The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast Titelbild

The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast

The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast

Von: Pete Matthew
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 Pete Matthew discusses and explains all aspects of your personal finances in simple, everyday language. Personal finance, investing, insurance, pensions and getting financial advice can all seem daunting, but with the right knowledge and easy-to-follow action steps, Pete will help you to get your money matters in order. Each show is in two segments: Firstly, everything you need to KNOW, and secondly, everything you need to DO to move forward on the subject of that episode. This podcast will appeal to listeners of MoneyBox Live, Wake Up To Money, Listen to Lucy, Which? Money and The Property Podcast. To leave feedback or ask a question, go to http://meaningfulmoney.tv/askpete Archived episodes can be found at http://meaningfulmoney.tv/mmpodcastMeaningfulMoney Ltd Persönliche Finanzen Ökonomie
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  • Listener Questions Episode 29 - Retire Soon

    Listener Questions Episode 29 - Retire Soon
    Oct 15 2025
    In today’s Q&A episode, we’re answering a bunch of questions from those on the threshold of retirement, getting into the nitty-gritty of age-difference planning, DB scheme reductions and all sorts! Shownotes: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/QA29 01:04 Question 1 Hi Pete I am really enjoying listening to the podcast, thank you. They make what can sometimes be a complicated subject much easier to understand. I have a question which I have asked my SIPP provider but even they don't appear to know the answer so here goes: If someone has a SIPP valued at say £1.2m and a DB pension valued at say £300k, in order to maximise the favourable annuity provided by the DB pension, is it possible to draw the full LSA (25% tax free cash) from the SIPP? Or is there a requirement to draw the LSA on a pro rata basis from both the SIPP and the DB pension? Thank you, AJ 07:07 Question 2 Hi Pete and Roger, Thanks to The Meaningful Money Handbook, The Meaningful Money Retirement Guide and listening to all of your podcasts, I’m now in the fortunate position to retire in three years at the age of 55. However, I have a couple of questions about building a Cash Flow Ladder: Q1 - Should I be moving my investments into the various rungs of the ladder now, or just wait until I retire? Q2 - Most of my investments are in a pension, but I also have an ISA for a bit of flexibility. Would it make sense to use the same ladder structure in both the pension and the ISA? Thanks for all your good work. Tim 11:17 Question 3 Hi guys Loving the podcast - helped me through the COVID years and it's been a staple ever since so thank you for that. My question is around investing in older age. At what point, if any, is it worth cashing out GIA investments if other sources of income such as state pension and DB pensions are more than enough to live off and I have sufficient other capital (cash isas) for those big things still ahead? I'm not planning to leave any sort of inheritance (unless I pop my clogs early !) so is there some rule of (age) thumb of when to cash out and spend investments? I sort of don't see the point of continuing to invest after a certain age and to spend the money. But I guess it's not easy switching from investing to spending. Thanks, Chris 16:33 Question 4 Hi Pete & Roger, Great show gents, always interesting and informative. I’ve been an avid listener for a couple of years now and have been encouraged to write in on the off-chance that my question may have relevance to others with a similar dilemma. I fear you may feel it’s too niche but here goes: I’m 59yrs old and for all intents and purposes retired, in as much as I quit my career in business 18months ago to take on the full-time parental care role of my 6yr old twins which enables my wife (15yrs my junior) to continue in the career she loves. We are fortunate that my wife is an additional higher rate tax payer (as was I before I quit), we live mortgage free in a ~£1.5m family house - all of which means I have no plans to draw a pension until my wife is also ready to retire, which despite her occasional gripe, is not likely to be until our children leave school (by which time we will be ~ 72 and 57 respectively). I have a small index-linked Public Sector DB pension that kicks in in a few months time when I hit 60 (£7k per year) and expect to get a full State Pension which should provide me with around £20k p.a. at todays values as a base income when I reach state pension age in 7 years time. I also have a Pension pot currently valued at around £1.2m, made up from £1m SIPP and £200k S&S ISA) and my wife’s Pension pot is currently valued at around £520k (£400k SIPP & £120K S&S ISA). I no longer contribute to my SIPP but my wife invests around £30k Gross in to her SIPP annually and we plan on continuing to fill both ISA allowances each year until she retires. We are both 100% invested in equities using low-cost Global trackers to maximise their growth potential. Here’s my question, I was burnt a few years back (before I started listening to podcast like yours to educate myself on how to manage my finances) when I was persuaded to join SJP and combine all my old workplace pensions into a single pot managed with them. I even persuaded my wife to join and I opened Junior SIPPs for my twins when they were born (not their advice, my own) which we continue to pay the full amount into monthly to hopefully secure their future retirement. Long and the short of it, the more I learned about investing, the more I regretted my decision to tie myself into SJP and the more I begrudged paying their relatively high fees (for what turned out to be a lower return than much lower cost tracker options could / would have produced over that same time period). I eventually sucked up the exit fees and bailed out a few years back, taking my wife and children’s accounts with me and whilst I haven’t looked back, it has made me reluctant to spend ...
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    43 Min.
  • Listener Questions Episode 28

