Society of Later Life Advisers

At SOLLA, it’s so important to us to make a difference where we can. The SOLLA difference, which is at the core of everything we do. And we’re so pleased to be supporting Age Scotland again next year. Sponsoring their calendar for 2025. Thanks to Catriona Smith for all her involvement, enabling us to support the calendar for the 3rd year in a row. Here’s what Age Scotland had to say about our support at SOLLA: “Thank you so much for your ongoing support and sponsoring the month of March. The calendar not only highlights the best of Scotland, but provides key links and information to those who need it most.” You can find out more here about Age Scotland and the wonderful work that they do: https://lnkd.in/e4m5DyEH #AgeScotland #AgeScotlandCalendar #SOLLASupport #MakingADifference #theSOLLAdifference

It’s always great to see our SOLLA members nominated for industry awards. And we’re hugely proud of SOLLA Advisory Board members Catriona Smith and Zoe Taylor. As well as SOLLA accredited advisers Andrew Day and Neil Winstanley. All nominated for the Champion of Advice award in next year’s Professional Adviser awards. It will be a difficult choice for the judges. But it’s great to know that their clients are the ultimate winners, with such a high standard of quality advice. Good luck to all the other finalists as well, and we look forward to the awards ceremony in March next year. Our SOLLA advisers are often nominated in industry awards for their gold standard of advice. You can find out more here about SOLLA Accreditation, and becoming a SOLLA adviser: https://lnkd.in/eQbXzMMq #SOLLAAdvisers #AdviserAwards #SOLLAAccreditation #LaterLifeAdvice #theSOLLAdifference

It's the time of year where we all start to think about goals for the new year. What changes we'll make and what actions we'll take to achieve the things we set our minds to. SOLLA Accreditation is something that's often a goal for later life advisers. An independent accreditation which endorses your skills and shows a deeper understanding of the needs of older people and their families and carers. Committing to better conversations with your clients for the right advice, time and time again. So, why not make 2025 the year that you do it? Making the time to invest in your future and the SOLLA gold standard of advice. To find out more about our Later Life Adviser Accreditation, simply take a look and get in touch. It's time to get started and we're here on hand to help: https://lnkd.in/eQbXzMMq #NewYearGoals #BusinessGoals #LaterLifeAdvice #SOLLAAccreditation #theSOLLAdifference

Client good news stories are the purpose of everything we do at SOLLA. Making a difference to client lives that has a real positive impact. And so this story from one of our Affiliate members is one we just had to share. In February 2023, Oxmoor Care Consultancy received a call from the son of a man who had passed away in a care home back in October 2022. In the preceding 7 months, his care fees had amounted to around £150,000.   The father had been admitted into the care home with a very severe form of Parkinson's, and was unsuccessful in being awarded Continuing Healthcare (CHC) Funding. The son made a request to the NHS to appeal that decision, but nothing was heard for the next 6 months. He contacted Oxmoor Care Consultancy and this is what he had to say: "When I first contacted Oxmoor Care Consultancy about challenging the decision not to award CHC funding, I had no idea how difficult the whole thing was going to be. More than once I just felt like giving up. So, I would like to say a massive thank you for the professionalism, perseverance and encouragement throughout the whole process of our very successful claim. Without you we would not have stood a chance." In June 2024, the previous decision to refuse CHC funding was overturned and the appeal was endorsed. Full retrospective funding was awarded: £150,000 + interest. This is support that made a real difference with a huge impact for this client and his family. This is the commitment of our SOLLA members. And that’s the SOLLA difference. You can find out more here about SOLLA Affiliate membership and the ways you can get involved: https://lnkd.in/eWcfz8Tk #LaterLifeAdvice #GoodNewsStories #MakingADifference #SOLLAAffiliates #theSOLLAdifference

SOLLA’s London Regional meeting this week was a powerful one. Focused on the topic of loneliness and the impact it can have on client lives. We had a breadth of expert speakers all sharing their insights. Looking at the ways we can reach and support these clients, even through the smallest of gestures. All led by our regional co-ordinator, Mel Kenny: “It’s been said that loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Especially in these days of shorter daylight hours, I wanted to put on a SOLLA regional online meeting that could help increase awareness around the topic. Loneliness does not enhance an annuity rate. But as part of our regular day, even the smallest of gestures may mean the world to others, whether you realise they are lonely, or not.”   Rebecca Ridley from Age UK shared a powerful presentation on the ways we can help others through the darker days.   MANDY CHURCH from Bluebird Care explained the benefits of homecare with an insight into how lonely some of their clients can feel and why.   Sarah Kaye from Homeshare Living shared their wonderful scheme facilitating matches between older homeowners needing companionship, and younger home sharers who are seeking affordable accommodation and are very happy to help.   And Rachel Pease from Mash Marketing Consultancy explained some of the ways to reach the clients who are more isolated and tuck themselves away. A really informative and engaging session which left everyone involved quite moved. Thank you to all the guest speakers and to all our members who attended. Better conversations are at the core of SOLLA and everything we do, and this was a session which really helped with better understanding of our lonely clients and their needs. To benefit from sessions like these, you can find out more here about SOLLA membership and how to get involved: https://lnkd.in/ePZyhw2c #Loneliness #LaterLifeAdvice #BetterConversations #SOLLAMembership #theSOLLAdifference

