Listener Questions – Episode 59

Questions Asked

• Question 1
  Hi guys,

  Financial infrastructure and policy in the UK is built around to support (and likely encourage/enforce) the “standard” life of consistently working for 40 years and then stopping altogether. State and private pensions accessible around age 60, Lifetime ISAS, compounding growth of stocks etc.

  For various reasons, my wife and I (both 32) don’t want to do this. We are in the fortunate position where we can take months or years off at a time and plan to do this several times throughout our lives. We know this means our earning potential and growth will be lower and that we may not end up with as large a pension as we could have. But we may also end up having some sort of income until we’re much older.

  Question: what if anything can people do with today’s accounts/tax advantages/schemes to enable this type of lifestyle?

  Hypothetical question: what type of infrastructure could the government introduce to enable this? How about a “pension” you can take at any time up to some cap per year and only for X years in a row? Given fewer jobs now require physical use of our bodies (and hence 60 may no longer be a necessary stopping point), could we see more people “working” off and on until 70 or 80?

  Tom

• Question 2
  Hi Pete and Roger

  First of all, thank you for the valuable conversations you bring to listeners.

  I’m a 32-year-old with a strong interest in personal finance and investing, and I would describe myself as financially literate and proactive in managing my own money.

  I currently feel I’ve been underestimating my potential and would like to pivot into financial services. I’m considering self-funding qualifications such as the LP2 (Financial Services – General Route) as a starting point, followed by the RQF Level 4 Diploma in Financial Planning.

  Do you think starting this pathway at 32 is realistic, or have I left it too late to successfully transition into the industry?

  Thanks,

  Darren. G

• Question 3
  Hello Pete and Roger,

  Firstly, I very much enjoy listening to your podcast whilst doing my weekly walks. I currently live in Australia and will be returning to the UK in 6 months to live near my family and will be turning 55 at the same time.

  My question is:

  I have a Defined Contribution pension, valued at 70K with a GAR. I am legally required to get IFA before I can drawdown, UFPLS, lump sum etc. There appears to be an exception to this mandatory requirement if I take an annuity. Is this correct? If it is, would this also apply to a fixed term annuity?

  Secondly, what options do I have to access my pension if no financial advisor is keen to take me on as a client and sign the ‘advice taken' form that is required by my pension provider. My provider (Royal London) has said that the advice doesn't have to be positive or negative to what I want to do, I just have to show that I at least went through the procedure.

  Thanks for your help.

  Regards

  Brett

• Question 4
  Dear Pete and Rog,

  Thank you so much for the wealth of wisdom you share with us all – it has helped my family towards a more secure and planned future.  I'm not an expert but as the future recipient of a few small DB pensions I have a question.

  You often infer Defined Benefit pensions are “solid gold”, implying they should be preserved at all costs. I want to challenge your strong preference to avoid taking the 25% tax free cash (Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS)).

  Isn't it “dangerous” to not clarify the commutation rate more explicitly?  On one hand, with a poor commutation rate isn't the member effectively “selling” inflation-linked, guaranteed income far too cheaply?

  On the other, with an attractive commutation, by taking the 25% tax-free cash “off the table,” a member can:

  1. Eliminate mortality risk: If they die early, that cash stays with the family; the DB income disappears.
  2. Manage Tax Drag: Using the PCLS to bridge to state pension age can keep a retiree in the basic rate band rather than being pushed into higher rates by a full DB payout.
  3. Seek Outperformance: While DB is index-linked, a well-allocated ISA can historically outperform inflation over the long term.

  Why do you treat the PCLS as a “loss” of income rather than a strategic “de-risking” of the pension asset?

  Thanks for clarifying – because I think I must be missing something.

  Gareth

• Question 5

  Hi Pete and Roger,

  I started listening to the podcast when I began Couch to 5K, and it’s been really helpful. It also makes me feel quite virtuous, like I’m improving both my health and finances at the same time!

  I’d value your thoughts on managing money for a child who is approaching financial independence.

