The Pension Detective

How I Helped One Dublin Based Executive Finally Get Control of Her Retirement Plans

A client sat across from me recently with a familiar look of quiet frustration. Senior executive, making smart decisions at work daily. But her pension situation? Total unknown.

"I have no idea what I actually have," she told me. "And honestly, I've been avoiding it."

The Reality

Multiple pension pots from previous employers working abroad. More from Ireland. Different providers, different rules, different paperwork. No clear sense of what any were worth or how they'd work in retirement.

The Detective Work

With her authority, I contacted each provider. Current values, charges, benefits, transfer rules, tax implications - the works. Some responded quickly. Others took weeks and multiple follow-ups. One foreign provider had outdated details. Another required three forms.

I also had to decode each statement. They all present information differently. Some show projected retirement income, others just current value. Charges are buried in different places. Fund names mean nothing without digging into what's actually inside them. This is exactly why clients get stuck. The administrative burden is exhausting when you're working full-time and raising a family. And the financial jargon makes it feel more complicated than it needs to be.

The Result

After six weeks, I sat down with her again. This time with a complete picture. The overall value was higher than she'd thought, which was good news. But some of the pensions were charging annual fees of over 1.5% while sitting in underperforming funds.

The overseas pensions were actually performing reasonably well and made sense to leave where they were. Most importantly, I could now show her exactly what her pensions would actually deliver in retirement income. The gap between that and what she needed wasn't insurmountable, but it was real.

Without this clarity, she'd been making guesses. The relief was visible. Finally, she knew exactly where she stood.

What I've Learned From Pension Cases Like This

1. The "messy pension drawer" is incredibly common

If you've worked for multiple employers or lived abroad, you likely have this same issue. You're not disorganised- the system is genuinely complex.

2. Avoidance costs money

Every year she waited, those high fees kept compounding. Plus, she was missing opportunities to optimise her contributions.

3. The investigative work is unglamorous but essential

Financial planning isn't always about sophisticated investment strategies. Sometimes it's just a matter of being willing to chase down paperwork and make sense of it.

4. A clear picture changes everything

Once she could see the full landscape, decisions became obvious. It wasn't about complex financial products—it was about finally having the information to make informed choices.

The Bottom Line

If you've got pension plans scattered around from different jobs or countries, you're not alone. Sometimes the most valuable thing a financial adviser does isn't picking investments; it's pulling all the threads together so you can see what you're actually working with. From there, planning becomes possible.

Have your own "pension drawer" situation? Get in touch at emma@ffpltd.ie