R for Retirement

The news that individuals look set to be paying off their mortgages right into their old age has got me thinking about some of the older clients I’ve managed to help over the years. The worry about debts can have a huge impact, especially on those who are older and more vulnerable...

One lady I helped was particularly concerned about her debts. I remember setting out to visit her – it was during a snowstorm and I had to wade through drifts to get to her house. Nina was in her early 60s, and approaching retirement age. She had a significant amount of debt – round about £60,000 – but she also had her own house and a relatively small mortgage.

Nina took the decision to downsize, and actually bought a flat close by. The sale of her house allowed her to clear the balance of her mortgage and most of the £60,000 of unsecured debt. She wasn’t in a DMP for a very long period of time – after about a year I managed to negotiate reduced settlements on her debts and so a year on she was, essentially, given a clean slate and became debt-free.

Another older gentleman I helped was a retired financial consultant based in West London. Nigel Jennings has been a client of mine for a couple of years. When I first went to visit him, what I was most concerned about was whether he would be more suitable for an IVA than a DMP.

He was really worried, and felt embarrassed about falling into debt after working as a financial consultant for so many years. Nigel was extremely proud of his wife, who had continued working and who had significant funds with a pension plan and savings set up. I set him up on a DMP and he is still very happy – in fact I am going to review him in a week or two.

Another retired chap I helped ran an import/export business. He was very trusting and mentioned to his clients that he was looking to wind down his business. So of course what did they do? Made large orders from him and then never paid up, which meant he came out of the business owing around £200,000. We put him on a DMP and he is so happy with the way things are going that he has even recommended his brother to me.