“Steven’s astute financial
insight saved us from making
a £69,000 mistake”
John & Pauline Glanfield
I started my career at the age of 16 as an apprentice and worked
my way up to becoming Managing Director. The company started
a pension for me in my early twenties. I didn’t really appreciate
the importance of this at the time but know now why it is so
vital to start saving early for retirement. When I reached 63 I wanted
to draw money from the pension to live on for the two years before
I was paid my state pension.
An unwelcome surprise
When I received the documents from the pension company
I was alarmed to discover that the value was significantly less than
I had anticipated. I became increasingly worried when it proved
impossible to get any information from the insurance company.
Being very anxious and looking for help, I contacted
the Government’s Pension Wise service. I was referred to Operii
Financial Planning LLP – for which I will be eternally grateful!
Meeting Steven for the first time –
not what I expected at all
Given my recent experience with the pension company I did not
have high hopes when my wife and I agreed to meet Steven.
My preconceptions were very negative and I felt extremely hesitant.
“The meeting was one of the best and most
important I’ve ever had!”
I wanted to get straight to a solution and assumed
the meeting would be brief. With hindsight that was misguided –
I didn’t realise just how much help Steven could give us if I was
a bit more patient. The meeting was one of the best and most
important I’ve ever had! Steven didn’t just ask us about our finances
but about our situation, our family and the kind of things
we wanted to do with our money. One of which included financial
help for our children.
An expensive mistake avoided
During the meeting we presented Steven with a pile
of correspondence from the insurance company. Steven carefully
studied each document. I was fearful of losing the money
and I told Steven I wanted all of it now. He looked at me directly
and said “if you do that you’ll lose 50% of the value and also face
a significant income tax bill”.
“Had I not spoken with Steven, I would
have lost £69,000!”
It was a huge relief to have someone who was able
to communicate with the pension company on our behalf.
As things progressed Steven did a great job of updating us and was
at pains to check we understood the facts. Firstly, the policy
had a significantly higher guaranteed value when I reached age 65.
Secondly, amazingly I was entitled to a tax free lump sum of 60%
(not the normal 25%) of the value. Had I not spoken with
Steven, I would have lost £69,000!
An ongoing relationship
Thanks to Steven’s expertise and diligence I decided
to leave this pension untouched until I reached age 65.
Over the intervening 18 months he updated me quarterly and
was able to show me that the pension fund was increasing
exactly as Steven told me it would. We are now looking forward
to a much more exciting retirement. Right from the start Steven
allayed our fears, dealing with the facts and swiftly getting
a good grip on some complicated issues. With his help we were
able to get a full clear picture of our financial situation.
We were then able to make informed decisions and avoid
a costly mistake. As a result we now have the money to secure
our retirement. We are extremely grateful to Steven and
his staff at Operii for making it possible.
Can our Financial Forensics service uncover
what you have not been told?
“Steven’s astute financial insight saved us from making a £69,000 mistake”
John & Pauline Glanfield
I started my career at the age of 16 as an apprentice and worked my way up to becoming Managing Director. The company started a pension for me in my early twenties. I didn’t really appreciate the importance of this at the time but know now why it is so vital to start saving early for retirement. When I reached 63 I wanted to draw money from the pension to live on for the two years before I was paid my state pension.
An unwelcome surprise
When I received the documents from the pension company I was alarmed to discover that the value was significantly less than I had anticipated. I became increasingly worried when it proved impossible to get any information from the insurance company. Being very anxious and looking for help, I contacted the Government’s Pension Wise service. I was referred to Operii Financial Planning LLP – for which I will be eternally grateful!
Meeting Steven for the first time – not what I expected at all
Given my recent experience with the pension company I did not have high hopes when my wife and I agreed to meet Steven. My preconceptions were very negative and I felt extremely hesitant.
“The meeting was one of the best and most important I’ve ever had!”
I wanted to get straight to a solution and assumed the meeting would be brief. With hindsight that was misguided – I didn’t realise just how much help Steven could give us if I was a bit more patient. The meeting was one of the best and most important I’ve ever had! Steven didn’t just ask us about our finances but about our situation, our family and the kind of things we wanted to do with our money. One of which included financial help for our children.
An expensive mistake avoided
During the meeting we presented Steven with a pile of correspondence from the insurance company. Steven carefully studied each document. I was fearful of losing the money and I told Steven I wanted all of it now. He looked at me directly and said “if you do that you’ll lose 50% of the value and also face a significant income tax bill”.
“Had I not spoken with Steven, I would have lost £69,000!”
It was a huge relief to have someone who was able to communicate with the pension company on our behalf. As things progressed Steven did a great job of updating us and was at pains to check we understood the facts. Firstly, the policy had a significantly higher guaranteed value when I reached age 65. Secondly, amazingly I was entitled to a tax free lump sum of 60% (not the normal 25%) of the value. Had I not spoken with Steven, I would have lost £69,000!
An ongoing relationship
Thanks to Steven’s expertise and diligence I decided to leave this pension untouched until I reached age 65. Over the intervening 18 months he updated me quarterly and was able to show me that the pension fund was increasing exactly as Steven told me it would. We are now looking forward to a much more exciting retirement. Right from the start Steven allayed our fears, dealing with the facts and swiftly getting a good grip on some complicated issues. With his help we were able to get a full clear picture of our financial situation. We were then able to make informed decisions and avoid a costly mistake. As a result we now have the money to secure our retirement. We are extremely grateful to Steven and his staff at Operii for making it possible.
Can our Financial Forensics service uncover what you have not been told?
Approval for this testimonial given on 18/3/2025
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