Retirement
The moment when you enter retirement is one of your life’s most significant milestones. However, transitioning from work into retirement requires careful financial planning to support your lifestyle, needs, and goals in your golden years. The decisions you make now about your pensions, savings, and assets will impact your income for the rest of your life.
Make the Right Decisions at Retirement
Moving from earning a salary to drawing retirement income is one of the biggest financial transitions you’ll make in your life. Many of our clients find this period both exciting and daunting. While they may have reached their goal, they’re inundated with several key decisions to make.
At PFM Associates, we guide you through this transition with confidence, reassurance and clarity. Whether you’re an empty nester looking to build for retirement, have inherited wealth, or simply need help understanding investments, taxes and retirement planning, we can support you, however complex your situation. Our retirement advisers in Poole, Dorset, can assist you in understanding your available options, planning your income strategy, and ensuring your money lasts you throughout your retirement.
Your Retirement Income Options
PFM Associates offers tailored, personalised advice to help you make the right decisions at retirement, with our experienced and understanding team working with you to create a substantial roadmap for your circumstances.
We have experience helping clients with:
- Pension drawdown – allowing you to keep your pension invested while taking out income on an ad-hoc basis
- Annuities – guaranteeing income for life via the best rates and terms.
- State Pension – understanding when and how to claim your State Pension entitlement to support your retirement income.
- Tax-efficient withdrawals – where you can draw from different income sources to reduce your tax liabilities.
- Investing a lump sum – for either capital growth or income.
- Reinvestment – helping you identify, understand and reduce risk with your portfolio funds.
What our clients say
Protection and Care Planning
As you enter retirement, protecting your wealth becomes increasingly important. We help you consider:
- Long-term care funding strategies
- Inheritance tax planning
- Later-life and lifetime mortgages
- Health and protection needs
Your investment strategy needs to evolve as you move from accumulating wealth to preserving and spending it. We help you balance the need for growth with capital preservation, adjusting your portfolio as you progress through retirement.
Why Use PFM Associates for Retirement Planning?
Retirement planning requires deep expertise in pension rules, tax legislation, and investment management. As Chartered financial planners in Poole with over 25 years of experience, we’ve guided hundreds of clients through their retirement transition with confidence and peace of mind.
We understand this change in your life can be complex and emotional, which is why we adopt a sympathetic, patient, thorough and focused approach to give you the reassurance you need to enter this next phase of your life with excitement and financial security.
Whether you want to travel, support your family, pursue new interests, or simply enjoy a quiet life, our retirement and financial planners will create a personalised strategy that supports your vision. Book a consultation with one of our retirement specialists today to get started on creating a retirement plan that you can enjoy.
Why work with us?
There are many reasons why over 2,000 people in Dorset, Hampshire and the South have chosen us to help them on their financial journey.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until age 55 (57 from April 2028 unless the plan has a protected pension age). The value of your investments (and any income from them) can change, which could affect the level of pension benefits available. Your pension income could also be affected by the interest rates at the time you take your benefits.
The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances, tax legislation and regulation which are subject to change. We recommend seeking advice to understand your options at retirement.
Be advised that the Financial Conduct Authority do not regulate tax or estate planning.
The value of your investments can go down as well as up.
FAQs - Retirement
This depends on your desired lifestyle, health, location, and other income sources. While a general rule of thumb is to aim for 70-80% of your pre-retirement income annually, we believe in creating a personalised strategy. We will work with you to calculate your specific retirement income target based on your goals and create a clear strategy to achieve it.
The full new State Pension is currently £230.25 per week (2025/26). You need 35 years of National Insurance contributions for the full amount, with a minimum of 10 years to receive anything. Our advisors can help you check your National Insurance record and plan for any gaps.
You can typically access private pensions from age 55 (57 from 2028) and State Pension from your State Pension age (currently 66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028). However, retiring early requires careful planning to ensure your funds last. We can provide different retirement scenarios for you to help you make the right choice based on your goals and desired lifestyle.
A sustainable retirement income strategy combines various sources like your State Pension, private pensions, ISAs, and other investments. We help you create a tax-efficient withdrawal strategy designed to provide a sustainable income throughout your retirement. Our approach focuses on preserving your capital and managing risks, ensuring your financial plan works for you in the long term.
If you’re concerned about being behind on your retirement savings, there are several strategies we can explore with you. These may include increasing your current contributions, working a little longer, or adjusting your planned retirement expenses. Our advisors will help you assess your current position and create a realistic, purposeful plan to help you maximise your retirement income potential, no matter where you are starting from
The value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you could get back less than you invested. A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until age 55 (57 from April 2028 unless the plan has a protected pension age). The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Taxation and legislation is subject to change.
Please note, the information provided on this page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice.
Ready to start your journey?
If you have any questions or would like to organise a no-obligation consultation at our expense, please complete this form.