FAQs

At our office or your home

Yes, we have parking available

All initial meetings are at our expense

Around one hour

No obligation what so ever

Via phone or email

Yes

Yes by the FCA

One of our team members will be able to help

We offer fully individually tailored holistic financial planning

Yes, we provide independent financial advice. This means we can consider the whole of the market rather than a limited panel when making recommendations.

Yes, we are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our FCA firm reference number is 186250, and you can confirm our details on the FCA Register.

Yes, we offer both face-to-face and video meetings using Microsoft Teams or Zoom. We have financial planners across the UK and, where possible, we will match you with someone local.

Face-to-face meetings are usually held at your home or another convenient location, such as your workplace or a suitable meeting venue. Our Glasgow head office also has client meeting rooms available.

We do not have dedicated parking at our Glasgow head office. There is a Q-Park on Waterloo Street, around 150 yards from the office.

We were established in 1998 and have provided specialist financial planning across the UK since then. Our work focuses on pensions, retirement planning, and related later-life advice.

We are headquartered in Glasgow and work with clients throughout the UK. Our team is located nationwide, so we can support you regardless of where you live.

All of our financial planners are appropriately qualified and have strong industry experience. Some hold Chartered Financial Planner status, and others bring decades of practical experience.

All of our financial planners are appropriately qualified and have strong industry experience. Some hold Chartered Financial Planner status, and others bring decades of practical experience.

Yes, you can view client reviews and testimonials in a few places. We share video client stories on our website, and you can also read independent feedback on VouchedFor and Google.

Since 1998, we have focused on pensions and retirement planning, alongside other areas of later-life financial planning. We take a collaborative, long-term approach and build a plan around what matters most to you.

We work with clients throughout the UK, so your location does not need to be a barrier. Meetings can be face-to-face where practical, or by video, depending on what suits you.

Initial meetings can be arranged online using our booking calendar, or by phone or email. At this stage, we focus on what you want to achieve and explain how we work and what our services cost.

No, there is no charge for an initial discussion meeting. We cannot provide regulated financial advice at this stage, but we can explain our process, the services we offer, and our fees.

You do not need to bring anything specific, but it helps to be ready to share an overview of your finances and what you want your money to do for you. The more we understand your goals, priorities, and values, the more useful the discussion will be.

In the first meeting, we discuss what you are looking to achieve and whether our services are likely to be a good fit. If it makes sense, we may move into a discovery conversation to explore your circumstances, objectives, and priorities in more detail.

Most initial meetings take around 30 minutes. If you decide to move forward, we then arrange a longer discovery meeting to gather the detail we need about your circumstances and objectives.

No, there is no obligation to proceed after the initial meeting. If you choose to work with us, we agree the scope and fees before any advice is given.

Yes, we have female financial planners, and around half of our planning team are women. If you prefer to work with a female planner, we will take that into account when matching you with an adviser, subject to availability and location.

If your financial planner is away, our Glasgow-based support team and other planners can help with queries and ongoing work. We make sure someone is available who can access your records and keep things moving.

How often you hear from us depends on your preferences and the complexity of your plan. Many clients have an annual review, and we can agree more frequent contact when it is needed.

Yes, cashflow modelling is central to our advice process and has been part of how we work since 1998. We build a personalised model to estimate future retirement income and test ‘what if’ scenarios. Any projections are based on assumptions and are not guarantees.

If your circumstances change in a way that could affect your plan, we can review it and update the recommendations. Ongoing reviews help keep your plan aligned with changes in your life, the markets, and legislation.

Yes, we regularly work alongside accountants and solicitors when it helps join up the advice. With your permission, we share relevant information and coordinate actions so everyone is working from the same plan.

Yes, with your consent we can liaise with your mortgage adviser and provide the information they need. This helps ensure advice across different areas of your finances is consistent.

If your adviser leaves, another planner can take over using the same advice process and the records we keep. This supports continuity, with a clear view of your objectives, arrangements, and current plan.

Yes, we can share an example to show the structure and the type of information a financial plan includes. Your own plan will be tailored to your circumstances and goals, so the detail and recommendations will differ.

Yes, you can view up-to-date valuations and performance through our secure client portal. The portal also lets you access documents and send secure messages to your financial planner.

Yes, we provide a secure online portal for clients. You can view valuations, access key documents, and communicate securely with your planner.

Most clients meet with their planner once a year for a review, but we can agree a different schedule if your situation needs it. We also share regular updates on markets, industry changes, and news from Intelligent Pensions.

No, we do not provide mortgage advice. If mortgage advice is part of your wider plan, we can coordinate with another professional, with your permission.

Yes, we can advise on whether equity release could be suitable as part of your wider plan. Where appropriate, we work alongside an equity release specialist and explain the long-term implications for your home and estate.

Yes, we can advise on personal pensions, and we specialise in pension and retirement planning. We review your existing arrangements and recommend changes where they support your wider objectives.

Yes, we can advise on occupational pension schemes and how they fit with your other retirement arrangements. We help you understand your options, including benefits you may be giving up if changes are considered.

Yes, we can help you consolidate pensions when it is appropriate for your circumstances. We review charges, features, and any guarantees first, as consolidation is not right for everyone.

Yes, we can help you plan how to take pension benefits in a tax-efficient way as part of your wider retirement strategy. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and tax rules can change.

Yes, we can build investment solutions that reflect ethical, responsible, or sustainable preferences. We will explain the available options and trade-offs, and investments can go down as well as up.

Yes, we can help you decide how to invest an inheritance, based on your goals, timescales, and attitude to risk. The value of investments can fall as well as rise.

Yes, we advise on Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) and how they can be used in retirement planning. We explain costs, responsibilities, and investment choices so you can decide whether a SIPP is appropriate for you.