    Listener Questions Episode 28
    Oct 8 2025
    It’s another mixed-bag of questions this week, covering income protection, the local government pension scheme, avoiding the 60% tax trap and much more besides! Shownotes: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/2025/10/08/listener-questions-episode-28/ 01:33 Question 1 Hello Pete & Rog I like to think of you as a couple of great mates offering me life changing information in a relaxed & entertaining fashion. When putting income protection in place, how do people/planners typically frame a target? Just replacing essential income? Or also replacing large contribution to pensions (including lost employer contributions) and S&S ISAs for long term wealth building? Thoughts on how I should frame these questions are very welcome! Many thanks, Duncan 11:27 Question 2 Dear Pete and Roger, Firstly thank you so much for all the free resources you put out there to try and help make the world more financially literate and astute. I myself started a journey of self awareness a few years ago thanks in no small part to your content. I have a question about pension recycling and what is allowable. I've read the rules on the criteria, all of which I think have to be met in order to fall foul of the rules, but am not clear on my wife and my specific situation. My wife and I met later in life and have been married for 13 years in a happy and stable relationship. I've just turned 50 but my wife is eight years older. In summary when we came together I brought earning potential but no assets (previous divorce wiped me out!) and she brought assets (house, SIPP pension built up, inheritance) but, through mutual agreement, no earning potential. Fortunately we have a healthy open discussion about money. I am an additional rate tax payer and use my £60,000 limit of pension contributions every year. We have paid off our mortgage and we have always lived using my salary for all our outgoings and live within our means with little consumer debt. I max out my ISA allowance too. Essentially I have no more tax breaks we could take advantage of by her giving me money, save for CGT or dividend allowances. After thinking about her tax implications I have encouraged my wife in the last couple of years to start to withdraw from her DC pension the maximum amount that would result in no income tax being paid (currently £16,760 of which 25% is tax free). Since we don't need the money for living expenses she tops it up with her savings to £20K and puts it in a S&S ISA so really is just moving investments from a less flexible tax free wrapper to a more flexible one while she pays no income tax. We will do this for the next ten years until she reaches state pension age and I retire myself. She'll still have a sizeable SIPP at this point as this strategy won't deplete all her pension. She still has significant other assets that attract tax as she earns more interest than the starter rate for savings allows tax free. She's fully paid up all her NI through additional contributions, has the maximum in premium bonds and I also have started to get her to put £2,880 into a new SIPP in her name every year to get 20% tax relief. My question (sorry it took so long to get here) is that now she is drawing an income of sorts from her DC pension could she recycle more than £2,880 into a SIPP? Clearly it fails on the intention front, on the >30% of the tax free cash and the fact she has actually taken tax free cash. But she's not taking in excess of £7,500 of tax free cash in a 12 month period (another one of the criteria) and I'm also not sure if her taxable DC withdrawals (on which she pays no income tax as <£12,570) count as relevant earnings as to how much she could add to a SIPP. Basically could she pay say £5,000 or £10,000 a year into a SIPP (gross as she has triggered MPAA), gain 20% tax relief on her net contribution and not be falling foul of pension recycling rules? The reality of the situation that the real source of all the contributions is significant savings she has that are now attracting tax and we don't need any of it, nor its growth, for at least ten years. Any advice gratefully received, Tom 15:56 Question 3 Dear Pete and the lovely Roger Weeks, Hope you are well. Thanks for all the amazing work you are doing to support people to have a better understanding of their personal finances. I have recently bought and read your new book, it’s fantastic. Plus, I have bought several copies of your first book and given them to family and friends as presents. I love a practical gift haha; not sure the recipients feel the same but it’s a gift that will keep giving if they follow your advice. Anyway, my question is related to a defined benefits pension. Background info, I am 49 (50 in a few weeks) and my husband is 64. From 1996 to 2000 I built up benefits within Merseyside Local Government Pension Scheme. I transferred this along with a DC pension from the voluntary sector (at the time I heard this was a good idea, I literally didn...
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    42 Min.
  • Listener Questions - Episode 27

