It is surprising how infrequently clients re-assess their financial objectives.

Such an assessment is imperative as a prelude to retirement.

The three golden rules when planning for retirement are:-- secure a core income;-- control outgoings as much as possible; and-- a nticipate - do everything earlier then seems necessary.Clients who are used to, and have enjoyed, equity investment are often reluctant to move away from what is usually a high risk investment strategy.

'Ha ha', they say, 'I can take capital profit every year and use it as tax-free income'.

As clients are now seeing, that will not be the case every year.

The historical experience of stock markets is that they go too far - both up and down.

There is always comfort in having a good, well-covered dividend.

In retirement, riding out stock market down-turns is not always an option available to the client.

Often clients need considerable focus on their risk appetite and to appreciate that it may be too high for what is now before them.PensionsIf a client has an index-linked final salary occupational pension that has built over a reasonable number of years, he is extremely fortunate.

For the majority of clients who have built up retirement annuity policies (RAPs) and personal pension plans (PPPs) the choices are bewildering.

Long-term interest and thus annuity rates are historically low, with the prospect of getting lower.

In that scenario the conventional wisdom was that equity prices would rise but currently they appear to be falling faster than pennies into a wishing well.

The main choices are:-- do nothing, that is, leave the RAP/PPP invested and the death benefit written in trust - but not beyond the age of 75;-- encash all or part of the RAP/PPP taking the tax-free lump sum.

Consider transferring RAPs to PPPs - it cannot go the other way - if the tax-free lump sum is greater.

It is 25% of the fund with PPPs.

The remaining pension fund can be:-- used to purchase an annuity;-- used to purchase a unit-linked or with profits annuity;-- left invested and used to draw down an income (pension fund withdrawal also known as drawdown); or-- encash in segments every year using the tax-free lump sum as tax-free income and building up a series of annuities (known as staggered vesting).Basic golden rules to discuss with a client are:-- even if maximum annuity income is wanted, always take the tax-free lump sum.

All of a pension annuity is taxed as earned income.

Capital used to buy a purchased life annuity will have a tax-free capital content;-- if an annuity is required, unless beneficiaries under a will are not a consideration, always purchase a capital protected annuity.

The reduction in the annuity yield will not be great;-- consider carefully with the client the advantages and large reduction in buying any form of inflation protection.

It is expensive and can take many years to show a benefit;-- if the client has a health problem, ensure it is disclosed.

Impaired life annuities give better returns and the client may still beat the actuary.Long term careLong term care policies have developed rapidly during the last year or so.

They should always be considered, particularly for couples with comparatively modest means where nursing home fees for one of them would be a financial burden.

Some companies offer pure insurance terms where the cover dies with the client.

Other companies offer investment options where, if cover is not fully used, the invested funds are repaid to the client's estate.

A key feature of many of these policies is that a large part of the risk of funding increasing nursing home fees is passed to the product provider.Other assetsThe client may have been able to build up some PEP funds and again an assessment of objectives is sensible.

With the prospect of falling interest rates, there are attr active returns now available from income orientated investment trusts cushioned by substantial discounts to net asset value.

Returns from PEPs are tax free.

To balance a pension annuity and more cautious fixed interest investments, a PEP umbrella is an ideal shelter for long-term equity growth.With profit bondsThese are a favourite for retirement planning, particularly for clients whose income is within the income tax age allowance trap.

They do have disadvantages, and internally they suffer tax as well as the expenses of the provider.

With the current equity down-turn it will be interesting to see which providers start to apply the market value adjuster on encashments.Inheritance tax (IHT)It is in this area that solicitors specialising in financial advice can really add value for clients.

Solicitors have a detailed knowledge of the workings of IHT and the application of the allowances and exemptions from that tax.

With the expectation that the Chancellor and his Treasury team are working hard behind the scenes to reform IHT (that is, to make it far more effective in raising revenue), a general review for clients would be worthwhile.Whole of life insurance is a common way of providing for a future IHT charge.

Usually written on a joint life and survivor basis, the policy contains a combination of decreasing term life cover and - akin to an endowment policy - a fund which is anticipated to build up over the years.In the last year I have encountered two clients who had been approached by a tied adviser with a national company to take out that company's whole of life insurance policy.

In computing the potential IHT - and thus the sum to be insured and the premium to be paid - the adviser allowed only one nil rate band exemption for a married couple.

Solicitors can prepare appropriate wills to use the nil rate band available to each spouse.

As clients do not like the commitment to regular premiums, for a year or two now my firm has been offering the following alternative.First, advise married clients to take out joint life and survivor term insurance.

For a couple both aged 60 in reasonable health, the cost of £250,000 term cover for, say, an eight-year period is about £300 per annum.

That policy would only pay up if both died within the eight-year period, the proceeds would be written under a general discretionary trust and a trustee appointed.

This gives longstop security.At the same time the clients' adult children take out packaged PEPs, normally care of their parents' address.

Look for a PEP which has minimal cost and no on-going costs if investment changes are not made.

Using their immediate income and their annual IHT exemptions, the parents pay cash to the children which funds the PEPs.The PEP for the adult children will build up in a tax-free fund - unlike the whole of life fund which will suffer corporation tax.

A disadvantage is that the child has immediate ownership - remember the peril of the three Ds - death, divorce and debt.

Nevertheless it is popular with clients because they have no regular commitment and apart from a fee for the advice, deductions are far less.Finally, urge clients to appreciate they are no longer saving for their retirement.

Encourage them to have reasonably large liquid cash reserves and to use their income and occasionally some of their capital to enjoy themselves.

Encourage clients to have regular reviews with you to ensure that their financial objectives continue to be met and - in both financial and personal terms - these years are truly golden.