Medics Money podcast

Find a Solicitor here: https://medicsmoney.co.uk/medical-solicitor/
Cyra hosts Trish Venables, a solicitor at Talbots Law, to explain asset protection as maximising assets preserved for descendants and shielding them from risks such as divorce, care home fees, and means-tested benefits rules. Trish describes discretionary trusts set up in life or via a will, where beneficiaries have no absolute entitlement, supported by private letters of wishes, helping reduce exposure in divorce and allowing disabled beneficiaries to receive support without losing benefits. She outlines practicalities, including trustee selection, Trust Registration Service registration, and inheritance tax (IHT) implications such as a 20% lifetime entry charge above the £325,000 threshold and the seven-year rule. She warns that putting a home into a lifetime trust while continuing to live there can be challenged as deprivation of assets and a gift with reservation; instead, a will-based life interest trust over a severed 50% share may ring-fence value from care assessments. They discuss gifting from surplus income, and Trish notes NHS defined benefit pensions likely face no immediate IHT change, unlike some defined contribution schemes, pending legislation.
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:03 What Asset Protection Means
02:23 Trusts for Divorce and Benefits
04:19 How Discretionary Trusts Work
05:45 Setting Up Trusts and IHT
08:23 Care Fees and Home Trust Pitfalls
10:46 Will Planning Life Interest Trusts
12:08 Surplus Income Gifting Strategy
14:16 NHS Pensions and IHT Changes
19:11 Costs and Choosing Trustees
22:13 Final Thanks and Wrap Up
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Disclaimer:
The information provided in this content is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. You should not rely on this content as a substitute for professional advice tailored to your specific financial situation. The value of your investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

On this episode, Cyra is joined by GP Dr. Steve Taylor and specialist medical accountant Andy Pow to discuss Steve’s difficult experience getting his NHS pension sorted ahead of semi-retirement at 60 under the older scheme. Steve discovered missing years and incomplete details in his pension record after requesting the data held on him, leading to a year of back-and-forth to correct errors, plus complications from the McCloud remedy and an £11,000 adjustment. He also faced delays and confusion in the application process (AW8), including being told he applied too early by three days and receiving little clarity on payment amounts or timing. Andy explains how errors and gaps are common, advises checking records early via My NHS Pension and PCSE Online, and stresses keeping annual statements, returns, P60s, and March payslips.
00:00 Welcome and Setup
00:41 Meet Steve and Andy
02:04 Missing Pension Years
05:06 Applying and Silence
06:29 McCloud Remedy Mess
07:49 Start Checking Early
11:20 How to Check Records
13:47 What Documents to Keep
16:49 Estimating Your Pension
19:12 Wrap Up and Resources
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Disclaimer:
The information provided in this content is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. You should not rely on this content as a substitute for professional advice tailored to your specific financial situation. The value of your investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

https://medicsmoney.co.uk/pastest/

In this very special episode, we have exciting news.

Andy Pow hosts this week's podcast with Forvis Mazars healthcare accountants Dawn Laird and Lee Simmonett to explain Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax, described as the biggest change since the 1990s and arriving in 2026, with around three-quarters of affected taxpayers not registered. MTD currently applies mainly to self-employed clinicians such as GP locums (and some consultants with self-employed private practice) and to property income; it does not directly affect partnerships or limited companies. The trigger is cumulative income over £50,000 (before expenses), including combined self-employment and rental income, with thresholds falling to £30,000 then £20,000. Recipients must register separately (not auto-enrolled). Quarterly submissions start with the first due 7 August, plus a final declaration; tax payment dates remain January and July. Spreadsheets require bridging software; digital tools like Xero are recommended. Penalties begin next year: one point per missed quarterly submission, £200 at four points, lasting 24 months.
00:00 MTD Shockwave 2026
01:23 Who Must Comply
02:37 Income Thresholds Explained
05:15 Registering With HMRC
06:35 Quarterly Deadlines
07:10 Software Vs Spreadsheets
08:53 Final Declaration Basics
11:40 Penalties And Compliance
16:10 Rental Income Complications
20:12 New Businesses And Voluntary
21:45 Top Tips To Prepare
23:57 Accountant Support Options
26:51 Final Wrap Up
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Disclaimer:
The information provided in this content is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. You should not rely on this content as a substitute for professional advice tailored to your specific financial situation. The value of your investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

This week's guest: https://nichols.co.uk/
This week we cover how NHS doctors, especially consultants with private work or side hustles, can use a “money box company” (a limited company/personal service company) to bridge the gap to retiring before the NHS pension age and to plan taxes flexibly. Steve Nichols explains that keeping private income in a company can help avoid the £100,000 “tax trap,” preserve tax-free childcare, and legitimately split income by paying a spouse salary/dividends (including NI credits). The conversation covers paying university (but not school) fees via benefits-in-kind for an over-18 child working for the company or via dividends using appropriate share classes. They also explain director’s loan accounts as legal borrowing from the company with interest and Section 455 tax cashflow implications. For higher earners, routing private income through a company can mitigate pension tapering exposure and allow accumulating profits to extract later via members’ voluntary liquidation at lower capital gains tax rates than dividends, subject to anti-avoidance rules and genuine cessation of private practice.
00:00 Retire Before NHS Age
01:41 Money Box Company Basics
03:17 Flexibility And Tax Levers
07:20 When To Set One Up
08:03 Beat The 100k Trap
12:36 School Vs University Fees
19:53 Directors Loan Accounts
27:19 Avoid Pension Tapering
31:05 Liquidation And CGT Exit
35:13 Wrap Up And Warnings
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Disclaimer:
The information provided in this content is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. You should not rely on this content as a substitute for professional advice tailored to your specific financial situation. The value of your investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is not indicative of future results.