The 25‑year retirement - Financial advisers hold the key to true retirement readiness

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Retirement is no longer a short chapter at the end of life, with life expectancy rising and one in four of us living to 90 or beyond, retirement has become something far more significant: a 25-year second life. 

This shift is reshaping the expectations, fears, and financial realities of retirees. It’s also transforming the role of the financial adviser. Standard Life believes advisers are no longer simply preparing clients for retirement but are now preparing them to live well in retirement. And that requires a new kind of readiness: financial, social, and mindset readiness.  

Standard Life’s research shows that many clients approach retirement with a mix of anticipation and anxiety. They are excited about freedom, but uncertain about identity. They look forward to free time, but fear losing purpose. They want to enjoy their money, but worry about running out of it. 

This is the new retirement landscape, one that demands a more holistic, human approach to planning. 

“Will I be OK?” 

A question clients often ask, “Will I be OK?”  has never carried more weight. Nor has the adviser’s role in answering it. 

Our recent webinar unpacked this question by exploring the three pillars of retirement readiness which offer a holistic framework that goes far beyond numbers – to support clients through the practical, emotional, and financial realities of a 25‑year retirement.
 

Understanding fears to unlock fulfilment

These three indicators underpin a fulfilling retirement, and when considered as part of planning can counter the inherent, and understandable concerns clients often bring with them into retirement planning. These fears can go deeper than financial; in our research we hear of wide-ranging concerns, including: 

• Longevity – the fear of outliving savings 
• Ill health – especially the loss of independence or becoming a burden 
• Loneliness – shrinking social circles after leaving work 
• Loss of purpose – the challenge of redefining identity 
• Legacy worries – wanting to leave something behind 

These fears shape behaviour. They explain why many retirees underspend in early retirement, even when they have the means to enjoy life more fully. They also highlight why advisers play such a crucial role: reassurance, clarity and guiding self-reflection are as important as investment returns. 

The adviser’s role: bringing clarity, confidence and course correction 

The value of advice has never been clearer. Our Bringing retirement into focus report shows: 

• Advised clients are three times more positive about their finances 
• 45% of advised clients feel financially ready for retirement (vs 29% overall) 
• 50% believe they can live comfortably off their retirement income (vs 34% overall) 

External evidence reinforces this: 

• Vanguard’s Advisor’s Alpha attributes 3% net per annum value to adviser guidance 
• David Blanchett’s “Gamma” quantifies the additional value that comes from making smarter financial planning decisions at 1.59%

 

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Consider these five key steps to co-creating your clients’ second life plan, their way.  

• Reframe conversations – start with “What will your second life look like?” 
• Build an income-first plan based on their hierarchy of needs 
• Blend fixed and flexible income to provide “permission to spend” 
• Review regularly and course correct as standard 
• Turn insight into action 

 

Reframe conversations 

Actively prompt clients to reflect on the second life they see for themselves – not just the clichés, but the day-to-day. Using the retirement ready indicators, as well as our Second Life Questionnaire, guide them to think of who they’ll spend time with, how they’ll fill their days, and what they need to make that a reality. 
 

Build an income-first plan 

After visualising their retirement, use this to give clarity to clients that their income plan will match their needs – from the base essentials, to the everyday discretionary, all the way to the bigger lifestyle or aspirational desires and, of course, the legacy they may want to leave.  
 

Blend fixed and flexible income 

Behaviourally, retirees spend more willingly from guaranteed income than from drawdowns – often twice as much. A blended income approach helps protect against risk while empowering clients to enjoy their retirement. Guaranteed income, such as the State Pension or an annuity, covers essential spending needs while flexible income through a vested PRSA or ARF gives clients freedom and the potential to grow their funds further. This stability, mixed with agility, reduces anxiety and gives clients the agency to enjoy their accumulated wealth.  
 

Review and course correct 

A 25-year retirement can’t be managed as a one-off decision. It requires a dynamic plan that evolves with the client and the world around them. Across a multi-decade span, longevity, sequencing, inflation, and currency risks will show up. Position them as expected plot points with pre-agreed responses, not scary surprises. This builds trust and keeps clients engaged with their plan rather than paralysed by uncertainty. 

Turn insight into action 

As always, Standard Life advocates for financial advisers to work with clients in a human way, to understand their fears, hopes, and plans to build trust, confidence, and holistic retirement readiness. This era of retirement planning is shaped by forces such as increasing longevity, evolving work patterns, multiple income streams, as well as a new type of client – one who may work later, redefine their identity, pursue new passions – all in their second life. The right advice is all-encompassing – it uses insights into the client and their lifestyle they may never have considered before, it provides confidence and clarity they didn’t know they needed, and it helps produce the second life they deserve.   

For more on retirement readiness for a 25-year second life, speak to your Standard Life Business Manager, or visit standardlife.ie/adviser for our insights, tools, and past webinar videos.