Finance advice required

[Lel20]

My husband has recently died and I have now a lump sum of 300,000
and no idea what is best thing to do with it. It scares me knowing who to trust for advice.
any advice welcomed. I am 59 with 3 adult children. My youngest is 21 . I have paid the mortgage off but now need help to know what to do next.

Before others jump in with wise, considered advice - I think you must get the £300,000 working for you straight away - so

1. Put £50,000 (the max you're allowed) into premium bonds - do this before 1st May because, rather annoyingly, the money has to be in for a calendar month before you get any return.

2. Put the rest into an NS&I (National Savings) account

If you do this you'd get approximately £9,900 interest per year

Whilst that's happening - look around - take considered advice about what investments are for you.

Sorry to hear about your DH. The above advice is good for the short term. Have you got any friends that you can ask for recommendations of a financial adviser? Or ask around locally. A financial adviser will discuss your needs and advise you on the best options. For a longer term solution, you really need to invest some of it for better returns. Arrange to meet more than one adviser, and choose one that you feel comfortable with. Don't use anyone who pressures you to make decisions quickly. They should allow you all the time you need, particularly when you've experienced a recent loss.

I would invest it in a property and rent it out. And get an agent to manage it.

I’m very sorry to hear about the death of your husband.

the advice above is good for the short term if the money is currently in cash.

For the longer term, can you say a bit about what other savings/investments you have, pension, whether you are hoping to retire early?

So sorry for your loss. I just wanted to say, at 59 that's such a young age to loose your partner and I'm sorry you've lost him. If I was you I'd do what the above person said but who's to say you need to invest the 300k in anything other than yourself. See the world my lovely, your 59, go to all those places you fancied going to. If you always wanted to start a business, do it, if you ever wanted to go anywhere or do anything as a couple you can use this money to fulfill all those ideas. Good luck with whatever you choose, but personally sometimes investing money means you sacrifice on just living life. And we all know how precious that is, you have 3 adult kids, that's lots of family holidays you could all plan, investing is a good idea but making memories are priceless

I will be receiving an adult dependant pension from the NHS and a small NHS pension of my own. Not too much savings, just a small isa , we ploughed everything into our children and our home. I do wish to retire as life is short.

I’m so sorry for your loss @Lel20

My parents were 64 when my Dad died, it is too young.

My IFA has been super wonderful with my Mum, helping her sort her finances after my Dad died - if you are in the South/South West, and would like a recommendation, please PM me.

I absolutely would not do this!

What is the situation of your children? Would you consider giving each of them some of the lump sum to help them out? I would look for high rate savings accounts and split the funds between several to preserve the FSCS protection. Put some into an instant access account or premium bonds where you can get money out quickly if you need to. I wouldn't go into S&S, looking a bit grim at the minute and you need a long timescale. And do a will if you haven't already.

You could put it into a money market fund. It's a relatively safe investment in short-term, high-quality securities like government bonds, aiming to offer a yield slightly higher than cash savings, with high liquidity, easy access. Essentially, it's a place to park your savings while potentially earning a bit more than a savings account. Current rates are about 5.1%

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Sorry for your loss.

I agree about putting the money in the best instant access account you can find and not rushing into any decisions. You will have additional protection against the bank going bust for either 6 or 12 months so bear that in mind. You don't need to use NS&I if you can get a better rate elsewhere, but I do agree with Premium Bonds as it's a useful place for £50k tax free.

In time/before making any major decisions about what you want to do with the money, you need to think about your attitude to risk and also if you want to make any big changes such as moving home, improving your current home or other large purchases eg a new car. Also if you want to give any significant amounts to your DC or anyone else.

You could also try listening to the Meaningful Money podcast. It's by a financial adviser who spends a lot of time telling people they don't need a financial adviser. But that applies to most people with smaller sums to invest. I think a good rule of thumb would be if you have more than about £100k, that's when it's probably worth paying for advice.

https://meaningfulmoney.tv/learning-centre/

This will help you become more informed when you speak to an IFA and they start asking questions like the above. There's also a link about how you can get paid advise from them. It also covers the sorts of advice that's available, so might be helpful if you decide to go with another IFA.

https://meaningfulmoney.tv/work-with-pete/

Do not tell anyone how much money you have
50k in premium bonds
20k in ISA allowance

Rest in a no risk account.

Do not buy a house to rent out.

I wouldn’t make any big decisions as you are grieving. My sister spent too much money on her house and then ended up downsizing when she was widowed.

There is no timeline on grief, I’m so sorry you are going through this.