Foundation 8 of 8
Protect what you're building
Building wealth is only half the job — the other half is making sure it can't be wiped out.
This foundation isn't about expecting the worst. It's about making sure that if something serious does happen, it doesn't undo everything you've built in the foundations before this one.
Income protection and life insurance
Life insurance pays a lump sum, or an income, if you die — mainly relevant if someone else depends on your income. Income protection instead replaces part of your income if illness or injury stops you working, covering a risk that's statistically far more likely than death during your working life, yet often overlooked entirely.
Check what your employer already provides — sick pay policy, death-in-service benefit — before buying additional cover on top of it.
Why you need a will
Without a will, what happens to your estate is decided by fixed intestacy rules, not your own wishes. That can produce outcomes you'd never have chosen — unmarried couples, for instance, have no automatic right to inherit from each other under intestacy, regardless of how long they've been together.
A will also lets you name guardians for children. It isn't just for people with large estates; it's for anyone who wants a say in what happens to what they leave behind.
Who gets your pension?
Pensions usually sit outside your will entirely. Most schemes pay out based on a separate "expression of wishes" (sometimes called a nomination) filled in directly with the pension provider.
This is easy to forget, especially after a major life change — marriage, divorce, having children — so it's worth checking who's currently named and updating it whenever your circumstances change.
Ready to put this into practice?
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