Retirement Planning Made Simple

Helping You Build a Secure and Confident Future

Retirement is one of life’s most significant milestones. It’s exciting, but it can also feel uncertain. Many people wonder:

“Will I have enough?”
“When can I afford to retire?”
“How do I take an income without running out of money?”

At Manning Gee Investments, we help you make sense of it all. We call this the “retirement conundrum” — balancing the lifestyle you want with the income you need.

Our job is to guide you through every step so you can retire with clarity and confidence.

Clients often tell us the biggest reassurance comes from having the space to talk things through properly, with guidance tailored to their lives rather than products.

Arrange a free retirement consultation

Understanding the Retirement Landscape

With rules allowing pension access from age 55 (57 from 2028), retirement has changed.
It’s no longer a single moment — it’s a phase of life.

People retire gradually.
Some continue part-time.
Others take early retirement.
Whilst some take breaks before stopping work fully.

Whatever your journey looks like, the key question remains:

“What does a secure and enjoyable retirement look like for me?”

Our retirement planning process is designed to help you answer that with confidence.

Our Three-Step Process for Retirement Success

Step 1: Understanding Your Income Needs

Retirement looks different for everyone, so we begin with your lifestyle.
We help you map out your spending across three clear categories:

Essentials – food, housing, utilities, transport
Lifestyle spending – travel, hobbies, family time
Little luxuries – the treats that make retirement feel special

This gives you a realistic picture of what you’ll need and what you’d love your retirement to include.

Suggested resource:

MoneyHelper Budget Planner – a helpful starting point.

Step 2: Understanding Your Income and Pensions

Most people have a mixture of pensions, savings and investments — and often don’t know how they all fit together.

Helping you:

Review your existing pensions
See whether consolidating them could make life easier
Understand your options at retirement
Explore your choices, including:
- pension drawdown
- annuities
- investment-based income
- using dividends and interest from your investments to help provide natural income

Explaining everything simply, clearly and at your pace — so you feel confident making decisions.

(We do not provide advice on defined benefit pension transfers.)

Step 3: Creating and Reviewing Your Plan

Once we understand your lifestyle, goals, and pensions, we design a personalised retirement plan.

This includes:

How much income you can safely take
Which pensions and investments to draw from
Tax-efficient ways to manage your money
How to keep your income sustainable throughout retirement

We then review the plan every year — or whenever your circumstances change — to make sure it stays on track.

Why Our Retirement Planning is Different

We use natural income to support sustainable withdrawals

Where appropriate, we use the dividends and interest generated by your investments to help provide your retirement income. This can reduce the need to sell investments, particularly when markets are falling.

We combine natural income with cash reserves and carefully planned withdrawals, creating a flexible strategy designed to support you throughout retirement.

We’re completely independent

We look at the whole market and recommend what’s right for you.

We look beyond pensions

A secure retirement is about more than a pension pot.
We also consider investments, ISAs, tax planning and estate planning.

We keep things simple

Clear explanations. No jargon. No pressure.
Just straightforward advice shaped around what you want life to look like. Clients value clear explanations, time to ask questions, and knowing decisions are made at a pace that feels right for them.

Frequently Asked Questions

When can I afford to retire?

This is the question we help Bristol clients answer most often.
We look at your pensions, savings, State Pension and lifestyle goals to show you when you can afford to retire — and whether you could retire earlier than you thought.

Will I run out of money in retirement?

Using personalised retirement planning and regular reviews, we help you understand how long your money might last and how to keep your income sustainable throughout retirement.

How much do I need to retire comfortably in Bristol?

Everyone’s “comfortable retirement” looks different.
We help you calculate your retirement income needs using our simple three-tier spending framework (essentials, lifestyle and little luxuries).

Should I take my 25% tax-free lump sum?

Some people benefit from taking their tax-free cash; others don’t.
We explain the pros and cons so you can make an informed decision that supports your long-term plan.

What happens to my pension when I die?

We explain how pension death benefits work, who can inherit your pension, and how to keep your nominations up to date — something many clients in retirement haven’t reviewed for years.

Do I need to combine my pensions before retiring?

Pension consolidation can make things simpler, but it’s not always the best option.
We review your pensions to see whether combining them could reduce costs or improve flexibility.

What is pension drawdown?

Pension drawdown lets you take income flexibly while leaving the rest invested.
We explain how drawdown works and whether it suits your retirement plan.

What are your fees for retirement advice?

Your first meeting is free.
Initial advice fees are up to 3%, and ongoing advice is 1% per year.
We explain all costs clearly and transparently before any work begins.

Do I need regular reviews in retirement?

Yes — retirement is not “set and forget”.
Most of our Bristol clients have annual reviews to keep their plan up to date as life, markets and tax rules change.

Can you help if I already have multiple pensions?

Absolutely.
Many clients come to us with several pensions from different employers.
We help you understand what you have, whether they work well together, and how they fit into your retirement income strategy.

Do you offer retirement planning in Bristol and surrounding areas?

Yes — Manning Gee Investments is Bristol-based, and we work with clients across the South West and the UK (including Scotland).
You can meet us in person, via Zoom, or by phone — whatever works best for you.

Take the Next Step

Whether you’re approaching retirement, already retired, or trying to make sense of multiple pensions, we’re here to help you build a secure, confident and enjoyable retirement.

Many clients tell us they value having an ongoing adviser in retirement — someone who helps them adapt as life, tax rules and priorities change.