Every good pension plan starts with a good conversation – not a product pitch. My needs assessment takes 20 minutes, and it has one purpose: understanding your situation before any specific plan comes into the picture. Here's the transparent script – so you know exactly what to expect.
- The sequence: life situation → goal → budget → existing savings → risk tolerance – products only come after that.
- What I don't ask for: bank statements, documents, or commitment – the first conversation is just for orientation, with no obligation.
- The outcome: a shared picture of whether requesting a quote makes sense – and if so, in which direction.
The five topics I cover
- Life situation: age, family, type of work (employee, self-employed), income stability – this sets the frame for everything else.
- Goal: when retirement would start, what a “good pension” would mean at a monthly level – thinking in today's money, without promises.
- Budget: how much can you comfortably commit each month – and how much in a bad month? The smaller of the two is what counts.
- Existing savings: pension fund, NYESZ (pension savings account), an old policy, employer benefits, other savings – half the map may already be drawn.
- Risk tolerance: how would you handle fluctuations? This decides the structure (allocation).
The questions are deliberately not about any product – the product follows from the answers, it isn't the starting point.
What I don't ask – and why
I don't ask for bank statements, a precise asset inventory, or documents – the first conversation needs ballpark figures, not exact numbers. Nor do I ask about health details: if the plan you choose later requires a declaration, that goes directly to the insurer (details).
And there's no pressure either: the needs assessment doesn't end with “so let's sign, shall we?” The next step in the process – if there is one – is requesting quotes, and that decision is yours.
What happens with your answers?
By the end of the conversation, a shared picture emerges: whether requesting a pension-insurance quote makes sense, or whether another path suits your situation better – I say this honestly, sometimes even in the form of “don't sign anything right now” (see for yourself). If the direction is pension insurance, we fix the parameters: premium range, type direction, add-on needs.
Based on these, I request competing quotes from several insurers and hand them over in a single table (the table's methodology) – once the insurers' quotes have come in.
How should you prepare? – you don't have to, but…
You don't need to prepare – you can answer the questions off the top of your head. If you'd still like to, two things speed the work along: the rough size of your annual net income, and a list of your existing retirement-focused savings (what they are, and roughly how much is in them). For an old policy, digging out the policy document also helps – but that can be done later too.
The first step is the easiest one: pick a time from the calendar – phone or video, 20 minutes, free of charge, no obligation.
A question about your own situation? Book a free 20-minute consultation →
