We finally understood which of our four pensions still carried a valuable guarantee — and which ones we could consolidate without losing sleep.
The fee felt high until I saw the written cash-flow. I still wish the discovery forms had been shorter, but the plan itself answered questions our bank adviser never raised.
After remortgaging, Priya walked us through how our old life cover no longer matched the new loan term. We adjusted the sum assured and added income protection — decisions we had postponed for two years.
Marcus modelled salary, dividend, and pension contribution options against our school-fee years. The chart was blunt about cash in the company versus cash in our ISA, which was exactly what we needed.
Extended story
Leaving a defined contribution scheme before State Pension age
Claire came to us eighteen months before she planned to reduce her hours. She held a large workplace pot, a small SIPP from an earlier job, and an ISA she treated as emergency cash. The question was not “which fund is best” but how to bridge income until State Pension without triggering an avoidable tax bill.
We built a five-year cash-flow using her actual spending, then tested drawing from the ISA first while delaying the SIPP. The written recommendation also flagged that her workplace scheme’s default drawdown path would have sold growth holdings too early. Claire implemented the sequence with us over two meetings; she later said the most useful page was the one showing what happens if markets fall in year two.
Claire T. · Whole-of-life financial planning with retirement income focus
Extended story
Two directors, one uneven pension history
A professional partnership asked for help after one partner had decades of pension contributions and the other had largely relied on the company. The engagement reviewed employer contribution capacity, personal allowance planning, and what a future buyout might mean for each household.
The outcome was not a single product switch but a timetable: increase contributions for the underfunded partner over three tax years, keep the stronger pension invested according to a longer horizon, and schedule an annual check before each company year-end. Both partners signed the fee agreement knowing implementation would be gradual.
Confidential clients · Business owner wealth planning