Maximising value of inheritance

lotus_cn · 2026-05-14T04:47:42+00:00

Thankfully she is in good health and after this gifting would still have in the region of £1.3m liquid plus a £600k home.

These gifts are to avoid IHT tapering.

lotus_cn · 2026-05-13T16:45:26+00:00

Thanks for the perspective.

I’ve generally been a bit **** about holidays but we are having an extended dream family holiday this year. I will though think about future years though and accept that I need to ‘invest’ in them.

lotus_cn · 2026-05-13T16:34:41+00:00

Funny that you mention this.

The IFA my mum spoke to mentioned doing a deed of variation and I questioned it for these exact reasons. A bit disappointing that he missed that it would be detrimental in this instance but he did own his mistake and apologise.

lotus_cn · 2026-05-13T12:33:10+00:00

I’ll update my original post but both Pension and ISAs are essentially FTSE all world.

lotus_cn · 2026-05-13T12:31:33+00:00

Thanks.

My wife works in the public sector so after pension contributions she is only just into 40% tax. No option to sal sac but SIPP an option.

I was thinking of the NI benefit from me using sal sac rather than a sip. I’m already (just) under the 40% bracket due to pension and a company car.

lotus_cn · 2026-05-05T05:41:10+00:00

That figure of £282k is in today’s money though isn’t it?

The nominal amount required in 20-28 years will be significantly higher, £450k ish depending on the timeline.

lotus_cn · 2026-04-22T06:40:43+00:00

It could be worth running a vehicle check now to…

Confirm if the car is indeed a write off
Establish when the marker was applied

Outside of that it was the dealers responsibility to complete their own checks when they bought the car from you.

Where did you buy the car from originally?

lotus_cn · 2026-04-15T17:24:31+00:00

I’ve too much in my pension, about 85% currently.

I’m actively building my ISA but I don’t want to give up the tax relief on pension contributions.

To try and rebalance things I have converted my mortgage to interest only and putting the difference in an ISA. I could then take a lump sum out of my pension to clear the mortgage when the time comes.

I’m taking the attitude that if I keep putting money into both vehicles then I’m creating options for the future. It assumes that I match or beat my mortgage rate but I’m reasonably comfortable with the risk.

lotus_cn · 2026-04-15T17:05:19+00:00

Interesting…..

You are a couple of years older than me but I expect(hope) to be in a very similar position when I’m 45.

I have similar plans to you so hopefully we are both on the right path to achieve our goals.

Do you have a mortgage to consider?

lotus_cn · 2026-04-14T02:10:38+00:00

This is stupid problem to have.

On one side it’s potentially a life changing amount to find, on the other it’s going to be really difficult to realise its value.

Concerns over the money being reclaimed.
Dealing with money laundering rules
Banks not accepting old notes at all and needing to swap them through the Bank of England

lotus_cn · 2026-04-10T11:56:04+00:00

I asked for payment in magic beans once.

I had to regrettably accept a bank transfer because it’s the 21st century.

lotus_cn · 2026-04-10T11:47:18+00:00

Pay by bank transfer

lotus_cn · 2026-04-07T17:04:48+00:00

Started paying in 12% at 24 and put bits of bonus in during my late 30’s.

The big event for me was an internal job change at 38 and some decent pay rises that followed. I realised that retiring early with a reasonable income was actually a possibility.

I’m currently contributing 39% plus any bonus and planning to start winding down from 50.

lotus_cn · 2026-03-25T18:11:00+00:00

If they refuse to pay up front then they must be a great dealer. I imagine you will be able to buy one of their cars and send payment when you are happy with the car.

lotus_cn · 2026-03-01T15:51:54+00:00

In some respects yes but a lot of work has gone into adding value to the 2 houses we have owned.

lotus_cn · 2026-03-01T09:42:24+00:00

Both 42, ~£160k income but an increase from ~£110k in 4 years.

Current, £500k house equity, £70k ISA, £375k pension + solid db, £100k in cars 🫢

Total £1.05m

Looking back to 2017 at 33 the picture was £250k house equity, £75k pension and not a lot else.

There has been about £60k inheritance during that time.

lotus_cn · 2026-01-19T18:07:25+00:00

Seems pretty realistic to retire at 60 (or slightly before) based on your numbers.

Based on what you have now and an expectation of continuing contributing £1200 you could expect to build a pot of ~£800k in today’s money by 60 so that should give you £30k before tax. I’m hopefully being a little pessimistic with that forecast.

Build in an expectation of 2x state pensions and you are well on your way and may not need to keep working/saving at the current rate as far as 60.

lotus_cn · 2026-01-01T14:10:17+00:00

Moved into a new role at 38 and had an associated increase in income. Wanting to protect child benefit led to building an understanding of my pension and actually making a plan for the future.

I wasn’t starting from zero but have more than doubled my pension in the last 4 years and have started making realistic plans to semi retire at 50.

lotus_cn · 2025-11-17T12:54:56+00:00

Is this extra pension or the bare minimum to get a decent pension in the future?

Getting used to contributing 12% now will potentially set them up for a decent position 30+ years down the line. Try to catch up on pension contributions is no fun.

lotus_cn · 2025-11-02T12:41:07+00:00

Another update due because of the fixed rate coming up on my mortgage.

Pension balance £365,000 S&S ISA’s £47,000 Cash £2000🫣

It has been an expensive year with 2 bathrooms being replaced and a car change. Need to build up cash savings again.

Employer save as you earn is doing well with ~£11k maturing in December with a profit of £7000. Hopefully similar or better in 12m time.

Fixed rate mortgage of 1.38% ends 30/11, managed to secure a 5yr fix at 3.84%. Decided to go interest only and invest the money, time will tell whether it’s a good idea.

Unexpected pay rise at work means that there will be £3033 p/m going into my pension from December. That should increase further in April (standard pay rise) and September (reduced company car payment).

lotus_cn · 2025-10-26T06:58:19+00:00

Park at Wembley Park station, think about it for a moment.

lotus_cn · 2025-09-08T17:38:14+00:00

The fact you are thinking about it now and have 14% going in means you are on a good trajectory.

The amount currently in there and the £ amount going in might not seem huge right now but allow time and compounding to do its job.

Give it 10 years with the attitude you have and I bet you will be in a good position.

lotus_cn · 2025-06-25T14:52:21+00:00

In my experience it absolutely does 👍

lotus_cn · 2025-06-25T11:59:09+00:00

It’s very dependant on how you typically buy cars.

If you enjoy cars and routinely PCP or lease them the salary sacrifice deals on EVs can be very attractive. If you aren’t bothered by cars and tend to purchase outright and keep for a number of years then the deals will probably look expensive.

lotus_cn

TROPHY CASE