So many of our SOLLA accredited advisers have recently won industry awards for their outstanding services for those in later life. And it's a pleasure to share that Toni Chalmers-Smith has received the Later Life Adviser of the year award at the recent Financial Reporter Women’s Recognition Awards. The SOLLA Later Life Adviser Accreditation has become established as the gold standard for those advising in the later life market. It's an endorsement of adviser skills and experience, understanding the needs of older people and their families and carers. An independent accreditation which lets clients know that they're in the right place for advice. Award-winning advice which is widely recognised throughout later life financial services. So congratulations again to Toni on her award, and to the many SOLLA advisers supporting their clients with the highest standards of later life advice. You can find out more here about SOLLA accreditation and how to become a member: https://lnkd.in/eQbXzMMq #SOLLAAccreditation #LaterLifeAdviserAccreditation #LaterLifeAdvice #LaterLifeAwards #BetterConversations 

The SOLLA Story is built on the people so dedicated to giving a gold standard of later life advice. Amanda Cook is one of our SOLLA regional co-ordinators for Dorset and Hampshire. And her work in later life advice first began in 2009 when she joined a small IFA firm. Many of her clients were retired and Amanda started to see more and more people who needed care, but who weren’t aware of the funding options. At an industry event, she met a SOLLA adviser, and straight away she knew she wanted to become a SOLLA member. “As soon as I found out about SOLLA and what it was all about, I knew that I wanted to join. It’s so important to me that all families understand the need to address the elephant in the room and to have those better conversations about later life planning.” Shortly after she completed her SOLLA accreditation, we were looking for regional co-ordinators and Amanda was a perfect fit. She’s now been a SOLLA adviser for over 10 years, and she understands our ethos through and through. In 2015, she lost her dad, only a month after he was diagnosed with liver cancer. “Due to my experience as a later life adviser, we had been able to have open and honest family discussions about later life planning. This meant that not long before he was diagnosed, we’d gone through the process to update their wills and put LPAs in place. This helped us enormously as we discovered how important it was for dad to be at home for his end-of-life care, and we were able to ensure this happened.” Talking about plans for the future is so important, and Amanda helps so many clients with the SOLLA gold standard of advice. “Planning ahead is something we all need to do, regardless of age. We don’t know what’s around the corner. And I always say it’s better to plan for the worst but hope for the best.” You can find out more here about the SOLLA story, and all those who play an enormous part in making us who we are: https://lnkd.in/dZJ6YvF #theSOLLAstory #FacesBehindTheBusiness #LaterLifeAdvice #BetterConversations #theSOLLAdifference

Just Group plc have shared their Care Report for 2024, highlighting the reasons why social care planning remains an urgent focus. https://lnkd.in/eXH-Mg-g The latest edition, entitled 'Groundhog Day,' provides key insights into the challenges of social care funding. It's crucial that people are planning ahead and for you, as advisers, to guide them through the complexities. And we're also pleased to share our own training in collaboration with Just Group plc, on Consumer Vulnerability in Later Life. Supporting those better conversations and discussions about care where they're needed, for a gold standard of advice. https://lnkd.in/d63AJhN #SocialCarePlanning #VulnerableClients #LaterLifeCare #LaterLifeAdvice #BetterConversations

Today is Carers Rights Day, raising awareness about the rights of the UK’s 5.7 million unpaid carers. Helping them to get the support they need and the recognition they deserve. Every day, 12,000 people become unpaid carers for a partner, family member or a friend, many of whom don’t see themselves as carers. They're often unaware of their legal rights and what they’re entitled to in terms of support and benefits. So this year’s theme is ‘Recognising your Rights’ – supporting carers in recognising and understanding their rights, to access the support available to them, whenever it's needed. At SOLLA we support better conversations about care in later life, and we celebrate those who work so hard to provide that quality standard of care. You can find out more here about Carers Rights Day, and the ways that you can get involved in raising further awareness. https://lnkd.in/eFTSgew6 Carers UK #CarersRightsDay #UnpaidCarers #LaterLifeCare #LaterLifeAdvice #BetterConversations

SOLLA Advisory Board Members Catriona Smith and Simon Chalk were recently asked to share their expertise in Financial World Magazine from LIBF. Discussing how best to support clients who may be cognitively impaired, and why better conversations are so important. Simon shares his thoughts on the importance of understanding client needs and capabilities: “We should remember that financial advisers are not social workers, nor trained with those skills, so we have to proceed as delicately and sensitively as possible. Thinking about where people are mentally, and whether they have the ability to cope with going through what the adviser is going to take them through.” Catriona goes on to discuss the ways she supports her clients with dementia: “I never see a client with dementia on their own. It’s always with the attorney and, though I’m asking the attorney the questions, I always include the client. If an adviser suspects that the attorney doesn’t have the client’s best financial interests at heart, you’ve got to refuse to transact if you think that’s what’s happening. You have to do everything you can to safeguard the client and sometimes you will have to say that something is not right,” Simon agrees on the importance of making challenges where needed:  “If you feel a particular financial decision could end up with a bad result for that person, you’ve got to point that out. And if somebody’s not taking advice, if their financial objectives don’t make good sense, helping them to achieve them is the wrong thing to do. You must be willing to challenge people’s thinking, to engage in debate.” Our Joint Chair, Jane Finnerty, reinforces the fact that: “If something doesn’t feel right, it’s important that a financial adviser doesn’t proceed with the meeting and reschedules it to ensure the client has the right support. Advisers need to collect all the softer facts around how the client understood and why they wanted to do something. This comes down to good conversations and excellent file notes so advisers can show that they discussed this, and that they were quite clear about the options and decisions." Better conversations are imperative to ensure the right advice for vulnerable clients and their individual circumstance. And our SOLLA accredited advisers are often asked to share their insights and expertise, committed to delivering a gold standard of advice. You can find out more here about SOLLA accreditation and how to become a member. https://lnkd.in/eQbXzMMq #VulnerableClients #LaterLifeAdvice #BetterConversations #SOLLAAccreditation #theSOLLAdifference