Evidence

Client stories

Comments below refer to specific consultations we delivered. Names are shortened where clients asked for privacy.

“We came in with three old workplace pensions and no clear idea what income they would produce. Eleanor spent two meetings walking through the cashflow sheets — I still wish the first draft had used plainer labels for crystallisation, but the final plan made the State Pension and SIPP sequence understandable.”

Helen M. · Retired teacher, Devon · Retirement Income Review

“The consolidation report showed that one of my deferred schemes had a guaranteed annuity rate worth keeping. Most people would have pushed a transfer; Willow Court argued for leaving that pot alone.”

James K. · Logistics manager, Bristol · Pension Consolidation Advice

“After we remortgaged, our adviser mapped life cover against childcare costs rather than just the loan balance. Premiums were higher than the lender's add-on, which we expected once we saw the proper sum assured.”

Priya & Tom S. · Homeowners, Somerset · Protection & Life Cover Advice

“I run a small design practice and needed personal planning that respected company cashflow. The engagement letter was clear about what sat outside scope — no tax return work — so there were no surprises on the invoice.”

Marcus L. · Company director, Exeter · Business Owner Financial Planning

Longer engagements

From scattered statements to a drawdown calendar

Margaret and Colin arrived with four pension statements, an ISA portfolio at a high-street bank, and a handwritten spending list. Over five weeks we completed a Retirement Income Review: confirmed their State Pension ages, modelled early versus delayed claiming, and built a month-by-month drawdown calendar for the first three years of retirement. One mild hitch — retrieving a 1990s SERPS statement took longer than expected — delayed the recommendation meeting by a week. Once paperwork landed, they chose a partial crystallisation timed for the next tax year so basic-rate bands stayed intact.

Margaret & Colin W. · Couple preparing to retire, Wiltshire · Retirement Income Review

Keeping a directors' pension aligned with an exit timeline

A Friesenhampton engineering firm asked us to coordinate the owners' personal pensions with a planned sale in roughly four years. Business Owner Financial Planning sessions covered contribution headroom, extracting profits without breaching annual allowance, and how sale proceeds might interact with retirement income. We excluded legal conveyancing and corporate finance from our remit and worked alongside their accountant. The owners left with a contribution schedule and a personal cash reserve target rather than a single product recommendation.

Anonymous directors · Engineering partnership, Friesenhampton · Business Owner Financial Planning

Prefer to talk before committing?

A discovery call is the usual next step if you are weighing a Retirement Income Review or consolidation.

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