Client stories

What households say after the plan arrives

These notes refer to specific advice areas we offer. Voices and lengths vary — including one client who still hesitates about the fee.

“We came in with three pension pots and no idea which to draw first. The written roadmap spelled out a sequence for the next eight years, including when to claim the State Pension. I still wish we had started two years earlier, but the plan itself is clear.”

Helen M. · Retirement Income Planning · Cardiff

“Oakmere spent the first hour on our mortgage and childcare costs before touching investments. That order felt right. The protection review flagged a shortfall on income cover we had simply never calculated.”

James & Priya R. · Personal Financial Planning · Swansea

“I wanted someone to tell me whether my ISA mix was too cautious for a fifteen-year horizon. The investment guidance note was measured — no dramatic overhaul, just a clearer split and a review date I can stick to.”

David L. · Investment Guidance · Newport

“The fee was higher than a free bank review, and I hesitated. After the meetings I understood why: we left with a prioritised action list, not a product brochure. One recommendation still needs a solicitor’s input, which they flagged honestly.”

Claire T. · Personal Financial Planning · Great Willms

“Our life cover had not been checked since the second child arrived. The family cover review put a number on the gap and ranked what to buy first. We have not implemented everything yet, but the order of priority stopped us buying the wrong policy out of panic.”

Owen & Megan B. · Protection & Family Cover Review · Brecon

Longer notes

Two engagements in detail

Retirement sequencing for a Cardiff couple

Helen and her partner arrived with three pension pots and a part-time consultancy income they hoped to keep for another four years. The constraint was tax: drawing too early from the largest pot would have pushed them into a higher band while State Pension was still years away.

Our retirement income plan set a drawdown order, delayed one pot intentionally, and listed the month they should claim State Pension based on their spending sheet. Helen’s mild reservation — wishing they had started earlier — is fair; the modelling still gave them an eight-year path they could print and pin to the fridge.

Retirement Income Planning

Protection gaps after a second child in Brecon

Owen and Megan had life cover sized for their first mortgage and had never recalculated after remortgaging and welcoming a second child. The protection review compared remaining term, sum assured and income replacement need against current nursery and mortgage costs.

We ranked income protection ahead of topping up life cover — a sequence they had not considered. They have not bought every recommendation yet; the written priority order stopped a panic purchase of an expensive joint policy that would not have filled the income gap.

Protection & Family Cover Review