly knowledgeable. He has listened to my aspirations for retirement and then worked to achieve my aims. If something is not to my financial benefit then it will not be carried out for the sake of the business. In addition James has recommended alternative options to make savings on fees and ensured I understand the consequences of the choices I make. James is patient and very good at explaining things. I would certainly suggest Smith & Pinching to anyone seeking financial advice or wishing to move their pension to a different provider.

Mrs T

We met with Lewis to discuss our investment options after receiving substantial inheritance monies.

Over the course of four meetings, he took care and time to fully understand our needs and to offer advice that was specific to our situation. He clearly outlined the risks and benefits of investing for the medium to long term. He provided full details of all fees and charges we would incur. All paperwork has been handled quickly and efficiently.

At no point did we feel pressured into making our decisions.

We are very much looking forward to developing our relationship with Lewis over the coming years.

Mr C

Lorna responded promptly and efficiently when we sought advice, and subsequently made recommendations which we accepted. Clear explanations were given to support the advice, and matters were concluded without delay. A very good service.

Mr B

Delighted with the pension advice I received. Matt Beck was always on hand to provide detailed explanations about how I could best structure my pension and what I can realistically expect to get back once I retire. From the outset, he was completely open about Smith & Pinching’s fees so I always knew what to expect.

I always prefer to deal with a local business whenever possible as, in my experience, you are much more likely to be able to connect with the same representative throughout the customer journey rather than being palmed off to an anonymous team after the sale. I feel confident that Matt will be here to help me with my pension going forward, which is a comforting thought when you are planning for something many years in advance! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend S&P.

Mr P

When we decided to retire we contacted Smith & Pinching who provided us with very professional, personal and comprehensive guidance which made what could have been a difficult process easy to understand. Since that time we have received regular reviews and updates to ensure our retirement and financial needs are met. Additionally, our advisor is always on hand should we have any questions. For us, trust and confidence are very important and we have this in Smith & Pinching and our advisor.

Mr F