What changes when they arrive

Plan

This area is about intentions that only take effect later, and whether they are written down anywhere that counts.

Retirement, estates and beneficiary nominations share a characteristic: the consequences of not addressing them appear long after the moment they could have been addressed, and usually fall to someone else to deal with.

Worth separating

A will and a beneficiary nomination

These are separate instruments. A nomination on a policy or retirement fund commonly operates independently of what a will says.

Retirement capital and retirement income

An accumulated amount and the monthly income it can sustain are different figures, and the relationship between them depends on assumptions.

Estate costs

An estate typically carries administration costs and may carry duties, which reduce what ultimately passes on.

Questions people commonly want answered

• Does a current, valid will exist, and does anyone know where it is kept?
• Do beneficiary nominations still reflect what is intended?
• What monthly income is retirement expected to need, in today's money?
• What has been accumulated toward it, and under what assumptions?