An annual review should reconnect the financial arrangements to your current life. It is more than a performance report or a social catch-up.
Start with changes in people, work, income, spending, debt, health and goals. Review progress and incomplete actions. Then test the assumptions behind projections, the role and performance of products, investment allocation, cover, beneficiaries, fees, tax questions and estate records.
Not every area needs a change each year, but the review should show that it was considered where relevant. The result may be “no action”, provided the reasoning and next review point are clear.
Try this now
Use seven headings in your agenda: changes, goals, cash flow and debt, investments and retirement, risk cover, fees and service, estate and tax. Add one evidence source or question under each.
Ask your advisor
- What has changed in the plan, not only in product values?
- Which assumptions were updated?
- What ongoing service was delivered during the year?
- What actions, owners and deadlines follow this meeting?
Ask for a concise written review record. Continuity comes from decisions and reasoning that can be understood later, not from relying on everyone’s memory.
Next: A transaction should be the result of a review, not its starting point