Choosing the right financial adviser is important at any age, but as you get older, it’s essential to find someone who understands the specific concerns and requirements that later life brings.
 

The importance of financial planning for later life

As you progress through different life stages, certain milestones, such as retirement, add greater complexity to your financial affairs, and your needs change.

Financial planning for later life includes various elements:
 

• Pension and retirement planning, so that you can make the most effective use of the savings you’ve spent your working life accumulating
• Inheritance and estate planning, so that you can efficiently pass on your wealth to your loved ones and give them the best possible futureto help you maximise the wealth you have available to pass onto your loved ones
• Savings and tax-efficient investments, as you’d require at any age
• Care fees planning, to make sure that all your needs in later life are taken care of, whether you require care in your own home or residential care

The Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) exists to help connect individuals approaching later life with qualified financial advisers who understand the specific issues they’re facing.

Advisers with a strong understanding of your needs in your retirement years can apply for an assessment to become accredited in later life planning by SOLLA. Looking for this accreditation makes it quicker and easier for you to find an adviser you can trust.

Our specialist in later life financial planning is Helen Medhurst-Jackson. Not only is Helen a SOLLA accredited member (since 2018), she was recently elected to the SOLLA Advisory Board. This board is comprised of expert advisers who specialise in matters affecting later life clients. Members of the board assist the SOLLA directors by providing support and industry feedback.

Helen has extensive experience in financial planning (having been awarded the chartered Financial Planner status by the Chartered Insurance Institute in 2010), but also a background as a Registered General Nurse to draw upon in her work with later life clients. Her specialist knowledge includes the effects of dementia, reduced mental capacity and vulnerability.

It’s not just this specialist knowledge that you might need from a later life adviser, but also an understanding of generational attitudes to financial matters and advice, and an appreciation of your lifestyle and what matters most to you. 98 per cent of Helen’s clients are over the age of 60, and she has developed long-term relationships with these individuals and their families. One client shared this feedback:

“Helen has just started helping us with our financial planning and already I am feeling the calm that comes with a safe pair of hands! Helen has a great ability to explain things in simple terms and a wealth of knowledge – all things that you would look for in a financial adviser. But she also took the time to learn about our family, hopes and needs for the future, and that has given me an extra level of comfort that I hadn’t expected.”

To contact or read more about Helen Medhurst-Jackson, visit her biography here.