Over the past two years, I’ve been watching the retirement conversation gather pace. It feels a bit like a wheel of cheese rolling downhill—slow at first, but gaining momentum with every turn.

With that momentum has come a growing number of firms claiming they have the retirement solution. In reality, most solutions fall into one of three broad categories:

• Guarantee-based products

• Capital withdrawal strategies

• Income-based withdrawal strategies

Around these sit countless nuances and increasingly complex products, but fundamentally, they all orbit the same core principles.

And here’s the important part: retirement planning is not the same as saving for retirement.

Yes, the eventual solution matters. Tax planning matters. Sustainability of income matters. Asset structuring matters. But too often we jump straight to products, wrappers, and withdrawal rates before we have asked the most important question:

What does retirement actually look like for you?

Before talking money, we need to understand:

• Your values

• Your priorities

• What gives your life meaning

• Whether you want a phased retirement or an immediate stop

• What a typical day or week in retirement looks like

• The lifestyle you hope to maintain

• The responsibilities you want (or no longer want)

Only after that picture is clear should we begin talking about income sustainability, sequencing risk, safe spending rates, or products. The financial plan must be built around you—not around whatever the industry is currently promoting.

If you speak to an adviser and they immediately jump into products, percentages, and “solutions”, I would gently suggest walking away. The solution they are proposing is likely their solution—not yours.

For advisers, the message is equally important: don’t get swept up in shiny new retirement products. Build a robust process instead. A clear, repeatable, values-based framework doesn’t just lead to the right solution—
it creates consistency, supports Consumer Duty, and ultimately delivers better outcomes for clients.

Retirement isn’t a product. It’s a journey.
Start with the person, and the right solution naturally follows.