Pension & retirement
Chris Coulson
If you’re looking for a financial adviser, you’re probably facing an important financial decision.
You may be approaching retirement, deciding what to do with old pensions, investing an inheritance, planning for later life, buying a property, or simply trying to get your finances organised.
The challenge is that financial advice isn’t something you can compare on price alone. You’re choosing a person, and often a firm, that could help shape some of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make.
A good adviser should help you understand your options, avoid costly mistakes and build a plan around your goals. The right relationship can last for many years and evolve as your circumstances change.
Yet many people aren’t sure where to begin.
How do you know whether an adviser is properly regulated?
What’s the difference between independent and restricted advice?
Should Chartered status matter?
How do fees work?
And how can you tell whether you’re receiving genuine financial planning rather than simply being sold a product?
Working alongside financial planners, mortgage advisers and protection specialists has given me a front-row seat to the questions consumers ask most often and the factors that tend to matter when choosing an adviser.
This guide brings together the practical checks, questions and warning signs worth considering before making a decision.
| What to compare | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| FCA authorisation | Confirms the adviser or firm is authorised and regulated to provide the advice you need |
| Independent or restricted | Determines how broadly they can search the market |
| Qualifications and Chartered status | Indicates professional standards and ongoing development |
| Breadth of expertise | Your needs may span investments, pensions, mortgages and protection |
| Fees | You should understand both initial and ongoing costs |
| Minimum investment requirements | Some firms have minimum wealth thresholds |
| Ongoing service | Understand what you’ll actually receive for ongoing fees |
| Reputation | Reviews and recommendations can provide useful context |
| Personal fit | Advice is often a long-term relationship |
A financial adviser helps individuals and families make informed decisions about their finances.
| Area | What an adviser may help with |
|---|---|
| Retirement planning | Working out when and how you can afford to retire |
| Pensions | Reviewing and potentially consolidating pensions where appropriate |
| Investments | Building and managing a portfolio aligned to your goals, attitude to risk and capacity for loss |
| Tax-efficient planning | Making use of available allowances and wrappers |
| Estate planning | Considering how wealth may be passed to future generations |
| Protection | Reviewing life cover, income protection and other safeguards |
| Major life events | Planning around inheritance, retirement, divorce or business sale |
Many people assume financial advice is only about investments. In reality, the most valuable advice often takes a broader view, bringing together all aspects of your financial life into a coordinated plan.
Before choosing an adviser, think about what you’re trying to achieve.
| Your goal | Type of advice that may help |
|---|---|
| Planning for retirement | Pension and retirement planning |
| Building long-term wealth | Investment and financial planning |
| Buying your first home | Mortgage advice |
| Moving home | Mortgage and protection advice |
| Managing an inheritance | Financial planning and tax considerations |
| Protecting your family | Protection planning |
| Planning for later life | Retirement, estate and inheritance planning |
The best advisers spend time understanding what you’re trying to achieve before discussing products or recommending solutions.
Any firm or individual providing regulated financial advice in the UK should be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or act as a representative of an authorised firm.
Before engaging an adviser, check the FCA Financial Services Register and confirm:
If you can’t verify an adviser or firm on the Register, don’t proceed until you’ve established their regulatory status.
Useful resource: FCA Financial Services Register
One of the most important questions consumers can ask is whether an adviser is independent or restricted.
| Independent advice | Restricted advice | |
|---|---|---|
| Advice basis | Can consider products and providers across the relevant market | May be limited by providers, products or scope |
| FCA regulated | Yes | Yes |
| Automatically better? | No | No |
| Key consideration | Breadth of market access | Understanding any restrictions |
Neither label tells you whether an adviser is right for you.
What matters is understanding how advice is provided, what options can be considered, and whether that approach suits your circumstances.
For more detail on the FCA’s rules:
Fairstone advisers provide independent financial advice and are not tied to specific product providers.
When comparing firms, it’s worth understanding whether access to the wider market is important to you and how each adviser or firm approaches its recommendations.
All practising financial advisers must meet minimum qualification standards.
Some advisers and firms go beyond those minimum standards and achieve Chartered status.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Are you a Chartered Financial Planner or Chartered Firm? | Indicates a commitment to professional standards, ethical conduct and ongoing professional development |
| What qualifications do you hold? | Helps demonstrate expertise and specialism |
| Do you regularly advise people in similar circumstances to me? | Relevant experience often matters as much as qualifications |
Financial decisions rarely exist in isolation.
| Your need | Areas of expertise worth considering |
|---|---|
| Retirement planning | Pension and retirement specialists |
| Investments | Investment advice and portfolio management |
| Family protection | Protection specialists |
| Passing on wealth | Estate and inheritance planning |
| Property decisions | Mortgage advice |
| Multiple priorities | Wider financial planning across specialisms |
A useful question to ask is: If my circumstances change, what other areas of advice can you help me with?
For most people, a mortgage will be one of the largest financial commitments they ever make.
Mortgage decisions can affect retirement plans, cash flow, savings capacity, protection arrangements and long-term financial goals, so they shouldn’t always be considered in isolation.
Many people spend years building wealth but devote less attention to protecting it.
Protection planning may include life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection.
A good adviser should be able to explain how protection fits into your wider financial plan rather than simply recommending products.
Investments matter, but they’re only one part of financial planning.
When speaking to an adviser, ask:
Some firms have minimum requirements relating to pensions, investments or overall wealth. Others don’t.
There is no standard industry minimum, so it’s worth asking this question early.
Transparency around fees is essential.
Advisers may charge fixed fees, hourly fees, percentage-based fees, initial advice fees, ongoing advice fees, or a combination of these.
Ask:
The FCA requires communications to be fair, clear and not misleading:
The lowest fee is not automatically the best value.
Understand:
The aim is to compare overall value, not simply cost.
Trust is difficult to measure, but most people know when it isn’t there.
A good adviser should listen carefully, explain complex issues in plain English and answer questions without pressure or jargon.
Alongside checking FCA authorisation and qualifications, it can be useful to review:
The FCA also publishes guidance on how regulated firms should communicate with consumers:
There is no fixed rule, but speaking to more than one adviser is often worthwhile.
It allows you to compare approach, expertise, fees and personal fit.
| Red flag | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Can’t be found on the FCA Register | You may not be dealing with a regulated adviser |
| Pressures you to act quickly | Good advice should stand up to scrutiny |
| Makes promises about returns | Investment returns cannot be guaranteed |
| Is unclear about fees | Costs should be transparent |
| Recommends products before understanding you | Advice should start with your objectives |
| Cannot explain recommendations clearly | You should understand what you’re being advised to do |
Your first meeting should help both you and the adviser decide whether working together is the right fit.
You will typically discuss income, expenditure, pensions, investments, family circumstances, goals and attitude to risk.
The adviser should explain:
That depends on your circumstances.
Advice is often most valuable when you’re making significant decisions involving pensions, retirement, investments, inheritance planning or multiple financial goals at once.
The question isn’t simply ‘how much does advice cost?’ but ‘what am I receiving and is it appropriate for my circumstances?’
| Question | Why ask it |
|---|---|
| Are you independent or restricted? | Helps you understand the scope of advice and providers available |
| Are you authorised by the FCA and do you have the permissions required for the advice I need? | Confirms you’re dealing with a regulated adviser |
| What qualifications do you hold? | Provides context on expertise and experience |
| Do you regularly work with people like me? | Relevant experience matters |
| How are you paid? | Helps avoid surprises |
| What does any ongoing fee include? | Ongoing services vary significantly |
| Do you provide mortgage advice? | Property often plays a major role in financial planning |
| How do you assess protection needs? | Protection should be considered alongside other priorities |
| Do you have minimum investment requirements? | Not every service fits every client |
| How often will my plan be reviewed? | Helps set expectations |
| Sign | Why it’s important |
|---|---|
| You feel comfortable asking questions | Financial planning should be collaborative |
| Explanations are clear and straightforward | You should understand recommendations |
| Advice relates to your goals | Recommendations should reflect your circumstances |
| Fees are transparent | There should be no surprises |
| Risks are explained as clearly as benefits | Good decisions require balance |
| You feel listened to rather than sold to | Advice should start with understanding you |
Choosing a financial adviser isn’t about finding the cheapest fee or the most impressive brochure.
It’s about finding someone you trust to help you make good financial decisions over time.
Before making a decision, check the adviser is regulated, understand how they’re paid, ask about the scope of their advice and take time to compare your options.
The best advice relationships are rarely built around products. They’re built around trust, communication and a clear understanding of what matters most to the client.
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| FCA Financial Services Register | https://register.fca.org.uk/s/ |
| FCA Handbook COBS 4.2 | https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/COBS/4/2.html |
| FCA Handbook COBS 6.2A | https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/COBS/6/2A.html |
| FCA Handbook COBS 6.2B | https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/COBS/6/2B.html |
| FCA Financial Promotions Guidance | https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/financial\-promotions\-adverts |
Chris Coulson is Marketing Director at Fairstone. Chris works closely with financial planners, mortgage advisers and protection specialists across the UK and regularly produces consumer education content on financial planning, retirement, wealth management and personal finance.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change.
The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested.
Past performance is also not a reliable indicator of future performance. Always seek professional advice before making financial decisions.
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Pension & retirement
Pension & retirement
Planning & protection
Planning & protection
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