Facilitating decisions with precalculated models

A married couple that had their own business as well as being employed‚ was increasingly concerned over the question as to whether they would have enough financial means to maintain their standard of living after retiring. They did not want to consult their bank or insurance or similar service providers due to their fear of being given biased advice. Then they got to know about me. This financial advice was divided into several parts. At the first meeting I established the couple’s income and their wishes and plans for their retirement. As a second step I documented this information and developed four scenarios. What came into question for example was whether to work for a longer or shorter period than the lawful pension age, or if it would be worth buying a property.

I let my clients again confirm or correct the scenarios I had developed. After this I made calculations based on the available income and the couple’s willingness to save as well as the previously established facts of the various scenarios and developed these according to the rules of professional accounting. This first plan was explained and discussed with the clients. Together we took down changes that had emerged in the meantime or which the couple wanted made. Following this I developed a final report.

The resulting figures of the various scenarios spoke for themselves but interestingly enough they did not reflect the intuitively expected result. The couple was greatly relieved as they were now able to make a decision or several decisions without pressure and knowing what effects these decisions would have on their future income.