Behind the pension pot: Sally's story

Sally trained as an accountant, so she was no stranger to numbers. But for a long time, retirement planning wasn’t something she gave much thought to. 

“I think I’ve always thought money’s to be used,” she says.

And she did. She donated to charity, travelled with her husband, and together they bought houses, renovated them and moved on to their next project. 

Over the years, though, a series of life events began to change how Sally thought about her future.

Now 66, she looks at things differently. Getting there involved some big changes in her life, as well as some very deliberate decisions about her pension.

Saving wasn’t always the priority

“I’ve always had a principle of giving at least 10% of my income to charity,” she says.

Sometimes that meant a £5 standing order. Other times, it was a small donation to a cause she cared about. 

“I never thought to do that for a pension.”

For Sally, a pension meant giving up some income today for a future that still felt a long way off. And as someone working for herself, there was no employer automatically enrolling her into a workplace pension or contributing on her behalf. So starting one was up to her.

Good to know: You can transfer your old pensions into one easy-to-manage PensionBee plan, or start a new self-employed pension by setting up a contribution (of any size) if you’ve never saved towards your retirement before. From there, set up regular contributions or make ad hoc, flexible payments to your pension.

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When the future suddenly felt less certain

Sally’s outlook on the future was shaped by a profound loss. Her husband died suddenly when he was in his 40s.

“The landscape changed - everything changed,” she says.

His death also changed the way Sally thought about money and the future.

“It made me think: live for now. I thought, ‘Gosh, I could drop down dead in a year.’ So it made me think more short-term.”

For a while, saving for a retirement that felt far away became much harder to prioritise. Over time, Sally began to think differently.

“The tricky thing was getting over that and starting to think: I really do need to think about putting money away, reducing my spending now in order to have income later.”

As retirement got closer, so did the need to plan for it.

“Of course, the older you get, the more nervous you get about it. The more sensible you start being.”

Good to know: Retirement saving doesn’t have to mean choosing the future over the present. Regular contributions can help spread the cost over many years. If your circumstances change, you can usually adjust how much you contribute. But it’s also helpful to know that the earlier you start, the more time your pension has to benefit from compounding - where you generate returns on the returns you’ve already received.

The money conversations most people avoid

Sally may have taken time to engage with her own retirement planning, but she’s never been uncomfortable talking about money.

In fact, she seems quite happy to start the conversations other people avoid.

“I love having those kinds of conversations - because everybody shuts down and nobody likes it,” she says. “So I often say, declare myself, out myself.”

That openness can be useful when it comes to retirement. Talking about pensions can uncover things you haven’t thought about, particularly if you’re planning for the future with someone else.

You might have different amounts saved, different State Pension entitlements or different ideas about when you’d like to retire. Knowing what you each have can be a useful place to start.

Good to know: If you've lost track of an old pension, the government's Pension Tracing Service can help you find the provider's contact details. PensionBee can then help bring your old pensions together, with a dedicated account manager, your ‘BeeKeeper’, on hand if you have questions. If you’re struggling to track down old pensions, read our blog.

Deciding when to take money from her pension 

By her mid-50s, Sally needed some extra income. But she also expected to have a lump sum from her property later, which she hoped to put into her pension. Taking money from her pension now could limit how much she’d be able to pay in later. 

That left her with a decision: use her pension for income now, or keep it untouched so she had more flexibility to contribute later.

“Will I start plundering my little pot of PensionBee now to tie me over? But if I do that, it’ll mean that I can’t put all my house money in later?”

After looking at the tax implications, Sally decided not to dip into her pension. She wanted to keep the option of paying more into it later, when she expected to have money from her property.

Good to know: The Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) restricts how much you can pay in while still receiving tax relief. It's triggered once you start drawing taxable income from your defined contribution pension, which you can do from age 55 (rising to 57 from 2028). In 2026/27 the MPAA is set at £10,000 and applies to your total gross contributions. 

A pension choice that became personal

When Sally first joined PensionBee, she chose an age-based investment plan. Over time, she began thinking more about the companies her pension was invested in and whether they reflected her values.

That led her to switch to PensionBee’s Climate Plan.

For Sally, the decision was about doing something practical with beliefs she already held. She also understood that choosing a different investment approach came with risks.

“I’m prepared to take a risk with this money for my value system,” she says. “If you’ve got to start doing stuff rather than just talking about green issues - put your money where your mouth is.”

She still keeps an eye on how her pension is performing and has seen the value of her pot rise and fall through periods of market volatility. But those movements haven’t changed the reason she made the switch.

Good to know: PensionBee's Climate Plan excludes both companies with fossil fuel reserves and those with direct ties to fossil fuel reserves. It's one of several PensionBee plans, so you can choose one that matches your goals and values and switch anytime. 

Making room for more than one life

At 66, Sally isn’t short of plans. She wants to travel for weeks at a time, cycling through Europe, and make more time for drawing and painting.

But Sally also enjoys having nowhere she needs to be first thing in the morning.

“I like being able to wake up in the morning and listen to the birds for a long time. Particularly a robin who sings to me in the morning - I’m sure of it.”

It’s a mix of adventure and a slower pace that Sally values. And having a clearer idea of how you’d like to spend your retirement can help make the financial side of planning for it feel more tangible.

Good to know: Pensions UK Retirement Living Standards can give you an idea of what different lifestyles in retirement might cost. For a single person in 2026/27, they estimate annual spending of £13,900 for a minimum lifestyle, £32,700 for a moderate lifestyle and £45,400 for a comfortable lifestyle. You can read more about whether you’re on track to your dream retirement in our blog. You can also use PensionBee’s Pension Calculator to see how long your pension could last and see how adjusting your contributions might impact your savings. 

The takeaway

Sally’s story shows that the way we think about money isn’t set in stone. Life changes, and our priorities can change with it.

For Sally, losing her husband made living for the present feel more important. Later, she began thinking more about the future. That meant making deliberate choices about her pension, from when to access it to what she wanted her money invested in.

Now at 66, she’s clear about what she wants from this stage of life: time to travel, cycle, paint and enjoy slower mornings.

Want to hear more about Sally’s story Listen to our Pension Confident Podcast episode, ”I put my money where my mouth is”. You can also watch the video on YouTube or read the transcript.

Risk warning

As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.

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