Retirement planning

Whether retirement is years away or just around the corner, our retirement planning services can help you prepare for what's next…

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Retirement means something different to everyone. You may want to travel, take up a new hobby, or help the grandchildren. Whatever your ambitions, our retirement planning services can help you understand what is possible and create a clear financial plan for achieving it.

There are many elements to consider – how to ensure your capital lasts as long as you require, how to meet your day-to-day expenditure as well as larger ad-hoc payments, and how much you might want to pass on to your family. Our financial advisers will gather as much information as possible about your existing assets and harness our technology to show you how to achieve the retirement you’re after.

Our aim is to make financial planning for retirement an enjoyable and empowering process. We can advise on almost any type of pension, while bringing these together with your wider investments, savings vehicles and accounts as part of a coordinated investment and retirement planning strategy. We’ll explain frequently changing tax rules and, importantly, help you make the most of the incentives available to you. Our goal is to help you reach financial freedom earlier and more effectively.

Retirement planning and wealth management can be complicated.

Our financial advisers make life straightforward by providing personalised retirement planning services and advice on areas such as:

A retirement cashflow plan – how much will you need to achieve your retirement goals?
Investment and retirement planning – how should your money be invested before and throughout retirement?
How current pension commencement lump sum (tax-free cash) rules and protections may affect you
How to structure your investments tax-efficiently to reduce the tax you may pay in retirement
How your retirement plan forms part of your wider estate and inheritance tax planning
How to consolidate your pensions and make pension contributions using ‘carry forward’
The annual allowance and how tapering may apply to high earners

What to expect from our retirement planning services

At Saltus, we have developed a specialist retirement planning proposition tailored to the needs of clients preparing for retirement or those already enjoying it. Built by our retirement experts, the framework we use recognises that drawing an income from your wealth requires a different approach to building it.

A clear understanding of how much you need to retire

Every retirement plan starts with understanding what you want to achieve. We work with you to identify your income needs and categorise expenditure into:

Essential spending
Lifestyle spending
Nice-to-have spending

This helps establish a clear picture of what your retirement could look like and provides the foundation for a financial plan built around your goals and lifestyle.

We use the latest technology to map your retirement journey

Once your objectives have been defined, cashflow modelling helps bring your retirement plan to life. This can give you a clear visual image of your future and helps you make decisions with greater confidence. Using sophisticated planning technology, we model different scenarios to help you understand:

How much you can realistically spend in retirement
The impact of major financial decisions
How long your assets may last
How resilient your plan is to changing market conditions

View an example cash flow plan

We build your retirement income strategy

Retirement income often comes from multiple sources and needs careful coordination. Our focus is on creating a sustainable income strategy that can support your needs over the long term.

We assess how your pensions, investments and other assets work together, including:

State Pension benefits
Defined benefit pensions
Defined contribution pension pots
Investment portfolios
Cash reserves

For some clients, guaranteed income can play an important role in retirement planning. We help evaluate whether annuitising a portion of your retirement funds is suitable and how this can work alongside invested pension assets to support your long term income needs.

A plan to make the most of your tax-free cash

Taking tax-free cash, otherwise known as a Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS), from your pension is an important decision that can affect your future retirement finances. We can help you understand your options and make an informed decision about:

When to take tax-free cash
How much you can withdraw
How using tax-free cash differs depending on your pension type
Using tax-free cash as part of your income plan

We test the resilience of your retirement plan

Retirement planning needs to do more than work today; it needs to remain effective throughout your retirement. We stress-test your retirement plan to see how it could perform under a range of real-world scenarios and risk factors, such as:

The potential impact of market downturns and periods of volatility
How inflation could affect your future spending power
Whether your assets are likely to support your lifestyle throughout retirement
The sustainability of different withdrawal strategies
How taking income during periods of weaker investment performance could affect the longevity of your wealth

We also assess how much financial loss your plan could withstand before it affects your ability to maintain your desired lifestyle and meet essential spending needs. This helps you understand the potential trade-offs involved in key decisions and gives you greater certainty in your long term retirement strategy.

We review and update your retirement plan collaboratively

Retirement is not a one time event. It hopefully, and likely, will span several decades. That’s why you and your adviser review your retirement plan annually and cash flow projections to reflect:

Changes in legislation
Market movements
Personal circumstances
Shifting retirement goals

This ongoing oversight helps ensure your strategy remains aligned with your needs throughout retirement.

A team of qualified retirement specialists

Many of our advisers hold specialist retirement planning qualifications. Combined with our structured planning process, this helps ensure you receive informed and personalised advice.

