What people said, after the sessions were done.

Challenge

A couple in their early fifties with three pension pots and no plan

A Thai-British couple, both in their early fifties, had savings in a Thai Provident Fund, a UK workplace pension, and an international savings plan from a previous employer. They had no clear view of what they would actually have available at sixty-five, or what it would cost to maintain their current lifestyle.

Programme

Retirement Roadmap Conversations (3 sessions)

Through three sessions, the couple mapped each income source separately — including Social Security entitlements, the UK state pension at seventy, and expected dividend income. They then built a month-by-month projection of outgoings across three scenarios: staying in Bangkok, partial return to the UK, and an extended period in both countries.

Outcome

A roadmap document and three concrete decisions

The couple left with a written roadmap they have since updated twice. More usefully, they identified three specific actions: consolidating one pension pot, reviewing a life insurance policy whose beneficiary nomination was outdated, and scheduling a meeting with a Thai financial advisor about RMF contribution levels before the year end. All three have since been completed.

"We came in vague and left with something on paper. That was what we needed."

Challenge

A forty-six year old with investments she could not explain

A German participant working in Bangkok's finance sector had accumulated mutual fund holdings over twelve years, recommended at various points by different advisors. She could not clearly describe what she owned, how the funds related to each other, or whether the combined risk profile was appropriate for her situation.

Programme

Investment Foundations for Adults (4 weeks + follow-up)

The programme gave her vocabulary and a framework for reading fund factsheets and performance reports. By week three she was able to map her existing holdings against a risk matrix and identify where the portfolio was more concentrated than she had realised. The follow-up call became an opportunity to discuss what she had found when she applied that analysis at home.

Outcome

A watchlist and a more productive advisor relationship

She met with her advisor three weeks after the programme ended, for the first time prepared to ask specific questions about holdings and fees. She has since restructured a portion of her portfolio with the advisor, keeping the LTF holdings for their tax advantage while reducing duplication in the equity fund portion. She described the change as moving from a passive to an active participant in her own financial planning.

"I understand what I own now. That is a reasonable description of what I needed."

Challenge

A sixty-one year old who had avoided estate questions for a decade

A Thai participant in his early sixties had been aware for years that his estate documents were incomplete — a will from 2009 with a wrong address, no beneficiary nominations on three bank accounts, and an insurance policy whose proceeds would go to an ex-spouse under a designation he had forgotten to update.

Programme

Estate and Legacy Planning Workshop (one day)

The workshop structured the conversation he had been avoiding. By midday he had completed most of the personal checklist, identifying each document that needed attention and which professional — notary, attorney, or bank — was the appropriate contact for each. The afternoon session on beneficiary nominations surfaced the insurance designation issue, which he had not realised could be changed independently of the will.

Outcome

Documents updated within six weeks of the workshop

He contacted us two months after the workshop to say that all items on his personal checklist had been addressed. The will was updated and registered, the bank account nominations were completed, and the insurance designation was corrected. He noted that having a structured checklist rather than a general list of intentions was the difference between getting it done and continuing to defer it.

"I would have kept putting it off without a specific list of what to do next. That is what the workshop gave me."