retirement risks are different

The whole world of retirement advice is undergoing a fundamental shift, and rightly so. The old frameworks simply don’t cut it anymore. Asking a client what their risk profile is and then slotting them into a generic box is meaningless. Retirement isn’t about labels it is about outcomes. And targeting particular outcomes requires proper modelling.

In accumulation, risk has become synonymous with volatility, and has become beholden to risk profile "badges”.  This is a rather one dimensional view of risk and we think it’s important to think beyond volatility and also consider other risks like inflation risk, liquidity risk and ESG risk.

In decumulation, the key retirement risk is not volatility – it is the risk of running out of money.  To mitigate this risk, advisers need to consider three key variables: pot size, withdrawal rate and time horizon. Put simply, will this amount of money, last that amount of life?  This is why cashflow modelling which is nice to have in accumulation is essential for decumulation.

At Elston, we have long argued that accumulation and decumulation are fundamentally different journeys. The FCA’s thematic review (TR24/1) makes that clear. Retirement advice must be differentiated, documented and outcome-driven. That means cashflow modelling is no longer optional, it is essential. If you can’t give a firm idea as to how long a pot will last, how much can be withdrawn, and what the sustainability of income looks like, then you are not assessing suitability.

We have built a framework to support this. Our Centralised Retirement Proposition (CRP) toolkit helps firms meet the FCA’s expectations. It includes differentiated investment strategies, clear documentation and comparisons to non-advised pathways. We have even mirrored the workplace pension price cap of 0.75% across our retirement solutions because value for money matters.

Our Managed Retirement Income Portfolios use a “now, soon, later” bucket approach. It is intuitive, it is practical, and it is designed to smooth withdrawals over time. These portfolios don’t fit neatly into the Cautious/Balanced/Growth boxes used by de Facto, because they are built for decumulation, not accumulation. But they do integrate with cashflow models, and that is what matters.

We also built a retirement pathway framework for the advised market, based on our experience designing solutions for the non-advised space. It includes target annuity, target drawdown, and target cash strategies—all under the 0.75% cap. These are not just theoretical—they’re live, scalable, and available across platforms.

The key message? Retirement advice must evolve. It is not about picking funds, it is about solving problems. Advisers need to take control of their proposition, align it to client outcomes, and ensure it is documented, differentiated and defensible.

We are here to help. Whether you are building a CRP, designing retirement income portfolios, or integrating with your cashflow modelling tools, we have got the frameworks, the strategies and the experience to support you.
​
So let’s move beyond labels. Let’s move beyond risk scores. Let’s focus on what really matters: helping clients retire with confidence, clarity and control.