Joanne Smyth Financial Consultancy

21/04/2026

26/01/2026

Inheritance tax planning isn’t just about writing a will or making a gift. It requires a holistic view of your estate, any business or farming interests, plus intergenerational aspirations.

With the upcoming changes to pensions and agricultural/business reliefs, it’s an ideal time to speak to a financial adviser. An adviser can explain the reforms, help you avoid any inheritance tax traps, and put plans in place so you leave more of your money to your family, and less to HMRC.

How to avoid inheritance tax traps

03/12/2025

Now the dust has settled on the Autumn Budget, there were plenty of changes buried in the small print that didn't get much attention but could still affect people in a number of ways. We look at some of the smaller but relevant announcements that could impact your personal finances.

Autumn Budget: Sweeping up the Budget announcements

08/10/2025

Financial advice will help you create a fair, sustainable legacy plan to help keep your money where it belongs. In the family.

You can also use our IHT calculator to give you an estimate of what how much your estate is likely to pay on current values.

Protect your estate: strategies to reduce inheritance tax

10/03/2025

We believe financial planning and advice is a family affair.

This financial to-do list covers the ten steps you can take right now to begin planning for and protecting your family and its assets.

Your family financial to-do list for 2025

12/02/2025

Consider a personal pension if:

You’re self-employed.
You run your own business.
You’re unlikely to have any other pension apart from your State Pension.
You’re not working or you’re taking time out to bring up children or care for relatives.
The type of work you do means that your income fluctuates.

All personal pensions are eligible for tax relief, which means that any eligible money you contribute automatically gets a 20% cash boost from the government – more if you’re a higher or additional rate taxpayer.

Why set up a personal pension if you’re self-employed

06/02/2025

Do you know when you want to retire?

How you can maximise your pension contribution

04/12/2024

It's never too late....

Is it too late to start saving for retirement at 60?

31/10/2024

Have you any concerns after the autumn budget? - please feel free to get in touch.

Understanding what the Autumn Budget means for you

29/07/2024

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED TO RETIRE ON???

Whether you’ve got 20 years before you retire or just a few, it’s important to have an idea of just how much money you’ll need for a comfortable lifestyle once you stop earning a regular salary.

Helpfully, the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association predicts approximately how much individuals and couples will need in their pension pot, to have a comfortable, moderate or minimum standard of living in retirement.

The important thing to be aware of is, these figures have increased in the past 12 months. The PLSA’s latest figures, released in February 2024, show that a single person will now need £14,400 a year to achieve the minimum living standard, a rise of £1,600. They would need £31,300 a year for moderate, and £43,100 a year for a comfortable lifestyle, which includes a two-week holiday in Europe and several UK mini breaks. For couples, the price tag of these three lifestyles is £22,400, £43,100 and £59,000 per annum.1

The minimum living standard covers most people’s basic needs. For example, you could holiday in the UK, eat out about once a month and spend around £600 on clothes and footwear a year. But don’t expect to run a car.

The moderate lifestyle provides, in addition to the minimum lifestyle, more financial security and increased flexibility. For example, you could take a two-week holiday in Europe and eat out a few times a month. And you could afford to run a small car.

At the comfortable level, you could enjoy some luxuries like regular beauty treatments, theatre trips and at least two weeks in Europe a year.

By putting a ballpark figure on actual lifestyle choices, the PLSA aims to help people develop their own personal savings goals based on their individual circumstances and expectations. Having a concrete goal based on things you enjoy doing, such as holidaying, or eating out with friends, is a powerful psychological motivator to keep saving.

Whatever stage you’re at on your saving journey, having a specific income in mind can help you focus on the end goal – and look forward to it!

Source

1Retirement Living Standards, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, 2024. All figures quoted were developed by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University on behalf of the PLSA

SJP Approved 29/07/2024