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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Multi multi millionaire at work

115 replies

Nojudgementiguess · 09/08/2022 19:22

one of the Directors at work (I would guess salary of about £150k plus bonuses), been working here years, recently inherited about £25m. We know this because an article was once written about her mother who was a property developer.
aibu to wonder if there are tax loopholes for someone who inherits but continues to work?! Inheritance tax I mean? Obviously office gossip spreads fast and we are all baffled at why she wouldn’t just sail off into the sunset 😂

OP posts:
RedWingBoots · 09/08/2022 19:36

YABU

I know people in their 50s who have lost a spouse and due to payouts from their spouses life insurance plus savings can retire. They all work because it gives them a purpose in life and makes them interact with people.

I also know people in their late 60s and 70s who have gone back to work after retiring as they like interacting with younger people.

While one died earlier this year I know people in their 80s who are still working.

Oh and some of these people - particularly the 70 and 80 year olds - are self-employed so them carrying on working means they give younger people jobs.

SummerLobelia · 09/08/2022 19:37

Just because a newspaper article writes it does not make it so.

I know someone who had a high profile divorce that made it to the papers with breatless speculation that were a bunch of arse.

Similar to a family member who did indeed inherit something. Along with a full nearly 40 other beneficiaries- mostly charities.

anyway- perhaps work gives her purpose.

AMIAMIBU · 09/08/2022 19:43

Are you the main office gossip, if any are worse than you it must be awful!

Don't know why she's doing it? Mind your own business?

WowIlikereallyhateyou · 09/08/2022 19:48

Someone might have a porfolio worth £25 m but it may not be paid for. Lots of property developers have large borrowings and owe a lot of money on mortgages. Their property might be worth that amount,but if they die and it isnt paid for the inheritance could be massively different.

sintrawest · 09/08/2022 19:49

No idea and I too would fantasise! But also I would probably take this down, if she sees it (and is probably pretty identifiable if she did or if anyone knows her) then it might make her feel crap to know she’s being gossiped about and on a public forum as well.

Christin3 · 09/08/2022 19:49

Get your head out of her life and focus on yours.

QuebecBagnet · 09/08/2022 19:51

She may have inherited the house but any actual cash have been used to settle inheritance tax.

There’s no loophole to avoid inheritance tax if you are working still.

so she’d now have a choice of keep the house and keep working or sell the house and have cash and leave work. And if she likes her job and the house then she may have chosen the first option.

1VY · 09/08/2022 19:53

Let’s hope this doesn’t get picked up by the tabloids, it’s very identifying.

What’s your exact role at the company @Nojudgementiguess ?

slashlover · 09/08/2022 19:55

Not really living up to your username are you OP?

Icedbannoffee · 09/08/2022 19:56

My old boss was really wealthy, they said they enjoyed work as it was something they had the luxury of choosing to do and not something they had to do to pay the bills.

SpaghettiNoodle · 09/08/2022 19:57

No tax wheeze, but I’m a tax adviser to ultra high net worth individuals (generally worth £10m+). I’d say approx 90% of my clients still work.

They’ve worked all their lives, it’s what their used to and it fills their time. I imagine it’s all a lot less stressful when it doesn’t matter if you get fired too!!

ThisWasMeTooo · 09/08/2022 20:04

MomwasCasual · 09/08/2022 19:25

She's probably thinking about next years energy prices, and playing it safe!

😹😹😹😹😹

FallOutPloy · 09/08/2022 20:05

I don't think I would give up work altogether, no matter how much money I had. I would definitely go part time though!

SexyHoneyMoony · 09/08/2022 20:06

it's got fuck all to do with you - and I say this as someone who loves a bit of gossip.

SareBear87 · 09/08/2022 20:07

I've met a few people like this, where you think "why do you work!?"
To simplify it, because there is nothing else. Their peers run companies, work long hours, etc. It's like work is the hobby. Their family are similar, or much older and unable/unwilling to deviate from the daily routine.

I always thought I'd be straight out of work if I won the millions but I guess the fun would wear off eventually and then what do you do on a day to day basis?

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't work full time but I'd certainly find something I'm more passionate about!

rainyskylight · 09/08/2022 20:08

I think YABU. This isn’t a lottery situation. Firstly you don’t know how much has actually been received in cash. Some of it may be tied up. If I was your colleague I would keep working at the job I enjoy and keep my options open. Also, inheriting money can come with considerable responsibility. It’s her mother’s money, that may be weighing heavily on her. It’s not money to be frittered away.

PlopPlop · 09/08/2022 20:08

I probably would carry on working if I had a windfall, especially if it was after the loss of both my parents. That sounds horrible no matter how much money is involved.

I think I would need the structure and sense of doing something to help me process the grief, otherwise I would probably spiral and end up blowing all the money on a stupid lifestyle.

she sounds sensible and well grounded

ILoveMonday · 09/08/2022 20:09

When I inherited £3 million I carried on working. I don't want people to know my financial affairs - call me old-fashioned but I want people to like me for the person I am rather than money.

TiaraBoo · 09/08/2022 20:10

When you’ve lost both parents, I don’t think it’s a natural go to to say woohoo I’ve made it, I’m giving up work!
Poor lady needs time to grieve and then decide what to do with her life. And lots of people need a focus like working or they won’t bother getting out of bed.

PlopPlop · 09/08/2022 20:12

If she is like me she will probs be getting a few more years experience under her belt so she can quit the full time gig and get onto a N.E.D boards she is interested in.

ConfirmEmail · 09/08/2022 20:12

I’d probably continue working in some form if I inherited that amount of money. I enjoy my job, gives me a sense of purpose and identity. I’d consider doing it differently - maybe part-time, or on a project / consultancy basis, but I’d certainly continue.

fyn · 09/08/2022 20:12

When I worked for a billionaire, his son worked in sales for one of the companies he owned. He quite clearly didn’t need to but did it anyway, working just like the rest of the staff there.

sjxoxo · 09/08/2022 20:13

If it’s a large estate it may likely be protected in trusts or assets at the least. So even if there is value of that amount it doesn’t mean she will have the cash with easy access. Maybe she enjoys working! It’s much nicer to go to work when there’s no pressure for you to ‘need’ the money. x

AMIAMIBU · 09/08/2022 20:13

1VY · 09/08/2022 19:53

Let’s hope this doesn’t get picked up by the tabloids, it’s very identifying.

What’s your exact role at the company @Nojudgementiguess ?

Sacked if the tabloids pick this up! Oh well!

Iamthewombat · 09/08/2022 20:17

Just back up and think about it logically for a moment. How could continuing to work possibly mitigate an inheritance tax liability? In what universe is that going to happen?

If it were a so-called ‘loophole’ (I too am an accountant, like others on this thread. Every time I hear the word ‘loophole’, I think, “there’s someone who is financially illiterate”), then everyone could mitigate inheritance tax, couldn’t they? By, er, working. What sensible Treasury would build that into the tax legislation?