Case Study

We thought we had to work
5 more years

Turns Out, We Were Already Done

Introduction

James and Karen, both in their early 60s, were senior healthcare professionals with over £1.1 million in combined pension and investment assets. Despite their success, they remained anxious about retirement and assumed they’d need to keep working well into their late 60s.

Before

Assumed they would run out of money if they retired early
Assumed they would run out of money if they retired early
Had four separate pensions and couldn’t make sense of income flow in retirement
Spent evenings looking at investment dashboards but felt no closer to clarity
Felt trapped in their roles out of fear, not financial need

After

Discovered they were “Just Rights” — had more than enough to retire immediately
Retired within 6 months and began planning travel and volunteering
Now confidently draw a sustainable income, with essential spending secured through income “flooring”
Reduced inheritance tax exposure with early-stage planning

Process

Conducted Retirement Builder Session to model different life scenarios
Consolidated and stress-tested pension and investment accounts
Applied “Bucket” model to separate liquid funds from longer-term assets
Delivered a Financial Health Check showing they could retire with just a 2.3% real return

Conclusion

James and Karen left their careers with confidence, realising they were working out of habit, not necessity. Our modelling helped them stop worrying about running out of money — and start using it to live the life they had earned.