For our final BID businesses networking event of the year, HJP Chartered Financial Planners very kindly sponsored the event and gave a very enlightening talk on how we can make sure both our personal and business finances are in the best shape as we go into 2026.
Here are 12 Financial Planning tips that you may not have considered, and that can be easily actioned to make a difference to both your business and personal finances.
Tip One: A Financial Spring Clean
Have a detailed look through both your personal and business bank statements to make sure you’re not paying for old subscriptions or services you forgot to cancel.
Tip Two: Is Your Will up to date?
It’s important to regularly review your Will as circumstances change, to ensure it still reflects your wishes. For example, if you have minor children, have you appointed Guardians? Has your Will been reviewed to take account of recent budget or legislative changes?
Tip Three: Consider Your Lasting Powers of Attorney
If you run a business, do you have a succession plan in place should something happen to you? Who would run the company if you were unable to do so yourself? A business sale could fall through if no one is appointed to sign on behalf of a seller who has become incapacitated.
Tip Four: Expressions of Wishes Check
Whether your workplace pension has an Expression of Wish form registered. Without this in place, your loved ones could end up paying income tax on your entire pension fund in a single tax year.
Tip Five: Review Your Insurance Policies
Are your insurance policies written in trust? If not, HMRC could take up to 40% of the value payout as inheritance tax.
Tip Six: How Are You Paying for Your Life Insurance?
If you run a business and pay for life insurance personally, those premiums come out of your post-tax income. Instead, consider having your company pay for the policy. This can save you up to 48%* of the premium and is tax deductible for the company. This is known as a Relevant Life Policy. (*If the employee is a higher rate taxpayer, Basic rate taxpayer figure could be up to 40%).
Tip Seven: Key Person Insurance
What would the impact on your business be if a co-owner or key employee dies or suffers a serious illness? If there is anyone whose expertise, knowledge, or client relationships could not easily be replaced, this type of cover can help safeguard your business.
Tip Eight: Considerations for Joint Business Owners
Do you have insurance in place to protect the ongoing future of the business? Who would you end up in business with if one of your partners passed away? Setting up Shareholder Protection Insurance can safeguard both the business and the surviving owners.
Tip Nine: Consider Income Protection
We insure our homes, our cars, but not always ourselves. Your future income is quite possibly your most valuable asset. It will protect your family and your financial stability if you cannot work, especially if you’re a business owner. Protecting it ensures financial stability for you and your family.
Tip Ten: Is Your Cash Working as Hard as it can for You?
Review your current interest rates on bank deposits, often earning little to no interest. Review your cash management strategy to ensure maximum returns.
Tip Eleven: Tax-Efficient Giving & Profit Extraction
Review charitable contributions and the most tax-efficient ways to extract profits from your business. The value and income of capital gains tax on the contributions, and your company receives corporation tax relief on them.
Tip Twelve: Staff Well-Being
Giving financial education and advice can help improve peace of mind among employees. We regularly run finance workshops for everyone from local primary school children to the staff of our corporate clients.
This talk certainly gave all the business owners in attendance food for thought. If this has done the same to you then do get in touch with HJP Chartered Financial Planners who can help you put the above into practice.
Call 01306 742200 Email: hjpcfp@sjpp.co.uk Website: hjpcfp.com
Thank you also to Kuoni who kindly hosted us in their amazing offices in Dorking.
The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested. Investing does not provide the security of capital associated with a deposit account with a bank or building society.
The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.
Will writing and Powers of Attorney involve the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place and are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Please feel free to get in touch to book a no obligation meeting to discuss your financial planning needs.
HJP Chartered Financial Planners is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The ‘St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Senior Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.
HJP Chartered Financial Planners is a trading name of HJP Wealth Management Ltd. HJP Wealth Management Ltd is registered in England and Wales, Number 10490173. Registered Office: 176 South Street, Dorking, RH4 2ES.
SJP approved 01/12/2025
