I had a fascinating chat with an advisor of mine earlier this week. He’s someone who’s been looking after my longer-term financial arrangements for a long time – his business has done so for considerably longer. Like solicitors, accountants, doctors, plumbers and electricians, we all place our trust as well as our wellbeing and cash in such people. For good reason too.

Usually, I speak to Stephen once every year for an annual review. After I left the bank that I started my working life in, it was me who needed consultation instead of being the one consulted. I went looking for a business I could have some faith in – one with an excellent track record. Over a quarter of a century later, I’m with the same company and my financial situation has developed, riding out the effects of war, pandemic and more. If Stephen’s nearby he’ll come to the house and we’ll chat over a coffee, chew over what’s been going on and what might change the financial world over the coming twelve months. If there’s something to be done, we’ll agree to do it. If not, we’ll agree to meet up again the following year or continue our conversation online.

This week we met via Zoom and amongst other things I learned that he’s a golfer who plays off a handicap of two. In turn, he learned a few things about me that he hadn’t known before. This week though, things were different. This week and for the first time ever, our conversation over planning in later life turned a corner, not because of any planned time for retirement because that’s always been in the plan. No – this time we started to talk about mortality – mine.

I have to say that as we did, a sense of purpose started to develop in me. I’ve always considered myself to be a prudent, pragmatic person and not prone to sudden, spur-of-the-moment decisions. If anything, I tend to sit and brood over something, weighing up the pros and cons – and often then putting things off to another day. Such it was that during our conversation Stephen mentioned – ever so discreetly – that I really ought to be changing the way in which my pension is set up in order to leave me less exposed to market fluctuations – fluctuations brought on by events going on in the United States in general and coming out of the Oval Office in particular. He then showed me some of the expert analysis and recommendations from his company. Apparently, the current view is to look towards European and UK stocks for where there are gains to be had. This in turn seems to indicate that the experts feel US stocks might have grown about as much as they’re reasonably likely to in the near future. Interesting. But then we started to talk about how long to leave things in place – at which point bells started to ring for me.

Time - and what to do with however much of it any of us are given. (Pic Jon Tyson)

placeholder image — Time - and what to do with however much of it any of us are given. (Pic Jon Tyson)

I’ve never really stopped to consider my likely lifespan. Threescore years and ten is a wonderful yardstick, but a little like thinking about taking out a pension in the first place, I’d never paid it much attention. This week that changed as I started to consider how long I might still have, barring accidents. It was a strange and compelling moment, compounded by the reality of the deaths of my mother a little over a year ago and my last surviving uncle a fortnight ago. Both had lived to beyond 85 – a good age. How long might I have? It’s a question that has no answer until it’s too late, but the prudency of at least considering it is inescapable. I don’t mean this in a morbid kind of way with a mental timer ticking away to zero. Instead, I mean it in an eyes-open, reasoned way. Death is an inevitability and nobody escapes it. So, what to do with the time I have – or, more particularly, the time I have left?

Stephen, ever the professional, was great at steering our discussion and particularly regarding my wishes about what should happen to my arrangements AFTER my time is up – something else I’d not considered in depth, but which I’m certainly now engaged in. I have had a will for a long time but since my mother’s death it needs to be updated and rewritten. It shouldn’t take long – once I’ve actually decided what I do want to do. I think it’ll be a pragmatic will, so don’t expect to hear of any wild disbursements or bequests.

Regardless of my precise financial arrangements, I suspect this week’s chat will have significant ramifications. A close friend of mine told me last year to do the things I want to do sooner rather than later, which of course makes good sense. But you have to actually do it. It doesn’t mean me going out and blowing everything on a Spacex seat to Mars – if anything it probably means me seeking a bit more advice first and from people I trust, including Stephen.

But before next year.