Listener Questions - Episode 13

This week's MMQ&A covered questions on whether you need an emergency fund in retirement, starting late and the mechanics of the residence nil rate band, among other things! Shownotes: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/QA13 Questions Asked 01:03 Question 1 Hello Pete n Rog Thank you for the brilliant podcast which has turned my money management around in four months. I love your banter as much as your expertise. My question is: Do people need an emergency fund in retirement, and if so how big should it be? With DB pensions coming my way I’ll have a guaranteed income so how important is it? Many thanks and keep up the great work Caroline 04:21 Question 2 Hi guys, I’m probably not your usual demographic so I’m not sure if this will be of enough use to your listeners but… Having grown up in what may be classed as modern day poverty (raised on state benefits, single parent family) I had zero financial literacy. This meant that when I started my career as a teacher I opted out of the pension because I “couldn’t afford” to pay into it… yes I know now that was a bad move! I eventually opted back in, but then took big chunks [of time?] out to travel and have children. I divorced and had to leave my career to raise my own children. I’m now 47 and staring into a huge financial hole (as I suspect are many mothers/divorcees). Now it’s not all doom and gloom as I have made a few intuitive moves. I own a large family home and a second property (these are mortgaged), but my worry is actual cash. State pension won’t touch the sides of what I’ll need. What would be your suggestion on how to start accumulating at this late stage? I’ve opened a vanguard pension and make personal and company contributions (I have a tuition business now) but it feels like too little too late as I’ve missed the opportunity for exponential compounding. I can’t work out how to figure out what I’ll need and then reverse engineer the numbers to see if I’ll make it! I have a high tolerance to risk, but Is it just pour as much as possible into the pension and pray? Keep doing this amazing podcast please as you have no idea who you are reaching and helping each week. Jenny 11:51 Question 3 Hi Pete & Roger, Love the pod, keep up the good work! My mum is in her eighties and has been asking me about inheritance tax and in-particular “passing on her home”. We both take an interest in finance, so I said I’d read up on it online. I understand you can inherit up to £325,000 tax free. My Dad passed away 9 years ago and I believe that his threshold would be taken into account as well, to make the total tax free amount £650,000. I then read that If you give away your home to your children or grandchildren, your threshold can increase to £500,000. I believe this would mean that the total threshold (with my late Dad in mind) would be £1,000,000? Her house is worth just under a million and she has approximately £100k in a Vanguard stocks and shares ISA. My main question is, if she were to make a change in her will to “pass on her home”, would this be an inheritance tax saving to her children in the future, as there would be less of a total amount to pay tax on? I’m, also unsure if the home has to be passed on to an individual, or if stating “her children in equal splits” would suffice. In reality, we would probably sell her home when the time comes, so I don’t know if there are additional rules around how long you would have to keep it for etc. Any clarity on this subject would be much appreciated. PS: There’s nothing dodgy going on here and we’re not wishing her away! Many thanks! John 17:19 Question 4 Dear Pete and Roger, Thank you for an excellent podcast and your contribution to allowing people to self improve their finances. I am 33 and think I was already on the more competent end of the financial spectrum before I found your podcast. I.e. I had no ‘bad debt’, had an emergency fund, had cleared my full student loan and overpayed our mortgage to clear 60% in 6 years (just in time for the rate rise!). That said, I now definitely have a better understanding of the fundamentals of financial stability and have started to invest in the last year since listening to you. I listen to a few other podcasts more directly targeting doctors to see if anything specific applies to me / the NHS pension, but still enjoy yours the most. Anyway, my question (regardless of whether you want to include the above compliment or not) is … why is more weight not given to S&S LISA’s for later life (alongside a normal S&S ISA)? My understanding is the ‘negatives’ would be … (1) loss of invested money if withdrawn early by way of the reverse 25% deduction (2) fees being slightly higher That said, if not withdrawn early, when comparing £4000 / year in a normal S&S ISA, the 25% bonus is surely a significant bonus even with slightly higher fees? What am I missing? Best wishes, Ben 21:23 Question...