 is often built around the pursuit of certainty. Forecasted income levels, withdrawal rates and assumed 

 returns are used to construct plans intended to deliver a stable standard of living over time. While this approach provides clarity at the outset, it can mask a fundamental weakness: most retirement plans are highly sensitive to changes in markets and spending behaviour.

Retirements frequently last 30 years or more. Over that period, market shocks are inevitable and personal circumstances rarely remain static. Plans that rely on fixed assumptions can fail not because the modelling was incorrect, but because they lack the flexibility to respond when conditions change 

“once you’re in that spending phase… you’ve got to make the money last.”

From saving to spending: A second front emerges in the US retirement challenge

A common simplifying assumption in retirement planning is that expenditure can be treated as a stable, 

-adjusted figure. In practice, spending varies materially over time. Early retirement is often associated with higher discretionary expenditure, including travel and lifestyle spending 

How does spending change through retirement?

Later years tend to see a natural reduction in activity-related costs, with a greater proportion of expenditure becoming essential rather than discretionary. Ignoring this progression can lead to withdrawal strategies that are unnecessarily rigid.

The practical implication is that not all spending needs to be supported in all market conditions. As Keith notes, effective planning depends on 

“understanding those elements of your expenditure which are essential to keep the lights and those elements which are discretionary.”

 Without that distinction, spending becomes fixed by default, leaving little room to adapt when markets fall.

The Transition From Accumulation to Decumulation

 benefit from ongoing income. Market downturns can often be absorbed through continued earnings and future contributions. Retirement removes that flexibility.

Once individuals enter decumulation, withdrawals must be funded entirely from existing assets. This changes the 

. Decisions that might be recoverable during accumulation can have permanent consequences when capital is being drawn.

Retirement income advice thematic review

Keith draws a clear distinction between the two phases: 

“When you’re building up your wealth, you can continue to earn… once you’re in that spending phase, you’ve got to make the money last.”

 The challenge is no longer maximising returns, but managing the order and timing of withdrawals.

Flexibility is less relevant for individuals with secure, inflation-linked income that comfortably covers their essential expenditure. 

 and state pension income can provide a stable foundation that reduces reliance on market-based assets.

For those whose retirement income is largely derived from 

 or investment portfolios, flexibility becomes significantly more important. In these cases, market performance directly affects both income sustainability and capital longevity. As Keith explains, for this group 

“what happens in the stock market does impact… the income and the capital that we can draw from the portfolio.”

Where spending cannot be adjusted, market downturns can force withdrawals at precisely the wrong time.

 are often essential for long-term sustainability, particularly where retirement spans multiple decades. However, their use introduces sequencing risk when income is being drawn. The issue is not volatility itself, but the interaction between falling asset values and fixed withdrawals 

Will my income last a lifetime?

Keith illustrates this with a simple example: 

“If you had a million pound portfolio, and you were taking £40,000 out… if that portfolio dropped to £500,000, suddenly you’re not taking £40,000 out of a million, you’re taking £40,000 out of £500,000.”

 At that point, even a subsequent recovery may be insufficient to restore the original capital base.

Rigid income strategies can therefore undermine sustainability despite long-term growth assumptions remaining intact.

 is often discussed in terms of opportunity cost. In retirement planning, its primary role is protection. Holding accessible, lower-volatility assets allows income needs to be met without selling growth assets during periods of market stress 

Guide to managing longevity risk

This does not eliminate risk, but it changes how risk is absorbed. Keith describes liquidity as a form of contingency planning: 

“Where do we get liquidity or what spending do we cut?”

 These decisions are most effective when addressed in advance, rather than during periods of market decline.

Liquidity functions as a buffer, not a return driver. Its value lies in preventing forced decisions rather than enhancing performance.

Long-term sustainability is not achieved by maintaining spending regardless of conditions. It is achieved by retaining the ability to respond to adverse scenarios without permanently impairing capital.

Because longevity is uncertain, retirement planning is inherently probabilistic [6]. Keith highlights that running out of money in later life is a challenging risk to face, therefore the objective is not precision, but resilience.

Flexibility allows spending to be moderated, deferred or funded from alternative sources during periods of stress, preserving the capacity for recovery.

Retirement planning is often presented as an exercise in forecasting. In practice, it is more accurately described as risk management. The most robust plans are those that recognise uncertainty and are structured accordingly.

They do not assume stable markets or predictable spending, but instead incorporate mechanisms that allow for adjustment over time. Flexibility is not an optional feature of retirement income planning. It is a structural requirement.