    Listener Questions - Episode 27
    Sep 24 2025
    This week, we have questions about planning property purchases together as a soon-to-be-married couple, investing an inheritance, balancing an age gap between spouses and much more besides! Shownotes: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/QA27 00:52 Question 1 Hi Pete and Rog, I’ve been listening to the show since 2020, and I absolutely love it. It keeps me grounded in a generation that frivolously spends for the sake of Instagram. Thank you for offering such helpful advice for free. I’m in my early 30s, I have no bad debt, regularly contribute to my workplace pension, and have been saving for a 2–3 bedroom house over the past three years. In 2 months I’ll have the 10% deposit (the minimum I want to put down) saved in my LISA. I'm currently renting a really affordable flat with a great landlord. I started saving when I was single, but I met my lovely boyfriend almost two years ago. We’re serious and are planning to get married and move in together in the next 12 to 18 months. Here’s my question: Should I delay buying a house for a year or so until I'm married, or should I buy now and plan to keep it for at least five years—even if, during that time, my boyfriend and I buy a different house and I end up renting this one out? Many thanks, Leah 07:50 Question 2 Love the Podcast guys My Question is about what to do with an unexpected inheritance (likely to be around £150,000 from the sale of my late parents' house) a year before remortgaging. For context; both my Wife and I have recently become Additional Rate tax payers with a defined benefit NHS pension. We can max out ISA contributions for a few years (including LISA for the next 6yrs) but with no personal saving allowance and only being able to effectively get savings rates of <3% in GIAs we are drawn to an Offset mortgage (current mortgage 21yrs to run ~£330k remaining LTV 40%) but these don't seem to be popular and don't get mentioned much. I estimate within 5yrs we'd be paying 0% interest and could start drawing down from the offset savings pot. This seems like a hedge against uncertainty (and allows us access to the funds cf to paying off the mortgage) and would be effectively paying us whatever the mortgage rate would be (>4%). Would welcome your thoughts on this Gareth + Helen 12:27 Question 3 Hi Pete and Roger, I've been following your channel for over a year now, and I’m really grateful for the practical insights—wish I’d discovered you years ago! Your guidance has helped me make some much-needed improvements to my financial planning. My question is: Could you provide any guidance for couples with an age gap on balancing pension contributions and withdrawals, as well as utilising ISAs, to effectively phase-in their retirements together? My Civil Partner and I have an 8-year age gap, which didn’t matter in our 20s and 30s, but 20 years later, with some middle-aged aches and pains! We want to align our plans better to enjoy more time together, rather than one of us retiring much later or sooner than the other. We underutilised pensions, unfortunately, but hold equity in two properties and decent cash savings. We are now mortgage free and plan to boost our pensions. Within 10 years, we might buy a small flat in Malaysia (his home country) and downsize our UK home from Manchester to Scotland (my 'home country'!). We hope to split time between the UK and Malaysia or possibly settle over there, drawn by the affordable living and our fondness for the country. Best wishes, James 18:53 Question 4 Love the show, you guys accompany me on walks when I have a break from work. I have two questions but this may be a bit much so I have broken them down I have possibly an easy question for you but one that I can’t find the answer to online. My wife is a teacher with a final salary pension estimate of £23.5k p/a. We’re unsure whether or not this will provide for a comfortable retirement, so we are considering making additional savings for retirement. My wife is a basic rate taxpayer and currently 39 so my question is whether it is better to invest the money in a lifetime ISA and effectively get the tax relief through government top up, as when she comes to retirement the additional income that would come from the LISA would be tax-free and not subject to income tax, or invest in a SIPP but this would incur income tax when accessed? To me it seems a no brainer as the tax benefit on the way in is effectively the same but there is no tax burden on the way out of LISA versus a pension am I being dim or is this the right way to go? I am a higher rate taxpayer so I know that to get the most tax efficiency it should go in my pension but there’s a possibility I would be a higher rate taxpayer in retirement too so not sure it’s sensible to have it all in my name (also mindful of lifetime allowance being reinstated) Other question is more complicated and around planning for me. I’m 38, a higher rate TP recently earning £90k p...
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    43 Min.
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