The impact that a helping hand can have was clearly illustrated this week, when Lifetime financial planner Steve Baskind took one of his clients through a meeting via zoom.

Steve says: “The client is 53 and looking to retire in a couple of years. His wife also wants to retire in the not too distant future.

“We went through the cash flow modelling software that Lifetime uses, to see whether he could afford to retire when he was 55. It emerged that he could, which pleased him, but then we added a year onto his retirement date, so that he would be 56 when he finished work.

“It showed that by delaying his retirement by a year the client would have a further £4,000 a year at his disposal, for 20 years! He and his wife really love their holidays so that would mean they could enjoy the quality of retirement they both seek, and could continue to have lots of holidays.”

It has certainly given Steve’s client food for thought!