Peter is grappling with a dilemma that is both logistically and emotionally challenging. The business consultant is about to inherit around £250,000 and the sum will substantially ease his looming retirement: at 63 he describes himself as “transitioning out of work”.
Peter, not his real name, is receiving the life-changing sum after both his parents died last year. He is still dealing with the pain of his father’s passing — the more recent bereavement of the two. But at the same time he faces choices about how best to put the money to work in his pension, when to make charitable donations and how he should invest the remainder.
A mixture of high house prices, parental thrift and the prosperity of the postwar baby boom generation means thousands of people in the UK face such decisions every year. Speaking to FT Money, windfall recipients describe grappling with how much to add to their pension pots, how quickly to pay off their mortgages, and how best to ensure a secure financial future for their children, grandchildren or other people they want to help.