Run the numbers. Then talk them through with a real adviser.

This gives you a quick read on whether your pension is heading where you need it to. Put in your age, what you have saved so far, what you pay in each month and the income you would like in retirement, and it shows the likely gap between the two. It takes a couple of minutes and the numbers are yours alone. A calculator can only ever give a rough picture, so the real value is talking the result through with an adviser who can factor in your tax relief, your other pensions and the State pension. Book a pension review with a member of the team and we will turn the estimate into a plan.

If you are in a company or public-sector scheme, you share one age-related relief limit across everything you pay in, and most people never use all of it. Enter your age, your earnings and what you already contribute, and this shows the room you have left, the relief a top-up would attract, and what it would cost you net. A lump-sum AVC before the October deadline is a common way to use it. We will check the figure against your scheme before you commit to anything.

Most people either guess at how much life cover they need or copy a round number, and both tend to be wrong. This builds the figure from what actually matters: your mortgage, other debts, the income your family would need to replace and for how long, less any cover you already have. In a couple of minutes you get a realistic target instead of a guess. Bring it to the team and we will find that cover at the best price across the market, and set it up so it pays out cleanly.

Money sitting on deposit feels safe and quietly loses value to inflation. Enter an amount, a timeframe and a growth assumption, and this shows what it could be worth, what exit tax would take on the way out, and what you would be left with. Returns are never guaranteed and this is an illustration rather than a forecast. What it is good for is a sense of scale, and a starting point for a conversation about the right structure and the right funds.

Auto-enrolment adds a new payroll cost for many employers, and this shows you roughly what to expect. Enter your number of employees and their salaries and it works out the employer contribution as the phased rates rise over the first years of the scheme. Use it to budget, and to weigh the State scheme against setting up or improving your own. The figures are indicative; the right scheme depends on your workforce and what you already offer, which is where a 30-minute review with one of the team earns its keep.