Martyn Halls - Wealth Manager at Crawford Dean Wealth Management Ltd.

04/03/2026

“Oh, that’s not much, is it?”

Any guesses what I’m referring to?

Pensions.

More specifically, income from one when heading towards retirement.

I get it, life is expensive, there’s always something. But saving for your retirement has to be a priority. Why? Because the more you do, the less that initial question will be heard..

If you want to retire early, and you want to stop work and do all the things you want, then you need to plan and save.

You can’t wake up at 60 and then act surprised that your pension fund is lagging behind you if you haven’t..

Life is about balance and having memories, but so is retirement. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

So, make the choices, sacrifice a little extra, then when you realise how much your pension can generate because you saved that little more, you might just be asking

“that’s not bad at all, is it?”

17/08/2025

If you’re self employed (even if you’re employed too) you need to read this.

I’m constantly hearing of situations, reading articles, speaking to people who have been incapacitated and unable to work due to sickness, accident or injury.

As a result they’ve had to stop work and have no income, and having to use savings, access their pension earlier than planned or even sell their assets/home and eventually fall back onto the benefit system.

This can be avoided by simply taking out an income protection policy. So simple, yet people always think it’s a waste of money. They’re fit and healthy, invincible maybe?

Bad health and accidents can happen to anyone, do not leave it to chance, protect you and your family from potential financial destruction by taking your head out of the clouds and start planning. You’re not indestructible and you’ll only realise you should have done it once it’s too late. This is important.

06/03/2025

Little bit of a rant… I know, very unlike me!

Of late, I’ve met quite a few people who, when dealing with their parents financial affairs, have been told to put the bank accounts in joint names between their parent(s) and themselves.

The people telling them this are either those whose mate did it or worse, those working in the banks.

They are telling them to do this so they can access assets when the person passes away (or if no POA and they lose capacity 🤦🏻‍♂️)

Sounds great, right? Wrong.

This increase of misinformation and ‘advice’ without understanding the individuals circumstances can cause all sorts of financial issues - not to mention the complaints against the bank:

It can impact the estate in relation gifts and IHT planning

It puts the money in the firing line of the other persons estate, being subject to a divorce or death for example.

It can be classed as deliberate deprivation of assets if the person goes into care (more complicated if the money has been drawn out and spent!)

If this is done by the power of attorney - this could cause further issues with wider family members who weren’t/aren’t involved.

Please. Stop trying to ‘find a way round’ things.

Use that effort and energy to find a financial adviser to do it the right way for you.

Moan over - it’s sunny outside afterall! 🌞

18/02/2025

Are you protected?

Life insurance - bit boring isn’t it?! 😴 Some say unnecessary, some say a waste of money…. ❌💷

However💡

Just think for a moment that as of yesterday, you were dead. Over. Shuffled off this mortal coil. ☠️

Who clears the mortgage? 🤷🏻‍♂️
Who pays the rent? 🤔
Who pays the bills? 🫤
Who pays the costs of raising children? 👩🏼‍🍼

Now imagine as of yesterday you were still alive, but too ill to work for the long term?

Who pays the mortgage? 😵
Who pays the rent? 😬
Who pays the bills? 🧞
Who pays the costs of raising children? 🫣

Pretty depressing stuff to be fair - but definitely necessary. Definitely worth it. 🤓

We make sure our clients are covered for as many eventualities as they can be. 🙋🏻‍♂️

Don’t ignore it. Don’t put it down to a waste of time. Get it sorted. 💚

13/02/2025

Martin Lewis discussing Inheritance Tax Allowances on ITV 1. Important information, but beware the complexities in this area that a financial adviser will steer you through! 😇

05/02/2025

For many people, retiring abroad is a dream that becomes reality. It takes a lot of hard work by planning and saving over a lifetime.

However….

Many try to do it without properly planning. Whilst to many it’s not well known that moving abroad freezes your state pension, for any of my clients who plan to retire overseas, it’s a vital piece of information we build into their financial plan.

Having someone to guide you through the rules and regulations that may impact your dreams, means you won’t be left in a situation of your retirement becoming uncomfortable.

We help our clients understand all aspects of their dreams and help them to plan accordingly.

Peter Hardcastle, 79, says the decision not to increase pensions of many who move abroad in retirement is 'unjust'

23/01/2025

Inheritance tax for a lot of people will start to increase in the next 2 years. Even more so when pensions form part of the estate from April 2027.

Last year, IHT receipts hit £6.3bn…

That’s £6.3bn that with careful planning, may have been mitigated.

We’re a funny ole species though. It’s human nature to complain about things, but then the very same nature drives us to do nothing about it 🤷🏻‍♂️

Ironically people put a lot of effort into trying to get round it with ideas their mate has come up with that end up not working and could leave them financially vulnerable - all to fit what they want to do rather than doing the right thing.

Imagine putting that much energy into listening to a professional and taking their advice?!

It’s time to stop burying your head in the sand.

We advise people to take actions to reduce the impact and burden on their families for inheritance tax.

We advise people the right way to do it so when the time comes, the house of cards doesn’t come tumbling down.

17/01/2025

What if I told you that you didn’t have to spend all your assets on paying for care fees?

What if I told you there were people out there who can help you with you and your loved ones journey into care?

I regularly see posts across social media asking for ‘advice’ on all aspects of care.

People will take the ‘advice’ (or shall we say opinions?) of complete strangers on the internet, yet they won’t speak to a qualified adviser 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

08/01/2025

Beware the lure of easy returns…

Over the Christmas period, I followed a post on a social media network. A person had been promised excellent returns with minimal risk. The investment came via a person who was vouched for by a lifelong friend. How could they lose? 😃

The returns started out ok, everything they were promised. However, over the following months, the returns stopped. The person in question then couldn’t get a response from the “investor……” 😬

To forward to the end, you guessed it, they lost it all. 🤦🏻‍♂️

I’ve only been in this industry 22 years this April, so what do I know? 🤷🏻‍♂️

As an industry we have seen the promised land of big returns and low/no risk come and go, over and over, and yet people still take the chance. 🤑

Lessons that everyone needs to learn:

1 - There is no return without risk 📈
2 - If it sounds to good, it probably is 😱

The situation above was one that involved making money from property. It could have been a straight forward scam, but it also could have been a genuine investment that went wrong because the investor only saw the upside and didn’t understand the downside. 🤔

I spend my time with my clients, growing them steady returns over the long term. They understand the risks. They understand and accept the short term volatility Vs the long term opportunity. 🏃🏻‍➡️

As a regulated adviser, I provide wealth warnings and regulated documents galore to make sure clients are informed and protected to an extent. It infuriates me that unregulated people can just swoop in and offer the world with little to no consequence. 😈

However, I can only help those who choose to be educated and work with me, so this is what I do. Good client outcomes are earned with hard work over the long term, not by turning a quick buck…

06/01/2025

New year new you? What goals have you set for yourself? Any of them financial related….?

Didn’t think so…. 😉

15/11/2024

The budget maybe a couple of weeks old, but its effects are far reaching.

Employers national insurance increased, but how does this impact the end user of services?

Focus from me today is how it could increase care costs further meaning people’s finances are even more stretched….

And why now, more than ever, advice is key.