Yes, we have the specialist FCA permissions required to advise on defined benefit pension transfers. We carry out detailed analysis of the benefits you would be giving up, and you could be worse off by transferring.

Yes, we can provide advice and guidance on later-life planning, including long-term care considerations, as part of your wider financial plan. We will discuss your goals, resources, and preferences to help you understand the options.

Yes, we can help you understand potential Inheritance Tax exposure and explore planning options to pass wealth efficiently. Tax planning depends on individual circumstances and tax rules can change.

Yes, we advise on ISAs, including Junior ISAs. We will explain how the allowance works and what investment options are available, and investments can go down as well as up.

Yes, we can advise on protection such as life insurance, critical illness cover, and income protection. We help you understand what each type of cover does and how the cost and level of cover might vary.

Yes, we offer a free initial meeting to discuss what you are trying to achieve and whether we can help. We will explain our services and the likely costs before you decide to proceed.

We usually charge a tiered percentage fee for initial advice and ongoing support, with the exact fee depending on the work required and the complexity of your arrangements. We agree fees with you in advance and set them out clearly before any work starts.

The cost of a financial plan can range from £1,500 to £15,000 depending on complexity and the scope of work. We will confirm the exact cost in advance so you know what you will pay before we begin.

A financial plan can cost between £1,500 and £15,000 depending on the complexity of your circumstances and what needs to be covered. We provide a personalised charges document up front and only proceed once you understand and agree the fees.

For investment-related advice, we usually charge a tiered percentage of the assets involved. Where it is a better fit, we can agree a fixed fee or time-costed arrangement instead.

We only receive commission for protection products, such as life insurance. For pension and investment advice, we work on an agreed fee basis and explain all charges to you in advance.

No, we are not VAT-registered, so VAT is not added to our fees. The amount we agree with you is the amount you pay.

We review our charges against the wider market and publish our fees so you can compare them. We also look at the total cost of your arrangements, including product and investment charges, and we may be able to access terms that reduce those costs.

Our fee information is available on our website. We will also provide a personalised charges document once we understand what you need, and we do this before any work starts so the cost is clear.

Possibly, we can help you understand whether retiring early looks affordable and sustainable. We use cashflow modelling to show how different retirement dates and spending levels could affect your plan. Any projections are based on assumptions and are not guarantees.

Yes, retirement planning is a core part of what we do and we use detailed cashflow modelling to map out your future income and spending. This helps you test different scenarios and see how changes may affect your plan over time.

Most of our clients have existing pensions and investments and want a long-term financial plan. Many have over £100,000 of invested or investable wealth, but there is no formal minimum and we consider each case individually.

Yes, we work with clients who are still building wealth as well as those closer to retirement. If you do not yet need a full financial planning service, we can agree a simpler, more focused piece of advice.

Yes, we regularly help company directors and self-employed clients put financial plans in place. Where tax is relevant, we keep it general and can coordinate with your accountant, as tax treatment depends on individual circumstances.

Yes, we work with clients at all stages of the retirement journey, including those approaching retirement and those already retired. We focus on creating and maintaining an income and investment strategy that fits your goals and attitude to risk.

Yes, we can advise on how to use and invest inherited money in line with your goals and timescales. Investments can go down as well as up.

Yes, we help clients who are selling or have sold a business explore ways to take, invest, and structure the proceeds. Where tax is relevant, we can outline the issues and coordinate with other professionals, as tax treatment depends on individual circumstances.

Yes, we have supported many clients and families with financial planning after a bereavement, and we understand it can be a difficult time. We aim to provide clear, compassionate support so you can make decisions at a pace that feels manageable.

We work with a wide range of private clients, including business owners, professionals, and retirees. Our advice is holistic, so we can help you put a plan in place and support you in staying on track.

We can only provide advice to UK-based clients. In some cases, we may be able to assist if you are overseas but visiting the UK, but it is often more appropriate to work with a local adviser due to tax and regulatory differences.

Yes, we can review your existing pensions and investments to assess how well they meet your needs. Where appropriate, we may recommend changes to improve costs, suitability, or how the arrangements fit your wider plan, and investments can go down as well as up.

There is no formal minimum to become a client. In practice, many clients have over £100,000 of invested or investable wealth, as this is often where full financial planning adds the most value.

In many cases, investments arranged through regulated firms are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If a firm fails and cannot meet its obligations, the FSCS may pay compensation of up to £85,000 per person, per firm for investment business, and this does not cover normal market falls. We will explain how any protection applies to the products we recommend and where it does not apply.

If you feel we have fallen short of your expectations, you would raise it with us first so we can try to put things right. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Pensions Ombudsman can consider complaints about the administration of pensions, and both services are free to use.

We keep your personal data secure in line with our legal and regulatory responsibilities and take reasonable steps to protect it from unauthorised access. We encourage safe ways of sharing information and retain records for at least six years, and sometimes longer where we have a legal basis to do so.

Yes, we hold professional indemnity insurance that meets regulatory requirements for the advice services we provide. This provides an additional safeguard alongside our FCA regulation.

You can check our FCA authorisation by searching the FCA Register for Intelligent Pensions or our firm reference number 186250. The register shows what we are authorised to do and our contact details.

Yes, we share client stories on our website. They give an idea of how our planning process works and what clients value about working with us.

We invite clients to leave independent reviews via VouchedFor and we also carry out regular Investor in Customers surveys. We monitor satisfaction metrics to understand how we are performing and where we can improve.

Yes, we have received awards and accreditations over the years. We keep details on our website so you can see what they are and when they were awarded.

Yes, we are featured on VouchedFor, where clients can leave verified reviews about their experience. Our profile includes our advisers and up-to-date feedback.