Real journeys
How people like you approached retirement — what they did and what they asked.
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Retirement, in plain English.
Guides, real journeys and a regular pulse on what’s moving — everything you need to walk into a conversation about your retirement knowing your stuff.
Start here · 4 min read
How much does a couple need to retire in the UK?
The Retirement Living Standards for two people, what two State Pensions cover, and the combined pension pot needed for each lifestyle.
Read the guideGuides & explainers
Plain-English answers to the questions everyone has and nobody asks.
Guides & explainersHow much does a couple need to retire in the UK?
The Retirement Living Standards for two people, what two State Pensions cover, and the combined pension pot needed for each lifestyle.
4 min readRead
Guides & explainersIs £1 million enough to retire on in the UK?
A £1m pension pot against the Comfortable retirement benchmark, the early-retirement maths, and the tax questions that start to matter at this size.
5 min readRead
Guides & explainersPension Wise or a financial adviser: which do you need?
Free government guidance or paid regulated advice? What each one does, who can use Pension Wise, and when it makes sense to use both.
4 min readRead
Guides & explainersHow much do I need to retire at 55 in the UK?
The pension pot needed to retire at 55 for a Minimum, Moderate or Comfortable lifestyle — including the 12 years before the State Pension starts.
5 min readRead
Guides & explainersHow to check a financial adviser is FCA regulated
A two-minute check on the FCA Register that every adviser should pass — what to search for, what the entry should show, and the warning signs.
3 min readRead
Guides & explainersIs £250,000 enough to retire on in the UK?
A £250,000 pension pot against the national retirement benchmarks: what it pays, where it lands between Minimum and Moderate, and why the State Pension matters so much here.
4 min readRead
Guides & explainersThe £100,000 tax trap: why some earners pay 60% tax
Between £100,000 and £125,140 the Personal Allowance is withdrawn, creating an effective 60% tax rate — and for parents, the loss of free childcare too.
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Guides & explainersHow much does a financial adviser cost in the UK?
Initial fees, ongoing fees and hourly rates: the published averages, what you get for each, and the questions that tell you whether a fee is fair.
5 min readRead
Guides & explainersHow much do I need to retire at 60 in the UK?
The pension pot needed to retire at 60 for a Minimum, Moderate or Comfortable lifestyle — including the 7 years before the State Pension starts.
5 min readRead
Guides & explainersHow to find a financial adviser in the UK: the honest options
Recommendations, directories, matching services and the free alternatives — what each route is good for, and the two checks to make whichever you choose.
6 min readRead
Guides & explainersIs £500,000 enough to retire on in the UK?
What a £500,000 pension pot actually pays each year, how it compares with the national retirement benchmarks, and what changes if you stop at 60.
5 min readRead
Guides & explainersThe three retirement lifestyles — and what they actually cost
Minimum, moderate, comfortable: the national benchmarks that turn "will I be okay?" into a number you can look at.
4 min readRead
Guides & explainersThe State Pension: what it gives you, and what it doesn't
Around £12,000 a year, from age 66-and-rising. Here's what that covers, what it doesn't, and how to check your own forecast in five minutes.
3 min readRead
Guides & explainersLost track of an old workplace pension? You're not alone
There are billions sitting in forgotten UK pension pots. Tracing yours is free, and easier than you'd think.
3 min readRead
Video explainers
Short, animated explainers of how pensions and retirement actually work. First episodes arriving this autumn.
Education and national benchmarks — not financial advice.