Evidence
Stories from planning rooms, not star ratings
These accounts describe specific meetings, documents, and trade-offs. Names are shortened; details are shared with permission.
Retirement income planning
We had three Teachers’ Pension statements and a SIPP we barely opened. Fiona insisted on a fresh State Pension forecast before the long meeting — that alone changed when we thought we could leave. The plan put cash for the first two winters aside before any drawdown, which felt cautious at the time and practical later.
— Elaine M., Stirling
Workplace pension review
The meeting itself was useful, though I wished we had chased my old deferred pot statement a week earlier — we lost twenty minutes reconstructing figures. The contribution change with payroll still went through cleanly, and Callum’s note for HR was short enough that they actually read it.
— Jamal R., Glasgow
Investment portfolio consultation
I wanted a single “best fund” answer for a house deposit six years out. Instead we separated the two-year cash I needed from the longer ISA money. It was less exciting than a product pitch, and it stopped me moving the deposit into equities after a good quarter.
— Sophie K., Edinburgh
Business owner financial advice
Our accountant already ran the company numbers; what we lacked was a personal view of how much could leave the firm into pensions without starving the household buffer. The joint note Harbour Crest prepared for the accountant avoided a second round of contradictory emails.
— N. Patel, Dundee
Extended story: bridging to State Pension age
Retirement income planning · 2025
A couple in their late fifties held a final-salary deferred pension, two workplace DC pots, and a sizeable ISA. They wanted to leave work three years before State Pension age. The constraint was council tax and heating on a rural property that could not shrink.
The written plan used ISA withdrawals for the bridge years, kept the defined benefit pension untouched until its scheme rules allowed a cleaner start, and set a cash buffer of twenty-four months of essentials. One mild friction: gathering the deferred DB paperwork took six weeks longer than hoped, which delayed the final letter. Implementation forms were completed by the clients with a single follow-up call.
Tell us the decision you are weighing
We will say whether a consultation is the right next step or whether you need documents first.
Enquire