Partner Insight: The adviser view: Are traditional retirement journeys changing?

Exclusive research from Trajectory and Canada Life brought to the fore five new retirement paths that are growing in popularity

Hardeep Tawakley
clock • 1 min read

New retirement journeys are causing shifts in how individuals prepare for and enjoy retirement, and three new challenges are changing the way financial advisers work with clients.

The deregulation of life - Advisers are having to understand the new and varied accumulation journeys of customers - particularly regarding issues such as later home ownership and family formation that could include ageing parents in care, or younger children in education.

A key question advisers are asking is: Do customers need more contingency for more complex interactions?

Time - The interrelation of wealth, working and healthy life expectancy has always provided scope for holistic planning for retirement such as which jobs, careers, skills and employment types will give more flexibility to keep working in later life, or potentially steering towards products that incentivise healthy lifestyles.

But with more clients working in later life there is likely to be a greater demand for advice around tax, and financial advice is crucial. Could advice extend into new areas with partners in non-financial disciplines such as mental health?

Money - The financial lives of clients are now more complicated than ever and advisers will need to come up with more tailored, innovative, and holistic advice if they're to remain relevant and valuable.

This will involve thinking about the audiences they specialise in and their getting to know their ambitions as well as their financial ones.

Questions are arising as to whether advisors should take a broader family, cross-generational approach to advice to deal with such challenges?

 

Click here to access the full article in our Remodelling Retirement guide, and hear from a range of advisers on how they are handling these challenges. Click here to view the guide now.  

More on Retirement

Defensive income before retirement: A four layered framework

Defensive income before retirement: A four layered framework

Entering decumulation can be an unsettling time for clients

Joe Simpson
clock 10 August 2026 • 4 min read
The FCA's decumulation challenge: Can UK REITs help deliver sustainable retirement income?

The FCA's decumulation challenge: Can UK REITs help deliver sustainable retirement income?

A look at the three Ss of retirement income

James Peel
clock 04 August 2026 • 7 min read
What the decumulation shift means for advice firms, and how the best are responding

What the decumulation shift means for advice firms, and how the best are responding

'Technology is part of this picture in ways that are worth being honest about'

Andy Zanelli
clock 14 July 2026 • 4 min read

In-depth

The banks are back: What does this mean for advisers?

The banks are back: What does this mean for advisers?

Banks ‘uniquely positioned’ to provide advice to mass market

Sophia Panayi
clock 24 August 2026 • 6 min read
'High returns bring high risks': AI pace of change catches some off guard

'High returns bring high risks': AI pace of change catches some off guard

From ‘future theme’ to investment reality

Jen Frost
clock 21 August 2026 • 10 min read
Are VCTs still 'the next best thing' for clients?

Are VCTs still 'the next best thing' for clients?

‘These reliefs are constantly changing’

Sophia Panayi
clock 20 August 2026 • 7 min read