Orthodontist Peter Boyd shares his financial planning journey, where an initial conversation about NHS pensions turned into a comprehensive financial plan for the future

I qualified as a dentist in 2002 and as an orthodontist in 2010. My work has predominantly been within the NHS, with a bit of private work mixed in.

Over the last couple of years, I have been seeing more private patients and, in 2020, along with three colleagues, set up a new private orthodontic practice in Otley called Yorkshire Orthodontics.

My long-term aim always was to reduce the amount of NHS work I was doing,and increase the private element of the practice. I didn’t necessarily want to drop it altogether, as I was conscious there would be changes to NHS contracts in Leeds and was keen to retain ours.

After years of building your practice, and finally completing the sale of the goodwill, most principals will look forward to seeing a large lump sum credit their bank account.

It appears that the practice sales market is buoyant at the moment, and over the last few months, we’ve certainly seen an increase in enquiries from principles who are selling. Luke Moore, from practice sales agent The Elite group believes “the market overall is definitely more active than it has been”, and that there are a number of reasons why, including: dentists who had intended to sell during the COVID year but didn’t because the market was in a state of flux are now doing so; and because the pandemic has changed many people’s priorities, and some are deciding to sell early whilst the market is strong.

Based on discussions we’ve had with principal dentists over the last 20 years and the financial advice we’ve given about how to manage a lump sum post sale, I’ve summarised some of the relevant points that most dentists need to think about.

Thomas Dickson explains why understanding your finances is the first step towards making hopes for the future a reality.

What do you really want?

If you asked yourself what you really love about life, and what you want to be doing more of, what would you say? We’ve been asking our clients this for more than 15 years and as we continue to live with Covid 19, these questions seem more important than ever.

Some of our dental clients want to buy a second home; others thrive off developing their career or building up their dental practice; some want to reduce their clinical hours or leave the NHS or dentistry completely. Some know exactly what they want and are well on their way to achieving it, but for most people, focusing on what they really want is a crucial first step.

Striking the right work life balance has never been so important for dentists. The last two years has put an incredible strain on the profession and according to a recent British Dental Association survey, more than 40% are considering leaving dentistry in the next 12 months. So what personal financial steps can dentists take to ease the pressure on themselves and maintain a career in dentistry? 

As the world watches on in horror at the continued Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting human cost, global stock markets are being rocked by the uncertainty of a devastating war. In the first week of March 2022, the London stock market has suffered it’s biggest weekly losses since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, so is now a good time to be investing?

It certainly feels like the world is in a very uncertain place. Political events are not the only issue affecting the markets. Economically, the greatest challenge is soaring inflation, hitting levels not seen for several decades. As a consequence, interest rates and yields on bonds have started to rise and global equity markets have started the year down. This can all feel both gloomy and unsettling for investors.

As we approach the end of the tax year on 5th April 2022, Thomas Dickson, a Chartered Financial Planner from Wealthwide, reveals how to save money by significantly reducing your tax bill.

1. ISAs

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are a tax-efficient way of investing your money. If you’re over 18 (16 for a Cash ISA), you can contribute up to £20,000 into a stocks and shares or innovative ISA. Crucially you don’t have to pay capital gains tax on any growth or dividends from your investment.

Let’s take a couple who both pay £20,000 into their ISAs in 2021/22. Assuming a reasonable growth of 6% a year after fees, their combined ISA funds would be worth £95,862 after 15 years. If the couple had invested without the ISA wrapper, and assuming the dividends are subject to higher rate tax each year, their combined funds would be worth only £87,103. The gains would also be liable to capital gains tax, reducing the return to only £82,602 - a difference of £13,260 lost to HMRC.

Sustainable Investing has been attracting a lot of attention in recent months. At the Cop 26 Conference last October, the pressing issue of climate change was brought into even sharper focus. Celebrities including Stephen Fry, Richard Curtis and Kelly Macdonald used the Conference platform to publicise the campaign “Make My Money Matter” which is calling for people to “have a pension they can be proud of”, and which helps “build a healthy planet”.

The issue of sustainable investing is extremely relevant for UK dentists as most earn more than they spend, and have disposable income they want to save – for example in pensions or ISAs. These investments are typically invested in equities or stocks and shares. The feedback we’ve had from our clients is that a significant number are interested in green or sustainable investments and want to use their savings to create positive change in the world.

