Financial advice

Planning for your potential future care costs and retirement, is something that we all should be doing now and not putting off until it's too late

You may wish to consider:

• Whether your savings and investments are in the best accounts and schemes
• Whether you will be able to pay for the level of care and support you would like should the need ever arise
• Whether you will have enough finance to support you in later life
• Whether any pension arrangements you have are secure and will give you the best arrangements possible
• Whether your finances and other affairs will be properly looked after should you no longer be in a position to look after them yourself
• Whether you have a legally binding will, and can be confident that your affairs will be dealt with in accordance with your wishes in the event of your death.

An independent financial advisor (IFA) is the best person to check these with you, as they will offer impartial advice to make sure you get the best packages for you.

When looking for an independent financial advisor, you should check that they are registered with the Financial Conduct Agency (FCA). For more tips on looking for an Independent Financial Advisor, please see the advice from MoneyHelper (previously called the Money Advisory Service).

Other sources of independent advice are:

• Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA)
• Citizen's Advice Bureau

Getting into debt is nothing to be ashamed about and the sooner you get help, the easier it will be to get a plan in place to manage it. Ignoring or not facing up to the problem will only allow the problem to grow.

There are some things you can do to start managing your debt:

• Work out how much you owe and how much you can afford to pay back every week
• Talk to those who you owe money to. Many banks and building societies will work with you to sort out the problems
• Get free, confidential advice. You can go to your local Citizen's Advice Bureau who can help you get on the right path or visit MoneyHelper's (previously called the Money Advisory Service) taking control of debt page