A financial adviser has proved his worth after unearthing £350,000 in savings a client didn’t know they had.
Raj Shah, owner of Sheffield-based Blue Wealth Capital, found the spare cash while looking at his new client’s holdings.
The clients were under the impression they only had pension savings of £70,000 but it transpired they were actually 600 per cent better off.
Mr Shah said: “We were with some clients in London after a referral from an existing client and they gave us all their papers.
“We ran through what they had and the figures they had were correct as far as they were concerned, but it transpired they had £350,000 more than they thought.
“That is the value of someone going to see and adviser rather than making assumptions based on their impressions.”
Mr Shah said the money was in a series of pensions they had undervalued.
“They gave us a letter of authority and give us an indication of what they thought they had and it turned out to be significantly more.
“How confusing must the paperwork from their pension providers have been?
“The clients are very happy and it has certainly altered what we need to do for them because now we can start talking about inheritance tax planning. It certainly makes them a lot more comfortable in retirement.”
Recommendations set out in March’s Financial Advice Market Review put forward a 2019 target date for a pension dashboard allowing savers to see how much is in each of their pots.
But former pensions minister Steve Webb has criticised the government's laissez-faire attitude, calling on it to take a more active role in ensuring the delivery of a pensions dashboard.