In an article written for Dentistry.co.uk, Thomas Dickson discusses a recent fraud case where a Wealthwide client almost lost £16,000 to a fraudster.

In October 2021, one of our clients, who’s recently retired, nearly lost £16,000 to a fraudster. It was a slick and well-crafted scam involving email hacking, impersonation, and cloning a legitimate bank’s documents.

In an extract taken from the December 2021 issue of Private Dentistry, orthodontist Peter Boyd shares his financial planning journey, where an initial conversation about NHS pensions turned into a comprehensive financial plan for the future.

I first contacted Wealthwide back in November 2019 as I was uncertain about what to do with my NHS pension. As many dentists will know, the Government has announced several changes to public sector pensions [change from the 1995 to 2015 pension scheme and more recently the effect of the McCloud judgment], and tax laws have changed regarding annual and lifetime allowances. Along with many of my colleagues, I was finding it very hard to get my head around it and was being asked to make decisions about my pension that I didn't really understand.

In this extract from the October issue of The Probe, Thomas Dickson discusses what dentists can learn from the pandemic.

There’s little doubt that the last 18 months has been the most challenging period in many dentists’ careers. Loss of earnings as a result of treating fewer patients; staffing issues, the “ping-demic”; the financial impact of upgrading practices to become Covid secure environments; and the ongoing costs of maintaining high standards of infection control, have all contributed to some dentists succumbing to an overwhelming work-load and feelings of insecurity.

This is an extract from the November 2021 issue of Dentistry magazine. 

Dentist and owner of the Regency House Dental Practice in Staffordshire, Asha Ram, shares her journey with a sudden illness and how the team at Wealthwide made sure she and her family could focus on her recovery without worrying about money.

After finishing my regular yoga and meditation session one Sunday morning in February, I felt a sudden and severe pain at the back of my head. After being admitted to A&E, the doctors confirmed I had suffered a bleed on the brain.

When we first met Dr Mark Pimble and his partner Sue Mitchell they were in the midst of renovating a house together and Mark was feeling the pinch of financial insecurity as he was approaching retirement with little idea of where he stood financially.

Over the course of his 40+ year career as a dentist Mark had always been cautious with his money, but he had recently gone through a divorce and had bought his ex-business partner out to become the sole owner of his practice Lander, based in Truro, Cornwall.

This is an extract from the September issue of Private Dentistry where Thomas Dickson discusses the new crossroads dental professionals are finding themselves at in the post COVID-19 world.

The pandemic and resulting lockdowns may have caused you to re-evaluate your life and priorities. You may even have found yourself standing at a new and unexpected crossroads in terms of your career.

//PRESS RELEASE//

//Midday, 15th July, 2021//

Wealthwide launches in the UK with a vision to help dentists gain financial freedom and get more out of life. Future-focused financial planning business Wealthwide is officially launching to the UK dental profession today (July 15th).

Wealthwide helps dentists see their full financial picture so they can get more out of life. It is the vision of Thomas Dickson, who has specialised in working with dentists for over 20 years and decided to rebrand from Essential Money to Wealthwide. Thomas and his team worked with gutsy creative agency StudioLR to develop the Wealthwide brand.

Kim is a dentist based in Merseyside, and a long-term client of one our advisers, Martin Brown. Kim emailed Martin as he was about to receive the lump sum from his NHS pension and was looking to invest it. He was interested in a low risk, income producing asset and was keen to buy a UK Treasury Bond. He had received some details from a company that could arrange this investment and as they described it, there were “no fees as our commission is charged to the seller at a fixed rate of 1%”. The company had a fund fact sheet and a website that confirmed they were authorised by the FCA.

In this short note, we set out the evidence-driven approach that we use to invest our clients’ money. As you will see, it is widely supported by many wise and experienced people, from legendary investors like Warren Buffett and Jack Bogle to Nobel Laureates in finance and economics. It is not complicated, but it does require us to do a few simple things exceptionally well.

In 2015, the government introduced a new pension which affected the majority of practicing NHS dentists. Those who were within 10 years of their pension age were afforded ‘transitional protection’ and allowed to stay in their old schemes.