  I’m the trustee for my 16-year-old daughter, who inherited directly from a relative. She has £140k in total, with 42% in cash savings, 46% in investments (mainly low cost global tracker) and 12% in a junior SIPP (also in global trackers). I'm moving as much as possible into ISA wrappers annually. I don’t currently plan to add further to the SIPP.

  She is aware that there is a “good amount” of money saved for her but not actual figures yet and it is referred to as money for a house deposit. I plan to start involving her more directly in managing it from age 17, although we already talk regularly about money and financial habits.

  She's academic and likely to go to university although also considering degree apprenticeships. She wants a high paying career but has no idea what career yet!

  A few things I’d really value your perspective on:

  How should I think about asset allocation? I'm not risk averse and feel like there's too much in cash but mindful that she will be in control in 2 years and may want to use some of the money in the short term, e.g. for university, car, travelling etc.

  Would you lean towards encouraging her to fund university costs rather than taking out a student loan if she goes, given that under the new plan around 80% are expected to repay their loans in full? At least there would be less available to fritter away or spend on a red Lamborghini!

  Or keep it invested and position it more clearly as a future house deposit?

  And finally I have an 11-year-old in the same position. Given the longer time horizon, would you do anything different now in terms of structure, investment approach, or how and when to involve them?

  Thanks so much — I’d really appreciate your thoughts.

  Beth

• Question 6

  Hi both, hope you're well. I am 28 , working full time in the NHS. My partner and I bought our first home just before Christmas.

  I have an emergency fund in an easy access account as well as putting 10% of my salary into a S&S ISA each month which I plan to use to bridge the gap between retirement and access to my NHS Pension. I also recently moved into the 40% tax bracket and so opened a SIPP which I put another 5% of my salary into each month. Any other savings go into high yield interest accounts/ISAs.
  I just wanted to ask, is there anything else I should be doing with my money or is it simply a case of keep at it now?

  Thanks a lot, Joe

Send Us Your Listener Question

We’re going to spin out the listener questions into a separate Q&A show which we’ll drop into the feed every 2-3 weeks or so. These will be in addition to the main feed, most likely, but they’re easier for us to produce because they require less writing! Send your questions to hello@meaningfulmoney.tv Subject line: Podcast Question

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Listener Questions – Episode 58

Questions Asked

• Question 1
  Hi team

  Been listening for ages and having a psychological meltdown over this.

  I have approx £20k in my S&S ISA and £20k left on my mortgage.  How can I justify the decision to pull the trigger and pay it off?  Note that I also have £30k approx in a cash ISA and £5k float easy access.  I also overpay the mortgage about £800-£1k per month but that's eased off the last few months, with the money diverted to an early year getaway.

  I'm aware there isn't a perfect result or conclusion but I'm struggling to get past how to make the decision.

  In context, I do have a big holiday coming up later in the year (£5k-9k expected spend), but I'm itching to pay this off and get regular investing.

  It might be that writing this email I'm working it out for myself but I'd be keen to hear your thoughts (not advice!) on how I can think about the situation or other angles maybe I'm not thinking about.

  Michael

• Question 2
  Hi Pete, Roger & Nick,

  Many thanks for your podcasts. Listening to you has been a part of my weekly habits for several years and I feel that you have been a “gateway” which has helped me to get a better grip on my future. Thanks a lot!

  My question is how much to put aside for care fees when compared with potential IHT liability. Specifically whether to advise my mum to gift her future surplus income instead of investing in her ISA?

  Mum is 88, and in reasonably good health. She has £330k in a S&S ISA, £50k premium bonds and owns her property worth £600k.

  Mum’s monthly spending is £500, her monthly income (from pensions) is £2k. Leaving mum with surplus income of £1.5k per month. Mum already makes gifts of £100 per month to her two grandchildren from her surplus income and uses her annual gift exemption of £3k per annum.

  I have LPA (F&A & H&W) for mum. It is important to me that I treat mum and her finances with respect and stay focussed on mums needs (rather than that of me and my immediate family). As such I have been transferring mums surplus income into her S&S ISA each quarter, so that Mum has enough money to do whatever she wants to do.

