How We Helped Keith Build a Retirement Plan That Gave Him Peace of Mind

To protect our Client’s privacy, we’ve used a different name in this post. However, this is a genuine case, and we have their permission to share it.

When Keith first got in touch, he felt totally lost when it came to his pensions. He’d had a long career, moved house a few times and, like many people, had paid into various workplace pensions along the way.

But when the time came to think about maintaining an income in retirement, he realised he didn’t really know what he had or what to do next.

“I had always assumed that I would sort out my pensions “one day”. When that day arrived, I realised that I hadn’t kept track of what I had or indeed how to access them. After an internet search, I found the Chesterton House website and made one of the most useful phone calls of my life to set up a meeting with the team there.”

He wasn’t alone. We meet a lot of people like Keith — people who’ve worked hard and saved steadily, but who don’t have a clear picture when it comes to their pensions.

That’s where we stepped in.

Step One: Find the Pensions, Make Sense of It All

We began by tracking down every pension Keith had. That meant digging through old paperwork, using pension tracing tools, and sending letters of authority to various providers — including some he hadn’t heard from in years.

When the information came back, the good news was that Keith had a considerable amount saved. The challenge was that this was scattered across different schemes, with different rules and options:

• Some were defined benefit pensions, offering a guaranteed income and a tax-free lump sum.
• Others were defined contribution pensions, invested and fluctuating in line with the stock market.

We sat down with him and explained each one clearly — no jargon, just clarity about what he had and what it could do for him.

Step Two: Turn Pensions into a Plan

Keith had already retired and was dipping into his savings to support his lifestyle. As a result of this, his cash savings were depleting, and the pensions he’d spent decades building up were still untouched, mostly because he didn’t know where to start.

The next step was helping Keith actually use what he had. He didn’t want to make mistakes or get caught out paying unnecessary tax.

We gave advice and guidance on each pension individually — whether it still suited his needs, what to do with it next, and how it fit into the bigger picture. That included shaping a cohesive investment strategy tailored to Keith’s attitude to risk and capacity for loss, ensuring his money worked as hard as possible for him.

We built a strategy around his life, not just his pension pots, in line with what really mattered to Keith.

✅ We looked at how and when to take income, based on the type of pensions he had.

✅ We used tax allowances to structure withdrawals as efficiently as possible – potentially saving him a considerable amount of tax compared to drawing from them without professional advice.

✅ We factored in his risk tolerance and his future plans and goals.

✅ And we stress-tested the plan using detailed cashflow modelling, to show him how it could all play out in the years ahead, giving him a sense of clarity and confidence about the future.

This gave him a regular, reliable income — not just for now, but for the years ahead.

Step Three: Look at the Whole Picture

During our conversations, and as part of our service as holistic financial planners, we discussed the importance of having key legal documents in place. We identified that Keith didn’t have an up-to-date Will or any Lasting Powers of Attorney documents. These are easy things to put off but vital to get right.

We introduced him to a local trusted solicitor’s practice in order to progress things and to ensure his entire financial house was in perfect order.

Where Keith Is Now

Fast forward to today, and things look very different.

His pensions are no longer scattered and forgotten — they’re joined up in a plan that works for him. His income is clear, sustainable, and tax efficient, and ultimately, he knows exactly where he stands.

Most importantly, he’s not worrying about what to do with his finances now that he is in retirement. That worry has been replaced with something better: the freedom to get on with living a great life.

“Working with the team at Chesterton House has been invaluable. They are friendly, helpful and incredibly knowledgeable. 

As you grow older, there is always the worry that ‘have I made enough financial provision’ to ensure that I have the security not just to survive retirement but to thrive and enjoy it. Working with experts has meant that my pensions and financial planning are sorted and that the worry has gone and I can look forward to a comfortable and hopefully long retirement.”

What We Did for Keith — and Can Do for You

Keith’s story is a familiar one. Many people reach retirement without a clear strategy, unsure how to turn what they’ve built into the life they want.

If your pensions are all over the place, or if you’re approaching retirement without a clear strategy, we’re here to help.

We’ll:

• Track down and explain your pensions
• Build a personal, tax-efficient retirement income plan
• Make sure your investments are in line with your goals and attitude towards risk
• Stress test your plan to make sure it’ll last
• Consolidate where it makes sense
• Consider the wider picture
• Provide ongoing support as life changes

Is It Time to Get Your Financial House in Order?

If your pensions feel all over the place — or if retirement is on the horizon and you’re not sure what it looks like — we’re here when you’re ready.

We’ll start from where you are. We’ll keep things simple. And we’ll help you stop worrying and start making the most of what you’ve worked for.

Your financial life should feel joined up. If it doesn’t right now, let’s change that.

Book your free initial conversation with one of our experienced Financial Planners.