Three groups of people, at three stages of the same journey.
Building towards retirement, getting ready for it, or already living in it — see which one sounds like you.
You've realised that retirement is approaching faster than you anticipated. The savings are growing, but you're not certain they'll add up to the life you have in mind — and there's a nagging sense that the years where your money could be working hardest are slipping past.
How to accelerate pension contributions now — making up ground while it still counts — without undermining the standard of living you're enjoying today.
A realistic sense of the target to work towards, contribution options shaped around your actual budget rather than a rule of thumb, and — revisited as life changes — the quiet confidence that the years ahead are pulling their weight.
These are the big-decision years, and the decisions don't come with an undo button. The fear is making one irreversible, structural mistake with a lifetime's savings — or never quite making the mental shift from building wealth to giving yourself permission to spend it.
Getting the investment risk right for the income you'll actually need — taking into account the state pension, any final-salary pensions, property income and everything else you have — and making sure a poor run in the markets, right as you stop working, doesn't sink the whole plan.
That last risk has a name — sequence-of-returns risk — and managing it is one of the most valuable things good planning does at this stage.
A clearer view of when retirement could realistically begin, how much you might sustainably draw, and where your income could come from — talked through together, with the trade-offs laid out, so you can make the decision with confidence rather than guesswork.
Two opposite fears, pulling against each other: running out of money before you run out of life — and its mirror image, dying with too much, leaving an accidental inheritance-tax bill and a pot your family could have put to good use years earlier.
Designing a tax-efficient way to draw your income that protects your lifestyle for as long as you live — while passing wealth down through structured gifts, at the right time, rather than leaving it to be taxed on death.
A sustainable approach to drawing your income that flexes as life and markets change, the freedom to give while you're alive to enjoy it, and an estate shaped the way you intended — rather than the way the default tax rules would leave it.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). Your capital is at risk. The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax planning.
"If none of these is quite you — you're earlier in the journey, or your situation needs a different specialism — we'll tell you, and gladly point you towards someone who's a more appropriate match."Edmund Bailey · Chartered Financial Planner
Sound like your stage? Let's talk.
A free introductory call — about 20 minutes — to see whether we're the right fit for each other.