How bespoke advice can help you find pre-retirement peace of mind

We all benefit from some form of advice every day. Expert insights can help us navigate complex decisions at work and in our personal lives so we can achieve positive, sometimes life-changing, outcomes.

The same applies to your finances. With the right guidance, you can build a plan that supports your life goals.

Yet 24% of UK adults don’t receive any professional advice on savings or retirement planning, according to a PensionsAge report. Meanwhile, another 62% fear they won’t be able to maintain their current standard of living after they retire.

Here’s how working with a financial planner could improve both your wealth and your peace of mind.

On average, financial advice could boost your wealth by 10%, according to the Financial Conduct Authority

At first glance, financial advice might seem too expensive, unnecessary, or impractical. In addition, you might feel anxious about sharing your personal financial information with someone else, even if they’re qualified.

First, it’s important to note that Kellands (and other financial planning firms) are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Everything we do happens within strict guidelines and is under regulatory scrutiny, ensuring we give only the fairest and clearest advice to clients who seek our support.

What’s more, according to a 2025 FCA report, it’s estimated that individuals who seek out financial advice see a 10% average increase in wealth in the following few years compared to those who don’t receive guidance. The research points to a clear positive association between existing, regulated financial advice and wealth gain.

Financial advice is about implementing sensible decisions that allow your finances to grow steadily over time, rather than risking your wealth with the hope of achieving unrealistic returns. This can be particularly helpful for retirement planning.

Let’s take a look at some key practical and psychological benefits of financial advice.

2 practical advantages of financial advice for retirement planning

1. Improving your tax efficiency

There are certain rules, reliefs, and allowances you can take advantage of to mitigate the effect of tax on your wealth.

When you contribute to a pension as a higher- or additional-rate taxpayer, you can claim your marginal rate of pension tax relief to help mitigate the effects of Income Tax through Self Assessment. When you retire, you can also receive up to 25% of your pension as a lump sum, up to the £268,275 cap in 2025/26.

Additionally, ISAs can help you build tax-efficient wealth outside of your pension pots, perhaps reducing the amount of Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Income Tax, and Dividend Tax due on your savings and investments.

A financial planner can help you use these allowances effectively to enhance your wealth for retirement and potentially allow you to leave more to your loved ones. We can also work with you to reduce the Inheritance Tax (IHT) that may be payable on your estate in the future.

Read more: British families have lost £346 million to one common Inheritance Tax mistake

2. Protecting your wealth against unexpected events

Just as advice can help grow your wealth, it can also help to protect it from events outside of your control.

Accidents or illness can strike unexpectedly. We can help you protect what you hold dear with appropriate cover, such as critical illness cover, life insurance, or income protection. These measures can provide you and your family with valuable financial support and help your goals stay on track.

Another looming threat to your wealth is scams, which are on the rise in the UK. It is getting more difficult to detect scams as they grow more sophisticated, meaning that even savvy savers and investors could be vulnerable.

A financial planner can help you identify scams and keep your money safe, empowering you with the knowledge and tools to avoid costly mistakes that could derail your retirement plans.

Read more: How to spot pension fraud before it’s too late

2 psychological benefits of retirement planning advice

1. Finding your financial confidence

When the task of managing your finances falls solely on your shoulders, it is easy to lose confidence when making big decisions.

This is particularly true for investing; the complexity and unpredictability of investment markets can often deter people before they even begin their investing journey. This is largely fuelled by aversion to risk, which can cause people to over-rely on cash savings to build wealth, even though investing might offer more significant long-term returns.

Financial advice can help you overcome investment anxiety; while there might be risk, our professionals will help you determine how much you’re willing to take on and guide your portfolio through any market shocks that may happen in future.

This is a template for the rest of your financial planning efforts. With bespoke advice that takes your goals seriously, you can become more confident in your choices.

Read more: 4 psychological biases that could affect your investment behaviours

2. Providing ultimate peace of mind

Perhaps the greatest psychological benefit of financial advice is the comfort you receive knowing that you and your family can rely on a secure foundation.

When you go through life without a plan, your finances might become more vulnerable to events such as redundancy, illness, or divorce. And without a strategy in place, it’s easy to agonise over “what-if” scenarios and how they could impact you and your family’s future.

With this added strain on your mental health, you might begin to associate money with negative emotions like stress and anxiety and avoid retirement planning altogether, which can be detrimental to your future financial prosperity.

The right guidance can help you repair your relationship with your wealth, offering clarity and reassurance alongside a practical strategy to help you achieve the stability you need.

Find your retirement peace of mind with a Kellands financial planner

If you’d like practical and psychological guidance from an award-winning team, get in touch today.

Email us at hale@kelland.co.uk or call 0161 929 8838 to discover how we can help you.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning, cashflow planning, tax planning, trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney, or will writing.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

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