Our Services
We offer advice holistically with pension and investment advice, mortgages, life insurance, inheritance tax planning and retirement planning. We are a holistic financial planning business, offering help wherever it is needed. We work with our clients on a long-term basis from when they are just starting out and accumulating, right through to planning their estate on death and working with their beneficiaries.
We provide friendly and collaborative financial planning for individuals, families and businesses.
Unlike many other companies, we provide options on how you pay us for our work. We also offer a tiered charging structure to protect larger sums from incurring unnecessarily high fees. This is a reflection of our culture and attitude towards fairness. Please do get in touch and let us know your circumstances, and we’ll happily explain our likely charging structures to you, before we even meet.
Pension and Retirement Planning
We are are experts in the complex pension world. The benefits, investments, tax implications and accessibility of pensions can vary dramatically from scheme to scheme. We help unpick their nuances and put existing assets under the microscope. We also help people who are just getting started and need to set up new employer schemes or private schemes.
What is my pension invested in?
We have sophisticated software and tools available to work out just how your money is invested, how much risk it is taking, how much it is costing and how it has performed.
How can I access my funds?
Not every pension is the same. We help get clarity on how your pensions let you take your money, and if any changes are needed to be made to better your situation.
How long will the funds last?
We conduct cashflow modelling using very detailed software that allows us to help you manage your withdrawals so you have peace of mind that your financial security is protected. This can involve regular reviews and monitoring to ensure tweaks are made where necessary.
Investments and Tax Efficient Planning
An investment is much more than just picking a fund. We work collaboratively with our clients to ensure they structure their investments in line with their own attitude to risk, cost, ethics and tax situation. There are many tax allowances available to us as investors, and we help you make the best use of these to bolster your financial planning.
What do I do with my savings?
Whilst we are in a period of low interest rates relative to inflation, this can have a negative effect on the buying power of our money. We can help with planning for the longer term, whilst protecting the short term by advising on suitable investment strategies for our assets.
How do I invest ethically?
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly important. We help work with out clients on what their investment preferences are, areas they may want (and not want) to be invested in, so we are able to help advise on a portfolio that aligns with the very personal and unique preferences of our clients.
How do I reduce my tax liabilities?
There are many ways that an individual or businesses can allocate money in a tax-efficient way. We undertake detailed appraisals of an individual or company’s tax position and provide advice to help plan around their tax liabilities.
Protection
Securing the financial stability of the family in the event of death or serious illness is probably the most important financial decision a person can make. Whilst we don’t like to think about these things too much, they are a fact of life. Having policies that protect the security and financial wellness of our loved ones is paramount. We often hear people say ‘it won’t happen to us’ but unfortunately, we have assisted people making claims on their policies and know it can happen to any of us.
How do I protect my loved ones if I die?
Life assurance is a key part of robust financial planning. We help our clients work out their priorities, set up policies that meet their needs, establish trusts for swift payout. We also help assist families and beneficiaries in the unfortunate event of a claim.
What if I get a serious diagnosis?
A severe diagnosis or critical illness can wreak havoc on a family and their financial stability. It often comes with time off work, changes needed to the home, and outstanding debts (such as mortgages) that cause a financial struggle as well as a health struggle. The banks can still repossess a home regardless of circumstances. We help establish policies that transfer these risks to the insurer.
What happens if I'm on long term sick?
Your income is very thing that sustains your lifestyle. Without it, the ability to meet the day to day requirements of life can be very difficult. Working with an adviser to establish a policy that protects your income should you be on long term leave can make a huge difference to a family during what would already be a difficult time.
There are many other areas we can help with
We aim to be the first people you come to for anything to do with personal finance, for life.
Mortgages
We have very experienced and knowledgeable mortgage advisers in our practice. We can help search, advise, arrange and apply for mortgages/remortgages on your behalf.
Wills
Having a valid will is one of the most important ways of securing your financial wishes. We can refer you to our trusted partners so that you have peace of mind that your affairs are in order.
Professional Briefing
Complex arrangements can require us to liaise with your other contacts from time to time, which we are happy to do. This may involve meetings or calls with solicitors, executors, trustees and accountants.
Corporate Advice
We work with company directors on planning their business finances, investing surplus cash on the balance sheet or director pension schemes. This can be extracting money out of the company tax-efficiently or investing company funds.
Business Protection
We help businesses protect against the financial impact resulting from the loss of key personnel, the financial consequences of the death of shareholders, and also help provide death in service/serious illness benefits for the employees.
Auto-Enrolment
We work with partners within the industry to help companies set up auto enrolment pension schemes for their employees. We have specialist contacts who help arrange and navigate a compliant and suitable scheme for the staff.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount invested. Tax advice is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Will writing is not part of the Openwork offering and is offered in our own right. Openwork Limited accept no responsibility for this aspect of our business. Will writing is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.