Contents
Key Takeaways
Retirement planning protects your future income – It ensures your pension pot, savings, and investments support your chosen retirement lifestyle and later life care needs.
Specialist advice covers all pensions – Advisers help start personal pensions, consolidate workplace pensions, and create investment strategies for long-term retirement savings growth.
Meetings assess your financial position – Wealth managers review pension pots, calculate income needs, and match investment plans to your risk tolerance.
Tax efficiency is central to planning – Retirement strategies include using tax reliefs and allowances to maximise income across your retirement years.
Costs and charges are fully explained – A retirement planning proposal details recommendations, fees, and how your pension strategy will be implemented.
Expert guidance simplifies complex choices – With many pension and investment options, financial advisers give clear direction to secure retirement income.
Planning gives confidence for later years – Professional advice ensures your finances can sustain both you and your family throughout retirement.
What is Retirement Planning?
Specialist financial advice focused on making sure your pension savings, pension plan and wider retirement fund last throughout retirement—while planning for events such as later-life care and the rising cost of living. ONS data shows that a UK male aged 65 can expect an additional 18.5 years of life, and females 21.0 years on average, making longevity planning essential [1].
What areas will Retirement Planning cover?
Retirement planning usually includes starting a personal pension and reviewing your workplace pension scheme(s), tracing any lost pensions, and deciding the right type of pension for you. Advice can include pension annuity options, drawdown, pension contributions, and how to turn savings into reliable pension income. A robust strategy also considers tax-efficient ISAs, rental property as an additional income source, and your attitude to investment risk and return so the value of your pension can grow steadily [2].
What will the initial meeting be like?
Your retirement planner or wealth manager will review your financial affairs, including any pensions you have and any small amount pots from old jobs. They’ll discuss your goals, preferred retirement lifestyle, and expected retirement age or pension age.
After the meeting, they will assess existing arrangements to ensure they’re working hard enough, calculate how much pension income you’ll need, and recommend a mix of investments. They will also check your national insurance contributions record and whether voluntary contributions could boost your new State Pension.
Understanding the State Pension
Knowing your state pension age matters. It determines when you can claim the State Pension and how your other assets should bridge any gap. Your adviser will explain eligibility, Pension Wise guidance, and whether topping up national insurance contributions is a good idea [3].
Tax and allowances
Planning includes making sure you use available allowances so you don’t pay too much tax. Your adviser will explain the tax implications of contributions, drawdown, annuities and other retirement options, helping your money go a long way over decades [4].
How do you pay for Retirement Planning?
After the initial meeting, the financial adviser will present a clear proposal with recommendations, fees and charges. You’ll understand costs before any changes are implemented—a good place to make informed decisions with confidence.
What’s most important to remember?
Finding the right investment approach to meet retirement needs has become more complex. There are different ways to build a sustainable income—annuity, drawdown, ISAs and property—and each has trade-offs. It’s hard to judge how much you’ll need or the best mix without expert help.
In our experience…
People often delay planning because they fear they won’t have a comfortable retirement. In reality, even a small amount saved early can go a long way—and the PLSA Retirement Living Standards give a practical benchmark for costs. Now is a good time to speak with a fully qualified financial adviser who can help create a tailored pension plan to support you and your family for the long term. A conversation today can shape a stronger financial future.
