“The pension consolidation meeting was slower than I expected—and that was useful. We spent forty minutes just reconciling old SERPS credits before anyone mentioned funds. The Income Map finally told us which pot pays the first seven years.”Helen M., County Antrim — Retirement Income Map
Client stories
What people say after the paperwork is done
These notes refer to specific consultations we offer. Voices vary—some glowing, one deliberately cautious—because real advice work is uneven.
“I wished we had booked the Inheritance Conversation a year earlier. Two of my brothers still bristled at the gifting ideas, and Aoife did not pretend that one session would fix that. The summary for the solicitor was still clearer than anything we had written ourselves.”David K., Leeds — Inheritance Conversation
“After remortgaging, our life cover barely matched the new balance. The Protection Gap Review laid that out in one table—mortgage, childcare, and my partner’s freelance months—without pushing a particular insurer.”Priya S., Bristol — Protection Gap Review
“Marcus treated my dividend months and my quiet months as two different households. The cash-flow playbook sits on my desk next to the VAT calendar; I reopen it every quarter instead of guessing drawings on a Friday afternoon.”Tom R., Belfast — Owner-Manager Cash-Flow Counsel
Extended case note
Mapping a teacher’s final five years
A secondary-school teacher from Bangor arrived with a Teachers’ Pension statement, a small SIPP from an earlier career, and a spouse still in a workplace DC scheme. The worry was not “market returns” but whether early part-time work would puncture the Income Map.
Over two sessions we modelled a September leave date, a two-day weekly return for eighteen months, and a delayed State Pension claim. The written map put the SIPP first for bridge years, preserved the defined-benefit timing, and listed three open questions for their accountant on tax banding. Six weeks later they confirmed the part-time contract with the school—using the same sequence we had drafted.
Extended case note
Director drawings through a quiet winter
A kitchen renovation firm’s director had taken large dividends after a strong summer, then faced a lean January with corporation tax due. Owner-Manager Cash-Flow Counsel rebuilt a personal buffer equal to four months of essential household costs and set a rule: no dividend until the VAT quarter was cleared and the buffer topped up.
The playbook did not change the firm’s pipeline; it changed when money left the company. The following winter the household did not raid the ISA for council tax.