5 challenges a financial midlife MOT could help you overcome
Your midlife can be an exciting time; you may have ticked off some goals or bucket list items and might be looking forward to what the future holds. Yet, it can also present some new challenges. Arranging a financial midlife MOT could help you overcome obstacles and feel more confident as you prepare for the next chapter of your life.
While you might have a better understanding of what you want to get out of life than when you were younger, as you grow older finances can often become more complex, making it difficult to understand what’s possible. A financial midlife MOT gives you a chance to examine your finances now and calculate if you’re on track to reach your goals and objectives.
Here are five common challenges a financial MOT could help you navigate.
1. Merging your finances with a partner
As you start to consider retirement and your future, you may opt to merge finances with your partner if you haven’t already.
Merging your finances can be challenging at any time, particularly when you’re older as you may both already hold assets, such as pensions or property, which can be difficult to bring together under one roof (pun not intended). As well as juggling two sets of assets, you might have different views on financial priorities and long-term goals which could cause complications if left untouched.
Working with a financial adviser could help you take stock of your assets and understand how they can form part of your financial plan as a couple. As your goals and objectives are at the centre of your financial plan, a financial midlife MOT could help you balance your priorities with your partners so you both can get what you want out of your assets.
2. Planning for your retirement
According to research from LV published in June 2025, 66% of people aged between 45 and 49 feel unprepared for retirement.
Retirement might feel years away, but it’s a milestone that benefits from early preparation. The decisions you make now could affect your income in your later years, so weighing up your options is essential.
A financial midlife MOT can include reviewing your pensions and other assets you intend to use in retirement to calculate if you have “enough” to live the retirement lifestyle you’re looking forward to, and if when you want to retire is feasible.
You could find you’re already on track and enjoy peace of mind as a result. However, if you discover there’s a potential shortfall, knowing this sooner puts you in a stronger position to bridge the gap, and a financial plan can help highlight the steps you might need to take to get there.
3. Balancing care responsibilities
While you might no longer have young children to care for, you may find that you have other care responsibilities even once your children are grown-up.
In fact, according to December 2024 research from Legal & General, 1 in 6 middle-aged adults support other adults financially, such as grown-up children or elderly parents.
If you haven’t considered budgeting for caring for another adult beforehand, then this may effect your financial security in the future. Having a financial plan can help you take this into account so that you can budget for it going forward.
It’s not just your finances that care duties may affect. 1 in 7 middle-aged adults provide unpaid care, with hours equivalent to a part-time job and around half said they feel overwhelmed by their weekly commitments. Being overworked and overwhelmed can take a toll on your wellbeing.
A financial plan that’s focused on what’s important to you could help you balance new responsibilities with your personal goals. For example, if you know how much disposable income you have, you might be able pay for a carer a few times a week so you can still attend the social clubs that you enjoy.
4. Improving your financial resilience
While you might have ticked off some financial commitments, such as paying your mortgage or children’s school fees, it’s still important to ensure you can withstand a financial shock. Facing an unexpected bill or your income stopping has the potential to derail your plans.
A midlife review gives you the opportunity to evaluate your financial security and assess how you’d cope with an unexpected event.
You might want to check if you hold enough cash in your emergency fund or review your financial protection to see if you have an adequate safety net. While you hope you’ll never to need it, a financial safety net can provide reassurance and protection if the unexpected happens.
5. Setting out your legacy
It’s easy to think that you don’t need to consider how you’ll pass on assets to your loved ones yet. However, it’s impossible to know what’s around the corner and there may be benefits to passing on wealth during your lifetime rather than waiting to leave an inheritance.
Putting together an estate plan can be difficult, as you are bringing together all of your assets and considering how circumstances may change in the coming decades, but it can also be an emotional topic to think about and discuss.
It may be daunting at first but creating an estate plan allows you to take control of your legacy. As your financial advisers, we can help you create an estate plan that gives you long-term security while supporting the people who are important to you.
Contact us to arrange a financial review.
Get the most out of your life by feeling confident about your finances. Please contact us to talk to one of our financial advisers and arrange a financial review.
Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up, and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.
Note that life insurance and financial protection plans typically have no cash in value at any time, and cover will cease at the end of the term. If premiums stop, then cover will lapse.
Cover is subject to terms and conditions and may have exclusions. Definitions of illnesses vary from product provider and will be explained within the policy documentation.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning.