We’ve all got financial blind spots.
And for many senior professionals heading into their 50s or early 60s, one of the biggest is pensions.
Not the fact they have them, but the fact they rarely check in on them.
Old workplace schemes. Frozen pots from years abroad. The occasional SIPPs account opened in a flurry of good intentions.
They sit quietly in the background, supposedly compounding away, and it’s tempting to think:
“They’ll be fine.”
The truth? “Fine” is rarely good enough when you’re closing in on retirement.
The Danger Of Neglect
Unmanaged pensions can drift silently off-course.
What started as a decent portfolio ten years ago may now be overweight in the wrong sectors, carrying excessive fees, or misaligned with your current goals.
Worse still, in a globally mobile life, your pensions might be scattered across jurisdictions, currencies, and tax systems, with no coherent plan to connect them.
We regularly meet clients who haven’t reviewed their pension strategy in over a decade.
And it shows:
- Legacy funds charging double the fees of newer alternatives
- Investments not aligned with their risk profile or retirement timeline
- Missed opportunities to consolidate, simplify, or optimise tax wrappers
- No clear drawdown strategy for retirement – especially if retiring overseas
Pensions don’t manage themselves.
And when neglected, they don’t just underperform – they can actively undermine your long-term financial resilience.
Complexity Doesn’t Have To Mean Chaos
If you’ve had a long international career, complexity is inevitable.
You might have UK-based pensions, offshore bonds, or employer schemes from Asia or the Middle East.
But complexity doesn’t have to mean confusion.
We help clients:
- Map out where everything is and what it’s worth
- Identify hidden risks, like currency mismatches or outdated beneficiaries
- Evaluate whether consolidating some schemes could improve control and efficiency
- Align each pot with their broader retirement income strategy
This doesn’t mean constantly switching funds or obsessing over performance.
It means ensuring each pension is doing its job – supporting your goals, not working against them.
Why This Matters More In Your 50s And 60s
In your 30s or 40s, inertia might be forgivable. You had time on your side.
But from 50 onwards, your decisions carry more weight.
You might be thinking seriously about retirement timelines, relocations, or passing on wealth.
You may even be within 5-10 years of accessing some of your pensions.
That makes this the critical window to:
- Reassess your risk profile and rebalance accordingly
- Project your likely retirement income using cash flow modelling
- Integrate pensions into your estate planning, especially for cross-border families
- Understand your UK residency or domicile status and how that affects tax treatment
This isn’t about dramatic overhauls. It’s about quiet, careful alignment.
Bringing everything into focus, so you can move forward with clarity.
What Good Looks Like
We recently worked with a British couple, both returning to the UK after 15 years in Hong Kong.
They had eight pension pots between them, across three jurisdictions, with no clear structure.
By the end of our work together, they had:
- Consolidated four schemes into a single, well-managed SIPP
- Adjusted investment allocations to reflect their risk tolerance and retirement timeline
- Reduced their overall fees by 0.7% annually
- Created a sustainable income drawdown strategy linked to their cash flow needs
- Updated all beneficiary nominations and reviewed cross-border tax exposure
Most importantly, they had peace of mind.
And that’s what pension management is really about.
Don’t Wait For A Wake-Up Call
Too often, we’re brought in after a triggering event: a retirement date, a move back to the UK, or the realisation that income projections no longer stack up.
But the best time to review your pensions is before you need them.
When you still have time to make strategic adjustments.
When the small course corrections can lead to big long-term impact.
It’s important to manage your pension plans – to ensure they’re aligned with your risk profile, long-term aims, and broader lifestyle plans.
It’s also how you control fees, manage performance, and stay one step ahead of retirement.
If you’re unsure whether your pensions are still working for you – or simply want a second opinion – we’d be happy to help.
Get in touch:
📩 Email us anytime
📞 UK: +44 (0) 208 0044900
📞 Hong Kong: +852 39039004
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