Our Services

Mortgages

Mortgages can be a minefield! Fixed rate, tracker rate, buy to let, equity release – which is the right option for you?

Here at Advice for Life Financial Planning, we have a dedicated mortgage adviser who can visit you in the comfort of your own home to provide you with all the information you need.

We don’t believe in a “one size fits all” approach to mortgages, and will take the time to understand your needs and circumstances, and advise on the most suitable product for you.

We have access to the whole of market, which can save you time and money.

Equity release will reduce the value of your estate and can affect your eligibility for means tested benefits.

Protection

How would you and your family cope financially if you weren’t able to work because of illness (or worse)? Having the right kind of protection in place means that you and your family won’t be affected financially if the worst happens.

Life Insurance is designed to help protect against the financial impact death could have on your family or loved ones by paying out a cash sum if you were to die during the term of the plan. As advisers, we can take into account your individual circumstances and recommend the right amount of cover for you, and how long you need it for. We can also ensure that where appropriate, the correct trusts are utilised to ensure the proceeds are free from inheritance tax, and are paid swiftly to your chosen beneficiaries.
Critical Illness Cover is designed to help protect against the financial impact a critical illness could have on you and your family, and could pay out a cash sum if you’re diagnosed with, or undergo a medical procedure for one of the specified critical illnesses covered under your plan. The resulting cash sum could then be used to help pay for child care costs, household bills or to help maintain your standard of living if you have to take time off work to recover.
We understand that providers offer vastly different policies, and so, to help us recommend the most appropriate policy for our clients, we use CI Expert. This which allows us to access a comprehensive knowledge base and tools so that we can give clients advice based upon a depth of information not otherwise available.

Income Protection provides a regular income should you be unable to earn your living due to illness or injury.
Private Medical Insurance offers swift access to specialist diagnosis and treatment that might otherwise be unavailable or unaffordable. It can protect you, your family and your business or help you attract, retain and reward the calibre of staff on which your business depends.

Below are examples of some events when you should consider reviewing your life insurance requirements:

Buying your first home
Getting married or entering into a registered civil partnership
Starting a family
Becoming a stay-at-home parent
Having more children
Moving to a bigger property
Salary increases
Changing your job
Reaching retirement

Savings & Investments

Whether you are looking to save for a deposit on your first house or want to put money away for your family’s future, we have access to cutting edge investment strategies, and can put in place plans to ensure that you are not losing out on receiving the type of returns which are commensurate with the level of risk you are prepared to take. Also, we can ensure that you are making full use of all available tax allowances, many of which are time sensitive.

We can also use sophisticated cashflow planning tools to help visualise your financial future.

To find out more about cashflow planning, and how it might benefit you, please watch this short video:

Pensions

It’s never too early to start planning for your retirement. Whether you are looking to start a pension for the first time, or if you are nearing retirement and are looking to make sense of the options available to you, our experienced advisers are here to help.

Deciding what to do with your pension savings is an important step we all have to take. Following changes introduced in April 2015, you now have more choice and flexibility than ever before over how and when you can take money from your pension pot. These changes give you freedom over how you can use your pension funds.

We can also help trace any ‘lost’ pensions, through our Pension Finder Service.

Wherever you stand on the road to retirement, we can help you find your way forward. If you are approaching retirement and would like to discuss the ways you can take an income from your pension pot, please contact us to review your particular situation – we look forward to hearing from you.

The value of pensions and investments and the income they produce can fall as well as rise, you may get back less than you invested.

Safeguard your wealth for future generations

Although often in the news, Inheritance Tax (IHT) is still not widely understood. This is worrying, as it affects thousands of families every year.

A popular perception is that IHT is just for the very wealthy, however this is increasingly not the case, however with careful financial planning, IHT can in many cases be avoided.

Other Services

As a long standing local business we’ve built up close working relationships with other like minded professionals, such as accountants and solicitors.

You can therefore rest assured that, if we cannot deal with your query ourselves, if you wish, we will be happy to put you in touch with someone who can.

In addition, we often work alongside our clients' own solicitors and accountants, to provide a complementary service that ensures that all aspects of your financial affairs are considered.