  I am wondering what is the point in continuing to put more money into mums ISA when she has more money than she needs already.

  Mum is widowed; has no desire to travel abroad; make any changes to the house; buy a new car or similar. Mums immediate financial needs are met via her pension income. Therefore aside from potential care home fees I wonder what is the point in continuing to boost Mums investments via the ISA.

  Assuming care home (nursing home) fees of £2k per week equates to £104k per annum. It seems to me that Mum has over 3 years of fees covered before she would need to sell her house.

  I am an only child and executor for mums will. Currently mum has left her estate to me in her will. Mum says she “doesn’t want her hard earned money going to the tax man”. My concern is that if Mum’s S&S ISA continues to grow then her estate will be subject to IHT when she dies, unless of course the money is eaten up with care fees. With this in mind I wonder whether to advise mum that her future surplus income should be gifted rather than invested.

  What are your thoughts?

  Many thanks for your excellent work!
  Kind regards, The Rusholme Ruffian

• Question 3
  Hello Pete and Roger (no d!)
  Great podcast! I hope all the good karma you give out comes back to you!
  Quick and short question: I am aware some physical gold holdings are subject to CGT but some, such as gold sovereigns and Royal mint bullion are exempt. So are there CGT exempt gold holdings that one can buy and keep in a GIA to sell later CGT free?
  Many thanks and keep going!
  Adam

• Question 4
  Hi Pete, Hi Rog

  My son put me onto your podcast some time ago and I've been working through the back catalogue from 2019 and am currently up to 2023. I have also bought the Retirement Guide book and plan to join the Academy later this year.  Like everyone else, I wish I'd found this years ago!  But hey ho, we are where we are.

  I'm 57 and plan to retire next year.  My wife gave up work to look after our children and so apart from state pension all our pension funds are those I've been able to accumulate through my various jobs.  I have 4 pensions – 1 DB and 3 DC.  One of the DCs is in drawdown as I had to withdraw the tax free element a couple of years ago for reasons I won't go into (but I was careful not to trigger the MPAA). 

  I now work in Financial Services and you won't believe the Compliance hoops I would have to get through to change out of the default pension funds and likewise consolidation of the DC pensions – that will have to wait until I actually retire.

  Having listened to so many episodes, I have loads of questions but the ones spinning through my head the most are:-

  1. Can I consolidate a DC in drawdown with my virgin, untouched DCs and does it matter if I wait until I retire to do so? If yes, how would that be presented to me by the provider.

  2. With investments all in one person’s name, is there anyway that imbalance can be addressed? For example, what options are there to make use of tax allowances which my wife may have to minimise tax. Is it possible to transfer some of my pension to my wife? – I suspect not. Do we need separate cash pots (in case of death of one of us)?

  3. In the Home Straight season and in the book you list a number of questions to ask DC providers. Are there any questions I should be asking my DB provider? even if they are just the practicalities.

  Thanks again for the podcasts and guidance.  Say Hello to Cornwall for me – I'm sure we'll be visiting Fowey more often when do retire.  (Don't suppose you or Roger can recommend a book on the history of Cornwall?)

  Mark

• Question 5

  Hi Pete and Roger,

  I’m in my early 50s and only now feel like I’m reaching a stage where I have some financial breathing space, but it has also triggered panic that I may be behind and need to make the most of the next 8–10 years.

  For context, I was a single mother for 24 years. During much of that time I worked part-time on a relatively low salary while contributing to the LGPS. My children have now left home and over the last eight years I returned to full-time work and progressed professionally. I’m now earning just above the higher-rate tax threshold at £62,000.

  Over the last eight years I have aggressively focused on becoming debt free and paid my mortgage off last year. I currently:

  – contribute 8.5% into LGPS (part final salary part CARE)
  – Just opened an AVC £550 per month cost to me
  – Just opened a stocks and shares investment platform where I can comfortably afford upto £250 per month
  – save £600 per month into a cash ISA for flexibility/emergency funds
  – currently hold around £20k in cash isa savings

  I would ideally like the option to retire around 60, perhaps gradually rather than stopping work completely overnight.

