A meeting with an adviser or your pension provider is one of the few times you can get expert eyes on your plan. Go in prepared and it's a useful hour. Go in vague and it's a sales pitch you half-follow. Here's the prep I'm doing for my own, the information to gather, the questions worth asking, and the things that should make you pause.
June 2026 : 7 min read - Part of the FreeBefore65 Anti-Panic Retirement Toolkit.
I haven't sat down with a financial adviser yet. It's one of the bigger jobs still on my list, and I want it done well before April 2027, when the rules on passing a pension on start to change. I've spent months getting my own numbers straight, but there are decisions I won't make without a professional looking over them, the irreversible ones especially. So I've been working out what to take into that meeting and what I want out of it. This is that list. It's as much for me as anyone, but if you've a consultation booked, it should save you an hour of going round in circles.
First, know which meeting you're actually in
Two very different conversations both get called a "pension consultation", and confusing them wastes your time.
Free guidance comes from your provider's retirement desk, from Pension Wise, the government service for over-50s with a defined contribution pension, and from MoneyHelper. It's genuinely useful and it costs nothing, but it's generic. They'll explain your options. They can't tell you which one is right for you, and a provider's desk will only ever discuss that provider's products.
Regulated advice comes from an FCA-authorised financial adviser. It's personal, it carries legal protections, and it can actually recommend a course of action. It also costs money. Preparing well is about getting the most from whichever one you're in, and not expecting the free conversation to do the paid one's job.
What to take with you, for you and your partner
An adviser's time is expensive and a provider's desk is limited, so turn up with the facts already assembled. For yourself:
- A current State Pension forecast and your National Insurance record, so any gap years are visible.
- Every pension you hold. Defined contribution pot values with the latest statements, and for any final-salary (defined benefit) pension, the scheme's figures, including the income, any lump-sum option and the survivor's benefit.
- ISAs, savings and investments, with current values.
- Your mortgage and any other debts.
- A realistic monthly budget, split into essential spending and the nice-to-haves. This matters more than people expect. Nobody can size your income if you can't say what your life costs.
- Any existing life cover, and the expression of wish or nomination form for each pension. These decide who receives the pot, and they're very often out of date.
- Your will and any lasting power of attorney.
If you're planning as a couple, bring the same set for both of you. Not because you're merging your money, but because the household income, and the inheritance tax position especially, only make sense viewed together. Two people drawing on two sets of allowances is a different plan from one.
The questions worth asking
Group them so the awkward ones don't get forgotten.
On cost:
- Are you independent, or restricted to certain providers' products?
- How are you paid, a fixed fee or a percentage of my pot? What's the initial cost, and what's the ongoing annual charge?
- What do I actually get for an ongoing fee, and can I stop it?
On income and draw-down:
- How much can I sustainably take each year without running out, and how did you arrive at that figure?
- In what order should I draw from my different pots, and why?
- What happens to my plan if markets fall badly in my first few years? This one matters more than almost any other.
On tax:
- How do I use my personal allowance and tax-free cash efficiently in the years before the State Pension starts?
- Should I take my tax-free cash in one go or in stages?
On the State Pension:
- Is it worth paying to fill any gaps in my National Insurance record?
- Are there reasons I might defer it?
On death and estate:
- What happens to each pension if I die, and is my nomination correct?
- How does the April 2027 change, which brings unspent pensions into inheritance tax, affect what I should do now?
- Should my estate and my partner's be looked at together?
On investments:
- What am I invested in, what does it cost in total once you add the platform and the funds, and how much risk does that carry?
If you have a final-salary pension, ask more
Mine is a deferred defined benefit pension, so a fair few of my own questions sit here. If you have one too:
- What exactly am I giving up if I take a tax-free lump sum instead of a higher income? The "commutation rate" tells you how fair or poor that swap is.
- What does my survivor receive, and for how long?
- Is there a guaranteed payment period if I die early in retirement?
- Should I transfer it out? For most people with a healthy DB pension the answer is no, and any adviser who seems keen to move you out of a guaranteed, inflation-linked income deserves real suspicion. Advice is legally required before you can transfer a DB pension worth more than £30,000. That's a protection, not a hurdle.
Watch-outs
A few things that should make you stop:
- Anyone contacting you out of the blue with a "free pension review". Cold-calling about pensions is banned, so an unsolicited approach is a red flag for a scam. Check the FCA's ScamSmart warnings.
- An adviser who isn't on the FCA register. Look them up before you hand over anything.
- A percentage fee presented as small. One per cent a year sounds trivial and isn't. Over a long retirement it can quietly run to a five or six-figure sum, so ask for the charge in pounds, not just a percentage.
- Pressure to decide on the day, or anyone guaranteeing a return. Nobody can.
- Ongoing fees with no ongoing service to match. If you pay every year, be clear what that buys.
- Do I Need a Financial Adviser Before Retiring? The Honest Answer From Someone Who Didn't
The one-page version
- Before the meeting, gather:
- State Pension forecast and NI record
- All pension statements, with DB figures including the lump-sum and survivor options
- ISA, savings and investment values
- mortgage and debts; a budget split into essential and discretionary
- existing life cover
- pension nomination forms; will and power of attorney
- The same again for a partner if you're planning together
- Questions to bring:
- Independent or restricted, and how are you paid?
- What can I sustainably draw, and in what order from which pots?
- What happens if markets fall early?
- How do I keep tax low before the State Pension starts?
- What happens to each pot when I die, and does April 2027 change my plan?
- For a DB pension, lump sum or income, and what does my survivor get?
- Walk away if:
- you were contacted out of the blue, the adviser isn't FCA-registered, fees come only as percentages, or you're pushed to sign on the day.
I'll write a follow-up once I've actually sat across the table from someone and found out which of these questions earned their keep.
For now, it's homework, and mine's about ready.
Part of the FreeBefore65 Anti-Panic Retirement Toolkit.
Tony writes about his personal journey to early retirement at freebefore65.co.uk. He is not a financial adviser. All content reflects his own experience and research and should be taken as a starting point for your own thinking, not as professional advice. Rules and thresholds change, so verify current details at gov.uk before acting.
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