Flexibility underpins sustainable retirement planning.

 Retirement income plans that can adapt to market conditions and spending changes are more resilient than strategies built on fixed assumptions.

 Distinguishing essential and discretionary expenditure allows retirees to adjust income during market stress without undermining long-term retirement sustainability.

 Once retirement income is drawn from investments, rigid withdrawal strategies can amplify sequencing risk and permanently reduce capital longevity.

Retirement planning is fundamentally risk management.

 Effective retirement income planning prioritises flexibility, control, and adaptability over income certainty or precise forecasting.

Why Flexibility Is the Missing Ingredient in Most Retirement Plans

Keith is a Director within the Private Wealth team and is responsible for providing integrated wealth management services to high and ultra-high net worth individuals, business owners and trusts.

Prior to joining W1M, Keith was a senior member of the 1762 division of RBC Brewin Dolphin, where he was a Divisional Director, providing complex financial planning advice to HNW and UHNW individuals and families. Before joining RBC Brewin Dolphin, he worked at UBS Wealth Management for almost eight years, including as Head of Financial Planning.

Keith is a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society and has over 25 years of financial services experience.

Wealth Manager

Keith Sheehan

W1M is a leading international wealth and investment management firm. With £24 billion in assets under management (AUM) and a team of c.350 professionals, W1M specialises in working with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, charities, and institutions.

The firm offers an extensive range of services, including cross-border advisory and planning expertise, institutional-quality investment management, and comprehensive global tax and consolidated portfolio reporting, designed to meet the evolving complexities of wealth and investment management, including addressing international and intergenerational needs.

Beyond its direct client relationships, W1M also maintains a longstanding partnership with Independent Financial Advisers, providing access to its market-leading investment solutions.

Headquartered at 16 Babmaes Street, London, W1M also operates offices in Barcelona, Barbados, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. The firm is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (UK), Securities Exchange Commission (US) and the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (EU).

They have helped individuals and families grow and preserve wealth for decades. From day one, they have focused on your priorities and aspirations to create a personalised wealth plan and investment strategy that reflects your unique circumstances and values as they evolve. Their offering has been shaped by the needs of their clients, designed to meet the evolving complexities of managing wealth.

A dedicated wealth manager will tailor a wealth plan to your family’s goals and priorities, understanding your short- and long-term objectives, reviewing your finances, risk tolerance, and preferences, and crafting a strategy for UK, US and European assets. This includes lifetime wealth and cash flow modelling, exploring tax efficiency and structuring opportunities, and conducting regular reviews to track progress and make adjustments as needed.

W1M Wealth & Investment Management offers extensive active investment management capabilities built around you and available across markets and asset classes.

Their approach focuses on your wealth in its entirety, integrating wealth planning, investment management and consolidated reporting, to ensure that the wealth management solution aligns seamlessly with your individual objectives and aspirations.

Dedicated portfolio managers will establish a personalised long-term investment strategy to implement your wealth plan. They firmly believe in a global, active and direct approach to investing across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes. Your investments will be structured for tax efficiency and aligned with your individual preferences. You will have access to investment expertise, insights and events throughout the year.

The value of investments and the income derived from them may rise as well as fall, and investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Capital security is not guaranteed. W1M and its affiliates do not provide legal or tax advice.

W1M Wealth & Investment Management

Luke joined W1M company in February 2017. Luke is Co-head of Multi-Asset Strategies at the firm and is lead manager of the Waverton Real Assets Fund and Waverton Absolute Return Fund. He is a key team member responsible for managing a range of multi-asset strategies at the firm, including the award winning MPS. He has built and developed the collective investment selection process and our continues to focus on the selection of alternative investments for the firm. Luke has also worked at New Star Asset Management and SG Private Bank. He has a BA Hons degree from Manchester University and is a CFA charterholder.

Co-head of Multi-Asset Strategies

Nick joined W1M from the 1762 division of RBC Brewin Dolphin, where he had been since May 2018. There, he played an instrumental role in establishing its private wealth proposition, which provided access to a wide range of wealth management solutions. Serving as the firm’s Operations Director, he was responsible for managing the UHNW advice-led service, before moving to become Chief of Staff. Prior to 1762, Hammond worked at Baird & Co as its Chief Operating Officer and at C Hoare & Co as Head of Portfolio Management.

Head of Private Wealth and US Private Wealth

Helen brings over 20 years experience working with HNW and UHNW clients and families. Prior to joining W1M, Helen was a Senior Wealth Manager at Coutts where she worked within the International Client Group specialising in looking after the wealth planning needs of European and US clients, providing bespoke financial solutions on and offshore.