  My question is:

  Given my relatively late start to focused financial planning (and lack of understanding) am I broadly approaching this in the right way, and what else should someone in my position be considering over the next decade to build a secure but flexible retirement?

  I’d also be interested in your thoughts on balancing AVCs versus ISAs at this stage of life, and whether people like me should focus more on flexibility or maximum pension accumulation.

  Thank you, Ive just found your podcast and will be listening help reduce some of the fear around pensions and investments I have.

  Regards, Lotty

• Question 6

  Hi Pete and Roger

  I’m loving the podcast and it has really helped focus my mind and be more intentional about my finances, having not really saved or invested for the first 40 years of my life.

  I am a relatively low earner with a salary of £30,000, which means I can only afford to conmit around £200 a month for savings and investments, but I do save anything left over at the end of the month too. I could look for a higher paid role, but my current job gives me a lot of flexibility including mostly home working and because I have worked in local government for 20 years I get very good sickness and redundancy benefits, as well as a defined benefit pension which I have been paying into from the start of my employment. This will guarantee me my final salary on retirement, although that assumes I work until 68, which is longer than I want to ideally. [ALARM!}

  I have built up an emergency fund of 1 month salary and will try and get that to 2 months, but with my sickness and redundancy benefits I don’t feel I necessarily need the 3-6 months which is recommended by many. I also have a stocks and shares ISA which I am hoping to build up and not spend until retirement, with the plan of using it to bridge the gap before I draw on my pension.

  I am now considering making additional contributions to my pension and have two options available to me. One is to make Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) via the Prudential and the other is Additional Pension Contributions (APCs) through the scheme itself. With AVCs my employer will pay in with me, but they don’t with APCs.

  With my employer paying in with me that makes me wonder if AVCs may be a better option. Alternatively, as I don’t have much money to put in I may keep my pension contributions as they are and focus on my stocks and shares ISA.

  I know you can’t tell me which route to take, but I am interested in your thoughts and perhaps there are some questions I should be putting to my pension provider to give me more clarity.

  Apologies for the length of the question.
  Many thanks, Andrew

Send Us Your Listener Question

We’re going to spin out the listener questions into a separate Q&A show which we’ll drop into the feed every 2-3 weeks or so. These will be in addition to the main feed, most likely, but they’re easier for us to produce because they require less writing! Send your questions to hello@meaningfulmoney.tv Subject line: Podcast Question

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Listener Questions – Episode 55

Questions Asked

• Question 1
  Thanks Roger and Pete for the wealth of information you share and all the time you put in to share on finance and pensions. I have listened to a lot of your podcasts on my treks to and from work and finally took the plunge to retire early at 52 to enjoy life and get away from the desk for 8-9 hours a day.

  I had a DB pension which allowed me to take early whilst my wife has various pensions from previous jobs but all have the rule to take from 57 onwards.

  So my question is to help 4-5 years down the line. Could I put £300 a month (or the equivalent of 300 minus government contribution) into my wife's pension to continue to take account of government contributions and take the opportunity of her being on below the £12k tax threshold after giving up work?

  Is this possible or would this be classed as pension recycling as the government would presume the cash invested is from the lump sum I got from my defined benefit pension or is there a way to prove the money is from pay before I retired?

  Many thanks for your advice and support giving many people greater confidence with pensions and finances.

  Wayne

• Question 2
  Hello Pete & Roger,

  Thanks for all the great content and information – you are both much better than any AI chatbots!

  Apologies for the long back story but here goes:

  My name is Michael, 33 and I live in central Scotland.

  I have worked in a tech startup for the last 6 years but felt like a change around 18 months ago so I began sitting my CII exams. To date I have passed RO1 – RO5 and also recently passed CF6. I am sitting RO6 in April this year – wish me luck!