Find out more about our financial planning services here:

Financial planning

We help people prepare for retirement, make smarter tax decisions, and bring clarity to their finances

Retirement planning
Pension advice and consolidation
Tax-efficient investing
Inheritance tax planning

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Chartered Firm: meeting the highest standards

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Growing strong, staying personal

We started life over 20 years ago to support our friends and family and now we serve the whole of the UK

We know that size, breadth of expertise and financial resilience are important to our clients. We’ve grown from strength to strength over the years in this regard. However, we never forget where we came from and still provide the level of service you can expect from a boutique wealth management house. Our Chartered Financial Planning status highlights how important the quality of our service and advice is to us.

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Retirement Planning Frequently Asked Questions

What do retirement planning services include?

Retirement planning services help you prepare for life after work by creating a clear strategy for your finances. This can include pension planning, investment and retirement planning, tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, cashflow modelling and estate planning.

What does a financial adviser do?

A financial adviser helps you understand whether you’re on track to achieve your retirement goals and recommends steps to improve your financial position if needed. They can advise on pensions, investments, retirement income, tax planning and wealth preservation, helping you build a strategy that’s tailored to your circumstances and objectives.

When should I speak to a financial adviser about retirement?

It’s never too early to start planning for retirement. Speaking to a financial adviser well before you intend to retire gives you more time to build wealth, optimise your pensions and make informed financial decisions. However, professional financial advice for retirement planning can also be valuable if you’re approaching retirement, semi-retired or have already retired and want to ensure your finances remain on track.

How much money do I need to retire?

How much you need to retire depends on your lifestyle goals, expected spending, sources of income and how long your retirement may last. Rather than focusing on a specific number, it’s often more helpful to understand what level of wealth is required to support your desired lifestyle. A pension calculator may help provide a starting point, while a financial adviser can help you assess your position through detailed planning and cashflow modelling.

How can cashflow modelling help me plan for retirement?

Cashflow modelling allows you to visualise how your finances may evolve over time. By incorporating your assets, liabilities, income, expenditure and future goals, it can help assess whether you’re on track for retirement and explore the potential impact of different financial decisions.

Can a financial adviser help with pensions and investments?

Yes. A financial adviser can help ensure your pensions and investments are working together to support your long term financial goals. This may include pension consolidation, investment strategy, retirement income planning and ongoing portfolio reviews.

What is the difference between pension planning and retirement planning?

Pension planning focuses specifically on building, managing and drawing income from your pensions. Retirement planning takes a broader view, considering all aspects of your financial life, including pensions, investments, tax planning, savings, property, inheritance tax planning and future spending needs. In short, pensions are often one part of a wider retirement plan.

Does Saltus provide retirement planning for wealthy individuals?

Yes. We work with a wide range of clients, including business owners, professionals, executives and high net worth individuals. Our retirement planning for wealthy individuals is tailored to each client’s circumstances and can include complex areas such as tax planning, investment management, retirement income strategies and intergenerational wealth planning.

How can wealth management support retirement planning?

Wealth management helps ensure your pensions, investments, savings and other assets are working together to support your retirement goals. It can help you create a sustainable retirement income, manage investment risk and make informed financial decisions throughout retirement.

Is there a difference between a financial adviser and a retirement adviser?

In the UK, a financial adviser is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide advice on areas such as pensions, investments, tax planning and retirement income. Some financial advisers specialise in retirement planning and may describe themselves as retirement advisers.

It’s worth noting that the term “retirement adviser” is not a protected or regulated job title in the UK. When seeking retirement advice, you should check that the individual or firm is FCA-authorised and regulated.

Discover more

Financial planning

Financial planning can help you reach your goals in life, whether you want to determine when you can retire comfortably, bring organisation to your financial world or pass on your wealth effectively.

Pension advice and consolidation

Holding multiple investment accounts and pensions can mean they’re hard to keep track of and administer. We’ll help you overcome this by consolidating your accounts into a single plan so that you can understand your financial position with ease.

Tax planning and tax-efficient investing

How to structure your wealth and access income should be approached in a sophisticated way. A detailed financial plan may use pensions, ISAs, general investment accounts, offshore bonds and other tax wrappers to ensure you can draw your money in a tax-efficient manner.

Financial protection and life insurance

We protect our cars and houses without much thought yet you might be the most valuable asset in your family. Whatever your situation, we can provide advice to ensure you have the right level of insurance in place to keep your finances protected.

Inheritance tax planning and gifting

Estate planning is more important than just having a Will. We’ll work closely with you to understand how estate planning, which has emotional as well as financial consequences, can impact your overall financial plan.

Significant life events

Significant life events can present great opportunities but also considerable challenges. Whether you are going through a business sale, divorce or are receiving a lump sum, we’ll help build a financial plan to meet your changing lifestyle.