Do you Spring Clean your home?
Why not do the same with your finances?
Financial wellness is a concept many of us have heard of but somehow it gets shoved to the back of most people’s minds. In many cases, when people hear the term financial wellness, the mind often wanders to riches and wealth.
Being “financially well” is as important a part of your health as being physically healthy. True financial wellness isn’t about being wealthy — it’s about having control around your money.
Financial wellness is part of your overall health
If a doctor tells you that smoking is bad for your health, you believe them. Why is the same not true for financial advice backed up by stats and figures? Do yourself a favour and do a financial spring clean. Review this once a year to make the rest of the year easier and ideally put little steps in place for your future self.
Budgeting is one of the foundations of long‑term financial wellness, helping you avoid lifestyle creep and stay in control of your money. Track spending habits, break it down, and readjust where your money is going if you feel it’s not working for you. Money is like water, it needs to flow.
Expect the best but plan for the worst – have an emergency fund in place.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
Protection planning is a core pillar of financial wellness, ensuring that a single event doesn’t undo years of progress. Have the correct insurance and protection policies in place for all scenarios, make sure your family are ok if something happens to you. And please, insure your income. This is the most important asset in your life. Without this, nothing else can be paid for. If you would insure your phone, car, house etc., why not insure the salary that pays for all of these things?
Fix the leaks and shop around
Review and adapt as needed – track your income and expenditure, look for the gaps and the areas that are leaking money. Change habits if needed, review policies and premiums. Make sure you’re getting the best value for everything. Health, home, car insurance, mortgage rates – shop around. Reviewing where your money is going is essential for maintaining financial wellness, particularly as expenses and premiums change over time.
Debt isn’t the enemy — losing control is
Don’t be afraid of debt if you need it, but don’t let it control you. Review any loans or credit card debt, don’t fall into the trap of being stuck in a cycle of paying high interest rates unnecessarily. Managing debt responsibly is a key part of financial wellness, especially when high interest costs can quietly erode your finances.
Plan for a long life
Tax efficiency is one of the most powerful tools when planning for the future. Think of the lifestyle you want in retirement and be proactive about saving towards it. The reality is that nobody is going to provide for the majority of us in retirement, and relying on the state shouldn’t be option number one.
Long‑term planning is a cornerstone of financial wellness, particularly as people live longer and retirement spans decades rather than years. Indeed the life expectancy in Ireland in recent years has risen to 83 years, compared to 77 years old in the early 2000s. As part of any financial planning course students are now being asked to read “The 100 Year Life” by Lynda Grattan and Paul Scott.
Why relying on the State Pension may not be enough
Unfortunately the Government State Pension will probably not be around in it’s current format in years to come. It is unlikely the government will have the funds to keep paying pensioners the €15,563 per Anum indefinitely from 66 onwards.
Clients should consider how best to bridge the gap between their current working salary and their expenses into retirement sooner rather than later. Inflation will continue to run at around 2% per year and due to the time value of money this will erode our purchasing power over the long term.
Auto‑enrolment may not go far enough
The government have put in place measures to mitigate the risk of employees finding themselves without a pension by rolling out the government auto enrolment scheme from January 1st 2026. This has put an onus on employees, employers and the state to contribute towards their long term future. The rollout has been broadly welcomed but has been criticised for the small starting contribution levels and the absence of tax relief on premiums. While auto‑enrolment is a step in the right direction, it may not be enough on its own to support real financial wellness in retirement.
Many employers nowadays have more favourable schemes in place which offer greater employer contributions and the ability for employees to make individual contributions towards their long term needs. Ultimately these scheme are generally more favourable as clients can avail of tax relief on any monies they invest .
Making pensions work harder for you
As brokers a big part of our job is advising on these schemes for staff members or group schemes and making sure they are happy with the type of funds and the risk levels they are taking on with their investment .
Very common questions we are often asked are will my family inherit my pension in the event of my passing and what is the best number to aim for into retirement .
Nowadays pensions are mostly set up on a “Defined Contribution” basis meaning there is monies paid to the deceased’s estate in the event of their passing , we can assist as advisors in assisting with the optimum structure to ensure the monies make its way tax efficiently to the intended recipient.
Every client is different in terms of needs and expectations when it comes to a goal for the pension. A good starting point for conversations we find it to point out the most tax efficient amount is normally €800,000 which allows the client to access the maximum €200,000 tax free lump sum from the arrangement.
Ask the experts
You would go to the doctor for a medical issue. Go to a financial advisor to help build a plan. Utilise the expertise and make sure you’re getting the best advice possible. Don’t miss out on opportunities and be open minded to the idea that there are tips and tricks you don’t know.
A short conversation with one of our advisors can help improve your financial wellness, identify gaps, and put a clear plan in place for the future.
Book a meeting here: https://www.lhkgroup.ie/book-a-meeting/