Helen is a chartered member of the Chartered institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) having previously been awarded both the Private Client Investment Advice and Management (PCIAM) and the Investment Advice Diploma (IAD).

Outside work Helen enjoys travelling with her family, playing golf, tennis, and skiing, and watching her son in his various sporting endeavours.

Cuthbert is a Director and Portfolio Manager. He looks after a wide range of clients, predominantly those resident in the UK as well as some based overseas. Many of these are multi-generational families and have been clients for many years. Cuthbert is experienced in managing portfolios in different structures including personal portfolios, pensions, trusts and corporates (particularly family investment companies). In addition, Cuthbert works closely with clients' financial advisors, lawyers, accountants and/or the company financial planning team to structure the investments in the most tax efficient manner.

Cuthbert is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder, a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and has a degree in History from Edinburgh University. He joined the company in 2017, having previously worked at JM Finn & Co.

Portfolio Manager

Kim is an Executive Director in the US Wealth team and advises international and US-connected families & individuals on their global wealth management requirements.

Prior to joining W1M, Kim was a wealth manager at Coutts where he worked with HNW & UHNW international & US families for 8 years. He previously spent time working in the wealth management industry for a global bank in Switzerland where he is a dual citizen.

Kim graduated from the University of Exeter in Economics & Politics and was awarded the Private Client Investment Advice & Management (PCIAM), and the Investment Advice Diploma (IAD), by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) where he is a chartered member.

As a keen traveller Kim has an interest in experiencing new cultures in different countries. He enjoys playing tennis regularly, is an avid skier, and struggles to improve his golf.

Josh is an Executive Director within the US Wealth team, advising US-connected families and individuals in the co-ordination and management of their wealth across multiple jurisdictions.

He has extensive experience in structuring global assets to ensure his clients are maximising their affairs. This includes setting up strategies prior to arriving and whilst residing in the UK; helping clients to visualise and manage their cashflow effectively and forming US/UK compliant estate plans.

Josh was shortlisted in the Spears Wealth Management Awards as a “Future Leader in Private Client Services.”

Having a broad network of professional contacts allows Josh to provide a joined-up approach across a wide range of matters.

Josh has been awarded a Chartered Fellow Membership of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments having achieved the Private Client Investment Advice and Management (PCIAM) qualification, Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning.

Jamie joined W1M in 2017 and is a team head within the Private Client business, heading up a team of 5 portfolio managers overseeing £1.65bn of assets under management.

Jamie looks after direct client relationships taking responsibility for portfolio construction through to reporting. Managing a wide range of investment portfolios across the private client, US linked individuals, Trustee, and Professional Adviser space. Jamie particularly enjoys building relationships across multi-generational family portfolios.

Jamie started his career at Quilter Cheviot where he specialised in Ethical and Sustainable investments. Jamie has various investment qualifications and is a Chartered Fellow of the CISI and has a degree in Economics from Newcastle University.

Todd is an Executive Director with the US Wealth team where he specialises in providing international wealth planning, tax efficient investment structuring and consolidated wealth reporting for cross border Americans, and non-US citizens inside and outside the US.

In addition to his business in the US and UK, more recently, Todd has partnered with W1M Europe’s office to assist the division’s geographic expansion; with a focus on US connected clients across key European locations including Spain and Portugal.

Prior to joining W1M, Todd was an international wealth manager in London where he managed and advised cross-border American clients.

Prior to moving to London in 2018, Todd spent 19 years in US private banking with UBS and Citibank in New York City, including 10 years as Director – Head of Sales for the UBS Headquarters office in Manhattan.

In the UK, he holds the Private Client Advice and Management certificate and is a Chartered MCSI with the CISI – Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.

Todd holds the Certified Financial Planner™, Certified Investment Management Analyst®, Certified Private Wealth Advisor® professional designations in the US.
US regulated licenses: Series 3, Series 7, Series 9, Series 10, Series 63, Series 65.
US Insurance licensed for: Life, Accident & Health, and Long-Term Care.

Keith Sheehan

Bio

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Why Flexibility Is the Missing Ingredient in Most Retirement Plans

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Keith Sheehan

Bio

Articles from author

Why Flexibility Is the Missing Ingredient in Most Retirement Plans

Start your journey to your Financial well-being

FIND OUT MORE

LEGAL

CONTACT US

Start your journey to your
Financial well-being