The Retirement Risk Zone is the particularly hazardous period five to ten years before and after your clients retire.

During this window, their pension savings are arguably at their most vulnerable. This is because any major losses they experience at this stage could have a profound impact on their future standard of living.

 

The risks your clients face

For those clients who are approaching or have moved into in the Retirement Risk Zone, there are a number of new risks and challenges you’ll need to help them manage. Here we explore what these are, what you’ll need to think about and how you can help them enjoy a more stable retirement experience.

  • Changing client attitudes and objectives

    As clients near retirement, their priorities will usually change. Understanding these shifts can help you tailor your ongoing conversations

  • Market and economic forces

    In the Retirement Risk Zone, a more adaptive strategy could help you strike the right balance between growth and risk for your clients.

  • Retirement lifestyle and income longevity

    Market ups an downs make it harder to give clients the retirement experience they expect and an income stream that can last for as long as they need it.

Why it’s vital to consider the Retirement Risk Zone

Clients have a shorter time horizon to ride out market shocks

2 in 5 clients worry about running out of money in retirement*

9 in 10 clients want both financial certainty and income certainty*

More focus on balancing capital preservation with future growth

Changes in financial personality as clients approach retirement

*Standard Life, Retirement Voice, 2024

 

Tracking the retirement journey

As your clients approach and move into retirement, their immediate needs and priorities will inevitably change. You can track these transitions through three main areas of focus, which you can use to help drive your client conversations.

 

A graph illustrating the stages of pension savings and management across a person's life. The x-axis marks life stages:

 

Support for your client conversations

Document 1

Overview blurb

View the  XX document

Document 4

Overview blurb

View the XX document

Document 2

Overview blurb

View the XX document

Document 3

Overview blurb

View the XX document

Money invested is at risk. Tax may change in the future. 

The information on this site is for qualified financial advisers and must not be relied on by anyone else. If you are not an adviser please go to our customer website for more information about our products and services.