Many clients like to maintain a proportion of their wealth in cash. Sometimes this is just a short-term measure at retirement before they buy a property or make investments. Others prefer to hold a greater percentage of wealth in cash for longer periods of time, perhaps because they feel that the risk and volatility that comes with stock market investment is not for them.
With interest rates continuing to be low, getting good and informed advice about managing cash has never been so important.
How cash flow forecasting can help
Being able to forecast your cash flow, especially in retirement, gives you a clear picture of what your future income and capital needs are likely to be. Cash flow modeling can help you take the right decisions about timing your retirement, like calculating your likely income depending on whether you choose to retire early or late. Armed with this information, you’ll be better able to decide how to structure and manage your investments too. You’ll be able to see what the effects of inflation might be, and what income you’ll be able to take at different rates of investment return.
Cash flow forecasting is not a once-and-for-all exercise, it’s a living document that can and should be revisited from time to time to ensure that it reflects your changing situation. It can help you take a range of lifestyle planning decisions, for instance, whether it would be financially beneficial to downsize at retirement, or help you assess when and how much money you can afford to pass on to your family.
It can have a valuable role to play in tax planning, enabling you to put in place plans to reduce the inheritance tax that might otherwise be payable on your estate when you die. Mapping out your future cash flow also means you’re better able to plan for later life expenditure, like the cost of residential or nursing care.