  I have recently secured an opportunity to work self employed for a specialist mortgage firm and start in early May as a trainee mortgage advisor. I have been offered a set monthly payment for 6 months then a 70/30 split after that. I would hope to have achieved CAS within that 6 month period.

  If I pass RO6 in April, I will have my diploma. My goal is to work as a financial planner but since I’ve done self study, I don’t have any real experience of the financial services industry. I am very ambitious but also trying to be realistic about how to sensibly map out a route to being a successful financial planner relatively quickly.

  To throw a spanner in the works, a family friend who is a 62 year old IFA with £30m aum is interested in discussing me joining him and eventually taking over the business. It sounds exciting but also a little scary to me. He is only a one man band.

  For now I’ve accepted the mortgage trainee position but not sure if I am doing the right thing. The owner of the mortgage company now lives in Dubai and is looking to also remove himself from his business – he has 8 admin staff who WFH from across Scotland and he is the main adviser, specialising in BTL, bridging and commercial finance. They are only authorised for mortgages by the FCA.

  After that dissertation, my questions are:

  1. From your experience and perspective, are mortgages a decent place to start or can you end up getting stuck there?

  2. Since I have no real industry experience, only exams – is my head in the clouds thinking I could be a full fledged financial planner within 2 years?

  3. If I started with the mortgage firm and got CAS as a self employed mortgage advisor, could I then also be an appointed representative for a different financial planning firm at the same time or is that not actually feasible in the real world?

  Once again, sorry for the huge essay but I guess context is needed.

  Once again thanks for all that you do, not much good content out there around these topics so keep up the good work!

  Regards, Michael

• Question 3
  Hi Pete & Roger,

  Firstly a very big thank you for all that you do for this community. I am learning lots from you guys and feel more confident with my finances.
  I'm 46 years old and currently have two pensions. My first pension is in a defined benefit plan from my steelwork apprenticeship days whereby I only paid into it for approx 6 years before moving jobs. I was able to track this down late last year and was pleasantly surprised to see that this had gone from an annual amount of £2650 in July 2007 to £4400 as of October 2025. I have been told to leave this as it is as it will grow over time with inflation. My other pension is a defined contribution plan with Royal London (RL). I am a higher rate tax payer and currently pay 10% of my £58,000 annual salary into this fund and my employer pays 5%.

  I would like to finish at 58 given I had a serious neck injury at 41 and don't know how long my body is going to work for me)! This pot is currently worth £105,000 and I am deliberating whether to increase my contributions in order to achieve my retirement age goal. I also have a stocks and shares ISA which is currently worth £36,000. I pay £250 a month into this but don't know if it would be more tax efficient to put this £250 into my pension instead? However, I am also mindful that the pension age may increase so by having a pot of money invested in the stocks and shares ISA I can draw this down when I like and also not bear any tax implications.

  Having looked into the fees which RL charge (0.71% for our employers scheme) I believe I would be able to achieve my goal quicker were I to move this into a SIPP and invest in a global ETF. I have discussed this with my employer and have asked if they would consider offering an alternative SIPP option. I feel I am meeting some resistance with this and don't believe a decision will be made anytime soon. In the interim, my compounding is being eaten away by the fees which I am currently being charged and my goal is moving further away from me. I found a pension fee calculator online and at the current rate I am investing I stand to lose approx £50,000 if I keep this with RL.

  I am aware that I can partially transfer my RL pension. However, to keep the employer contribution I would need to keep the RL pension open with a minimum amount of funds and then transfer the employer contribution across to my SIPP.
  What is the best way to go about this to make it the most fee/tax efficient?
  Should I transfer the employer contribution as soon as it is paid to RL, or would it be no different to do it on an annual basis?
  I am assuming the longer I have money in the SIPP the more growth it will obtain therefore the former would be the sensible default. Am I approaching this correctly? Is there something else which I could consider?

  Thank you kindly, Paul

• Question 4
  Hi Pete and Rog – great show and love the books (but not finished them yet).

  Thanks for demystifying the complex world of personal finance and financial planning.

