Pension Financial Advisers

What We Can Help With

Whether you’re reviewing a single pension or juggling several from different employers, our advice covers the full range of personal and workplace pension planning.

Personal pension review

A pension review helps you understand what you have built up, how your retirement income may look, and whether your existing arrangements remain aligned with your objectives. We can help assess whether your pensions are appropriately structured, whether charges remain competitive, and whether consolidating pensions could improve clarity and simplify ongoing management.

UK pensions generally fall into two broad categories. Defined Benefit (DB) schemes, which are common in older workplace pensions and the public sector, provide a promised income based on factors such as salary and length of service. Defined Contribution (DC) pensions, including most modern workplace pensions, personal pensions and SIPPs, depend on contributions made and investment performance.

We do not provide advice on whether to remain in or transfer out of a Defined Benefit pension scheme. However, where this is being considered, we can introduce you to a specialist firm with the appropriate permissions and expertise to advise in this area. Where the cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) exceeds £30,000, UK regulations generally require members to obtain advice from a suitably authorised pension transfer specialist before transferring safeguarded benefits. We can continue to work alongside the specialist adviser as part of your wider financial planning and retirement strategy.

SIPPs, SSAS and specialist pension arrangements

We advise on Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) and Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSAS), stakeholder and occupational pensions, and annuity purchase, matching the right structure to how involved you want to be in managing your own pension and what you wish to invest in. A SIPP gives an individual wide control over their own investment choices within a personal pension wrapper; a SSAS is typically used by a small number of business owners or directors together, and can, in the right circumstances, be used to hold commercial property connected to their business. Neither structure suits everyone, which is why we start with understanding your goals and circumstances rather than the product.

Retirement income options

When you’re ready to start using your pension, the options include flexible drawdown, taking some or all of it as a lump sum, or purchasing a guaranteed annuity income. Our team works closely with you weighing up drawdown against annuity purchase, since the right answer depends heavily on your other income and how much certainty you value.

Pensions on death, and passing wealth to loved ones

Pensions currently sit outside your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes in most cases, which makes them a valuable tool for passing wealth to the next generation, but only if your nomination form is up to date. However, from 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included in a deceased person’s estate for UK Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes, under the Finance Act 2026. We review death benefit nominations alongside your Will, working with our Wills, Trusts and Probate team so the two are aligned.

Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment

Employers have a legal duty to auto-enrol eligible staff into a qualifying workplace pension under the Pensions Regulator’s rules. We review existing schemes, set up new ones, and advise on meeting the minimum contribution requirements correctly.

A common misconception: “The State Pension will be enough”

The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week for the 2026/27 tax year (£12,547.60 a year), which for most people falls well short of the income needed for a comfortable retirement once housing, travel and everyday costs are accounted for. To put that in context, the Personal Allowance alone is £12,570, so the full State Pension sits almost entirely within it, leaving little room for tax-free income from anywhere else without careful planning. A pension review shows you the real gap between the State Pension and the income you’re likely to want, while there’s still time to do something about it.

Whether you’re some years away from retirement or approaching it, the same principle applies: the sooner a pension is reviewed, the more options remain open. Contributions made earlier benefit from a longer period of potential investment growth, and problems such as gaps in provision, high charges or an outdated nomination forms are far easier to fix in advance than in the final few years before you stop working.

How a Pension Review Works

1. Gather your paperwork: bring details of every pension you hold, including old workplace schemes; we can help track down lost pensions if needed.
2. Full review: we assess charges, investment choice, flexibility and projected income across everything you hold.
3. Recommendations: a written report setting out whether to keep, consolidate, or restructure, and why.
4. Ongoing management: annual reviews keep the plan aligned as pension or tax rules, markets or your circumstances change.

The pension reviews that add the most value are the ones done five to ten years before you are planning to retire, while there’s still time to act on what we find.

Why Choose Nelsons for Pension Advice

• Holistic Advice and Collaboration: As part of a full-service law firm, we seamlessly integrate both the financial and legal aspects to create comprehensive solutions, saving you valuable time. We can also work with your existing accountant, solicitors or other advisers if you wish.
• Unbiased Expertise: As independent financial advisers, we are not tied to any product providers or banks, which allows us to offer you truly unbiased and objective advice, meticulously tailored to your specific needs.
• Advice with genuine technical depth behind it: several of our advisers, including Zoe Till, who heads our team, hold Chartered Financial Planner status through the Personal Finance Society, the industry’s recognised marker of technical depth and professional standards.
• Determining the right fit: The initial consultation allows us to understand your needs and objectives in greater detail, while giving you the opportunity to decide whether our service and expertise are aligned with what you are looking for.
• Rigorous Investment Oversight: Our investment committee meets on a regular basis to diligently review and research our model portfolios. You can rest assured your investments are in capable hands.
• Local and Ongoing Support: offices in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham mean we are available for face-to-face conversations. You can also contact your adviser and our support team at any time and review your finances via our dedicated Portal.
• Real protection if something goes wrong: we are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (No. 523173).  This means you have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which is, protection you don’t get from unregulated advice.

Ready to Review Your Pension?

Now you understand how we can help, take the next step and speak to our pension planning team today.

• Call: 0800 024 1976
• Online: our enquiry form