Over the last couple of years, I have been on a journey to understand what retirement planning should really look like.
That journey started with the FCA’s work on retirement income advice, but it has grown into something much wider.
Because retirement is not a product.
It is not a single investment strategy.
It is not simply about whether you sell down units, use natural income, buy an annuity, follow a 4% rule, or build a bucket strategy.
All of those things may have a place. But none of them should become an ideology.
The more time I have spent looking at retirement, the more I have come back to one simple point:
Retirement is personal. And retirement is behavioural.
The Problem With Fixed Views
One of the challenges in retirement planning is that people often become attached to a particular view.
Some say selling units is the only sensible way to create income.
Some say the 4% rule is outdated.
Some say natural income is wrong.
Others argue that annuities, buckets or guardrails are the answer.
The problem is that retirement does not work like that.
A good retirement plan should not start with a product, a portfolio or a withdrawal rate. It should start with the person.
- What do they want life to look like?
- What income do they need?
- What worries them?
- What would give them confidence?
- What happens if markets fall?
- What happens if they live longer than expected?
- What happens if care needs, tax rules or family circumstances change?
That is why retirement planning needs to be different from accumulation planning.
When you are building wealth, time is usually on your side. You are adding money, investing for the future and accepting that markets will move around.
When you retire, the conversation changes.
You are drawing from your wealth.
The order of returns matters.
Tax becomes more important.
Behaviour becomes more important.
And the emotional pressure can feel very different.
Retirement Is Not Just Technical
The technical side matters.
A retirement plan should consider pensions, ISAs, tax allowances, investment risk, cashflow modelling, inflation, sequencing risk, longevity and estate planning.
But retirement is also about behaviour.
- Some people overspend in the early years because they finally feel free.
- Some people underspend because they are terrified of running out of money.
- Some people panic when markets fall and want to stop taking income altogether.
- Some people struggle to move from saving to spending.
That is why a good financial planner will not simply ask, “How much do you have?”
- They will ask better questions.
- They will ask about your dreams, goals and aspirations.
- They will explore what retirement means to you.
- They will help you understand what is enough.
- They may even assess risk differently in retirement because the risk of drawing from investments is not the same as the risk of building them.
The Work I Have Been Doing
This blog is really an introduction to two pieces of work I have been involved in.
The first is for financial advisers.
Working with Aspen Advisers, we have produced a white paper looking at the opportunities and challenges in retirement income advice. It explores why firms may need a clearer Centralised Retirement Proposition, how retirement advice differs from accumulation advice, and why processes, governance and client outcomes matter.
The second is for people approaching or already in retirement.
With Ifamax Wealth Management, I have started writing a 12-step journey to retirement. This is designed to break retirement down into plain English. It starts with what retirement means today and then moves through areas such as pensions, income, tax, risk, family, legacy and the emotional side of retirement.
These two pieces of work sit on different sides of the same issue.
Advisers need better frameworks.
Clients need clearer conversations.
Both matter if we want better retirement outcomes.
Looking Forward to Retirement
In one recent podcast, I was reminded that retirement should be something we look forward to.
I agree with that.
Too often, retirement planning is framed around fear.
- Will I run out of money?
- What if markets fall?
- What if tax changes?
- What if I make the wrong decision?
These are important questions. But they should not remove the sense of possibility.
Retirement can be a time of freedom, family, purpose, travel, creativity, volunteering, rest, work on your own terms, or simply having more control over your days.
The role of good planning is not to remove every uncertainty.
It is to give you a framework that can adapt when life changes.
Pulling It Together
My aim through Money Wise UK is to help both sides of the retirement conversation.
For advisers, that means building stronger retirement processes, clearer governance and better ways to evidence good outcomes.
For clients, it means creating plain-English resources that help people understand the journey before they make big decisions.
Retirement is not one decision.
It is a series of decisions.
It is not just about money.
It is about life.
And the best retirement plans are the ones built around the person, not the product.
Additional Retirement Resources
To support this work, I have pulled together a number of retirement resources, including:
The Aspen Advisers and Money Wise UK White Paper
A professional guide for advisers looking at Centralised Retirement Propositions, sustainable income, governance, behavioural risk and Consumer Duty.
The Ifamax 12 Steps to Retirement Guide
A plain-English client journey designed to help people understand the key stages of retirement planning.
Money Wise UK Life Plan
A simple planning resource for people thinking about what they want retirement to look like beyond the numbers.
Future Money Wise UK Podcasts
Over the coming months, I hope to share more conversations around retirement, including the behavioural, technical and emotional sides of later-life planning.
Retirement should not be something we drift into.
It should be something we plan for, understand and, where possible, look forward to.
Important Information
This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, tax advice or a personal recommendation. Pension rules, tax treatment and legislation can change. The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest. If you are unsure about your retirement options, you should seek regulated financial advice.
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