  I’m in the fortunate position where my projected salary and bonus will increase again for tax year 2026/27 and will take me well over the £125k tax threshold before adjustments.

  My ‘problem’ so to speak is that even after using my current year maximum pension allowance and previous years unused maximum pension allowance I can only get my adjusted income to be around £115k. Tough life I know!

  I can either make a large Gift Aid donation to get below £100k or use less of my unused maximum pension allowance to keep above £125k.

  Am I missing any other income adjustment options?

  What is the actual impact of not being able to hit the £100k adjusted income, and being in the £125k additional tax bracket, from a tax payment perspective in real money terms?

  I have some small cash savings and stocks outside of ISAs as we put most of these in my wife’s name as she is a basic rate tax payer.

  We don’t need the childcare tax scheme and not aware of any other reason to keep under £100k except to save tax and avoid the 60% effective tax rate between £100k and £125k.

  Don’t want to let the tax tail wag the dog, and happy to give to charity, but in real terms is there actually much difference in the tax payment amount in pounds and pence (as long as I kept out of the £100k – £125k range)?

  Many thanks, Simon

• Question 5

  Hi, Fairly new listener to the podcasts, been binge watching them recently, ended up here via the meaningful money YouTube channel.

  Both are thoroughly enjoyable to watch and are teaching me a lot about the financial world – along with 2 other YouTube channels I like Damien talks money and James shack.

  Anyway my question if you have time and it's selected would be about retiring abroad.

  My current situation – male, 42, living north east England, working full time for NHS and will have 2 NHS db scheme pensions in retirement (1 in 2008 scheme at 65 and 1 in 2015 care scheme at state pension age).  I have 2 stocks and shares ISAs, with about £95000 between them, 1 stocks and shares Lisa with about £4500 in it (for retirement not house purchase), about £21000 in premium bonds which I use as an emergency fund. Our house is paid off so no mortgage payments so at the minute can add to these savings at £500+ a month comfortable.

  My wife is 34 and here on spouse visa and hopefully will be eligible for indefinite leave to remain and citizenship soon (it will save us a lot in visa fees and stuff when it happens).  She currently works a part time job 16hr per week at minimum wage to fit around child care for our 2year old son.

  1st question is would this part time work count as a qualifying year for the state pension as it's below the personal tax allowance?

  We have a rough plan of retiring early hopefully once our son is grown up and finished with schooling and university and moving back to my wife's home country in Asia for the better weather and lower cost of living.  As a rough plan we think when I'm 60 and wife 52 but could move later depending on family commitments.

  Now if I stay in NHS all that time I should have 10 years in the 2008 NHS scheme and 24 years in 2015 scheme and with conservative planning on spreadsheets will get £8000 per year from 2008 scheme and £14000 from the 2015 scheme taking at the normal pension age for these schemes.  My wife will benefit from a spouse's pension for length if I die 1st of roughly 1/3 of these figures.  I have the option of exchanging some of this pension for tax free lump sum up to 25% and the calculation is for every £1 I reduce the pension by I get £12 lump sum.

  Question 2 – everyone at work always talks about you got to take the maximum lump sum to avoid paying tax, but I'm not so sure as the pensions linked to inflation over the long run there could end up being a big gap between your pension with and without the lump sum.  What's your thoughts on this, if I didn't need a large amount  of cash for a specific thing surely it's better to go for the larger pension even if you end up paying for tax or am I wrong .

  When we move I will have a full NI record for the state pension but my wife won't and depending on your answer to the 1st question might have 20 years contribution say.

  Question 3 – if we move abroad before she has a full record can we make voluntary payments for extra year's while resident in another country? I see you can pay about £900 for a year in this country but I'm not so sure if where already living abroad.

  Assuming my savings continue to grow and the stock market doesn't complete collapse, I will use these savings to bridge the gap from 60 to 65 and then the state pension age.  And fund the move with the sale of our house which will also give us a cash buffer hopefully too.

