Planning for the unexpected

Read Francesca's story of how she helped Marco & Giulia as their situation changed when Giulia started to have ongoing health problems. Opening up the conversation with their daughters helped everyone feel supported.

By Francesca Bianchi
Financial Planner

Financial security and flexibility

When we consider our plans for the long-term, money is the one thing we don't want to worry about if something unexpected happens.

Financial security can also give us more flexibility over how we manage these situations.

Long lasting relationship

I’d already been helping Marco and Giulia organise their finances for 15 years when they came to speak to me about their pensions.

In speaking with Marco, he wanted to take early retirement but was bamboozled by all the paperwork he’d been receiving about his money purchase scheme.

The situation was further complicated by his wife’s ongoing health problems.

I advised Marco to put his pension pot into drawdown rather than buying an annuity, which meant he would be able to take as much income as he needed, when he needed it. I also put together for them a lifetime financial plan, which helped the couple realise they would have enough money to continue doing all the things they enjoyed, even though they were no longer working.

Sadly, Giulia’s health continued to deteriorate.

During these difficult times, I believe it’s a good idea to include all the family in any conversations about money so that they feel supported.

Despite being vulnerable, Giulia remained involved in all discussions and decisions along with their two daughters, which helped everyone understand what we were trying to achieve financially.

To support Giulia, I suggested using the money sitting in her bank account to improve their lives together. She was beginning to suffer mobility issues, so they bought a new car and furniture for their home and updated the bathroom to make it easier to use. These were all things Giulia benefited from and could get excited about.

Life for Marco and Giulia has changed over the past few years, and we’ve reviewed and evolved their holistic financial plan to reflect these changes.

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They’ve both told me that they’ll come to me for advice when they need to, as we have already built a trusted relationship.

Francesca Bianchi
Please note the client names in this story have been changed

About Francesca

"The most rewarding part of my role is being able to provide support and reassurance to clients during difficult, potentially life-changing, times."

Francesca joined the group in 2019 and has been a financial advisor since 2002. Prior to joining Dalton Steiner she was Senior Private Client Adviser with Close Brothers and Lloyds. Francesca specialises in providing financial advice on Inheritance Tax Planning, general investments and retirement planning. Francesca holds BSc in Economics and Chartered Diploma in Financial Planning.