Michael & Jennifer Waddell

Michael and Jennifer are both retired. They have one daughter and two grandchildren. Before retiring, Michael ran a food factory and towards the end of her career, Jennifer worked in the catering industry.

Michael explains:

“I was very fortunate to have a Defined Benefit (DB) pension from a company that I’d worked at for 24 years. When I turned 60, I received a statement from the pension provider. I didn’t think too much about it but noted that it wasn’t going to give me a huge income when I came to retire at 66. I also noted that if I wanted to retire before then, the income would be significantly reduced.

Jennifer had already retired at this point due to ill health; unfortunately, she suffers with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The following year, I received another statement. As it happened, Digney Grant were the providers of the workplace pension scheme for the company where I worked at the time, and Seán was at my office that day.

I asked Seán if he would take a look at my statement and let me know his thoughts.”

How did we help?

“Seán gave us very good, clear advice. He explained that very few people benefit from transferring out of a DB pension, so we had to weigh up the pros and cons. Most importantly, we needed to ensure that our money would be used sensibly and would last until we’re 100.

We explained that we had plans to move home after we’d both retired and clear our small mortgage. We told him what we were hoping to do in retirement, which was to spend more time with our family, and have two or three holidays a year.

Seán examined all our finances, including the state benefits that we receive. From this, he put together a plan which left us very well placed.

Furthermore, the alternative pension could be fully inherited by my wife or daughter upon my death. Better still, I could afford to retire at 62.”

How did you benefit?

“The greatest benefit has been retiring earlier than I’d expected to. It’s not easy to work into your sixties and I was exhausted. I was working 12-hour days, Monday to Friday, and at that point, leaving my wife at home every day while she suffered from ill health.

We now have a very comfortable retirement. We moved into our new home in November 2019 and we’ve been making some home improvements. We’ve enjoyed a family holiday in Donegal and had a wonderful holiday in Morocco before lockdown. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve had to shield due to Jennifer’s condition, but I’m even happier that I’m at home with her and not dealing with the stress of running a factory!”