  Question 4 – when moving abroad can I keep my stocks and shares ISA – I know you can't contribute more to it, but keeping it open to grow, receive dividends, withdraw money, the government website says you can but a lot of the provider websites are vague and some say they don't allow it.  Is it a case when the time comes I'll have to transfer my isas to 1 of the more expensive providers say who are more likely to allow this?

  Now I already know that the country I'm moving to doesn't have a reciprocal agreement so our state pension will be frozen at the level that we claim it and have based all our plans and number crunching on this.

  And that the country I move to may charge tax on money I draw out of my ISA when I transfer it over, and on my pension (although with the double taxation treaty hopefully not) and will seek advice of accountants over there nearer the time as currently there is some work arounds involving spouses but these may not be there in 20 years time.

  My last question –  would be about if I die 1st probably more likely me being older and male, is more for my wife inheriting my UK based assets – the bank accounts and isas, NHS pension.  The NHS pension should be easy she's already my nominee on record and will go through with her the forms and website for claiming it.  But the isas and bank accounts are the main worry – will it be easy for her to transfer them over to her (I'm assuming the joint accounts will be pretty much automatic) but will the single accounts be easy? Can she keep the money in the ISA still in an ISA but in her name? Would having her own ISA make this transfer easier? And most importantly is this something you think can be done online/over the phone from abroad or will it involve a trip back to the UK and back and forward to branches assuming they haven't all been shut.
  Thank you for taking the time to read this email, sorry it's so long, and no worries if it doesn't get chosen for the podcast.
  Keep up the good work
  Kind regards, Mark

• Question 6

  Change to ISA rules from April 2027. Audio question from Holly.

Send Us Your Listener Question

We’re going to spin out the listener questions into a separate Q&A show which we’ll drop into the feed every 2-3 weeks or so. These will be in addition to the main feed, most likely, but they’re easier for us to produce because they require less writing! Send your questions to hello@meaningfulmoney.tv Subject line: Podcast Question

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* This article was originally published here

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The Internet Bubble And AI - Forbes

... make money" mentality. The author also highlights public skepticism towards AI, contrasting it with the internet's widespread acceptance. To avoid ...

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Listener Questions – Episode 54

Questions Asked

• Question 1
  Hi Pete & Roger,

  I’m a chartered management accountant so maybe I should know this but clearly not. I’m wondering is there a financial disadvantage of just taking the longest mortgage deal you can (i.e. 40yrs for example) & then each time it’s up for renewal don’t worry too much about reducing the term.

  As long as the mortgage interest rate is lower than the average long term return you’d expect on the stock market (say min 6%), is it not just best to pay lower monthly mortgage payments each month and keep the spare money invested? On a pound vs pound basis aren’t you better off?

  I understand the stock market can go up and down but over the long term I’m struggling to see what the disadvantage is of this strategy, apart from the apparent freedom of being mortgage free.

  Thanks

  Jamie

• Question 2
  Hi, Why are these things not widely known or discussed?

  Flexible ISA's.

  SIPP contributions when retired. £2880+ Rebate.

  Junior SIPP when worried about Junior ISA end date.
  I have heard that Parents/Family/Grand parents don't want to pay in to an ISA when you don't know how the child will react to suddenly having control of this ISA money at 18. A SIPP may be a better option.

  Also one to watch, if you are retired and contributing to charities and tick “Gift Aid” then HMRC may back charge you if you are not paying tax.

  Emergency fund in Money Market Fund.

  Regards, Gary

• Question 3
  Dear Butch and Sundance

  Long time listener, first time caller. Thanks for all you do, filling in the gaps in our financial education that should (but doesn’t) start in school.

  I’m 56 and looking at my later career options, something that contributes back and can supplement my (early) retirement income. I enjoyed the episodes you did on becoming a financial planner and if I were younger I may well have gone down that route. Instead I would like to help educate people on basic financial good practice. I’m particularly thinking about schools and young people. What options exist in this space, and if they don’t exist and I want to create them, what sort of financial qualification would give me a good grounding so that I am not just an enthusiastic amateur.

  I’m writing this in February, so if it makes it on to the podcast Merry Christmas everyone!
  Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s working.
  Nick

• Question 4

  Hello guys

  I have been an avid listener for many years, really enjoy the content.

  I finally have a question of my own. I am about to sell a property which I own outright and would like some advice on where to invest the money going forward, ie bonds, etf's, pensions, ive even considered premium bonds… I would rather spread the money into different pots rather than one product. I understand a pension would be the most tax efficient and I plan to put a small portion into my sipp and max out my s&s Isa however I'd rather be invested in something more flexible I don't intend to utilise the money anytime soon so I want to maximise its potential. I already have been investing in index funds for many years and built up a nice portfolio through s&s isa's.

  Any advice would be great appreciated

  Thanks, Paul

• Question 5

  Hello Peter and Roger!

  Thank you for the excellent videos. I listen to them on my daily walks and while cooking, and I always come away having learned something new—so thank you for all the insight you share!
  I have a question about planning my finances using the Die With Zero approach, especially as I have no children or spouse. I’m 52 this year and hope to hand in my notice in October 2026. I’ve always been a saver (largely out of insecurity!), so I’d really appreciate your thoughts on whether I have “enough,” and—if so—how I can become a more confident spender in the next stage of my life.

  Here’s a brief summary of my situation:
  I have around £300k across my ISA, general investment account, Premium bonds and cash savings.
  The allocation is roughly 20% equities / 60% UK gilts / 20% cash. This pot is intended to bridge the gap until my DB pension starts at 60.
  My DB pension is currently valued at about £18k per year (today’s terms) and is inflation‑linked.
  I also have a SIPP worth around £500k, invested 85% in equities and 15% in money market funds.
  I have no debts. A small investment property brings in about £1000 a month.
  My spending target in retirement is about £2,500 per month after tax.
  ChatGPT has told me that I likely have enough to retire, but I still worry about worst‑case scenarios—war, high inflation, very low future returns for the next 20-30 years (e.g., below 3%), or needing long‑term care since I don’t have family support. I value your thoughts before I finally hand in my notice lol.

  Thanks again for all the work you do. Abi

• Question 6

  Hi Pete and Roger,

  I’m a long time and regular listener and can even remember the time BR (Before Roger) although the modern era partnership has been some of the most entertaining content on the channel.

  THE CONTEXT

  I’m 41, married with kids (all out of nursery so no childcare free hours), we have a house with a mortgage. I’m employed full time, putting 19% of salary into my DC pension. I maxed my employer contribution of 8% (with 6% from me) back in 2019 and have steadily increased my contribution each year up to the current 11% (19% total). Currently the pot is worth ~£140k with monthly contributions of ~ £1,550.

  I’m in the very fortunate position that my salary growth has outpaced inflation and I am now teetering on the edge of the £100k mark. We also receive a variable annual bonus which is targeted at 10%.

  Pre Covid, we started a stocks and shares ISA, contributing £300/mo but when my wife was furloughed and subsequently made redundant, we had to stop those contributions. Still, that ISA pot has grown to ~£17k.

  I’d like to build up the ISA to give us flexibility on draw down in retirement but struggling to find the spare cash. Also mindful of creeping over the £100k threshold and reducing my tax free allowance so considering options like sacrificing part of my bonus this year into pension.

  THE QUESTION

  So the question, is it worth continuing to increase my pension contribution to 20% and beyond at this stage or start to focus more on building up ISA contributions.

  Congrats on the success of the Meaningful Money podcast, it is always top of my weekly listening queue and continues to educate and inspire me.

  Best wishes, Ben

Send Us Your Listener Question

We’re going to spin out the listener questions into a separate Q&A show which we’ll drop into the feed every 2-3 weeks or so. These will be in addition to the main feed, most likely, but they’re easier for us to produce because they require less writing! Send your questions to hello@meaningfulmoney.tv Subject line: Podcast Question

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The post Listener Questions – Episode 54 appeared first on Meaningful Money – Making sense of Money with Pete Matthew | Financial FAQ.

* This article was originally published here

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