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From full house to empty nest: What comes next?

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Home is definitely quieter now. After years of the happy turmoil of family life, we can feel proud of the kids moving on with their lives… and maybe also a little lost. This stage - often called the empty nest - brings mixed emotions. We’ve spent decades putting others first, and now, for the first time in years, the focus shifts back to you. 

The good news is that, finally, there’s space to think about what’s next. In fact, for many people, the next decade can be the most powerful of all. You’ve already achieved a lot: you have clarity about who you are and what truly matters. Even if fortune knocked on your door tomorrow, you might not change that much – you’ve built a life you love, surrounded by the people and places that bring you joy. Now, let’s imagine what’s possible when you build on that foundation.

Entering the Third Quarter 

As you enter this next chapter, think about how to make the next decade set you up for the retirement you’ve dreamed of.

What’s on that list?

Make this stage empowering 

Kids’ costs are mostly behind you, the mortgage is smaller or, potentially, gone, and you’re probably earning more than ever. That gives you choices. The question is - are you making the most of them? Financial planning doesn’t have to feel daunting. It’s not about spreadsheets and stress. It’s about clarity - knowing what you want and making sure your money supports it.

A Simple Framework:

To keep things practical, break it down into three steps. Nothing complicated - just a clear way to see where you are, what you want, and how to get there. 
  

Review – Where are you now? 

Start by pulling everything into one picture. Most people at this stage have money scattered across pensions, ISAs and cash accounts. For example, you might have: 

On paper, that sounds healthy. But is it working as hard as it could? Too much in cash can lose value to inflation, pensions and ISAs might not be invested in a way that suits your timeframe and goals, and you may be paying high fees to investment managers which will eat away at the pots you have spent so long building up.

Plan – What do you want? 

This is where emotions and numbers come together. Do you know when you want to retire? Will you work part-time for a few years? Travel more? Help your children with a house deposit? These choices affect how much you need, and when. 

Here’s a simple example:

If you’d like £60,000 a year in retirement and expect to retire in 10 years, you might need around £1 million in total assets to supplement your state pensions. That sounds daunting, but if you’re already at £600,000 and have 10 years to go, increasing what you save and investing wisely could close the gap.

Act – Make your money work together 

This is where some of the old rules of thumb need a sense check. For years you might have heard:

“Pay down debt first"

It feels safe, and for many years it was the obvious choice. But with mortgage rates still relatively low and pension tax relief so generous, putting extra into your pension could leave you far better off in the long run.

How does this work? If you have spare cash, you could use it to pay down your mortgage and avoid future interest - or you could add it to your pension. By contributing to your pension, you benefit from tax relief upfront, and that money has the potential to compound over time. Even after accounting for tax and charges when you eventually draw your pension, the growth and tax advantages typically mean a pension contribution comes out ahead.

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”

It's a familiar mantra but often the reason why people end up with multiple accounts and old pensions scattered everywhere. Is that really diversification, or just additional complexity? A joined-up framework with planned diversification - where everything works together - can be far more powerful. 

How about a new way of looking at it? Think of your finances like a team, all pulling in the same direction but playing different roles: 

Your next steps 

Transform how your money works for you:

Remember, you can see how your plans start to measure up by using a retirement modeller to see if you’re on track. 

This is about creating new possibilities. The choices you make today can transform uncertainty into clarity and make the next decade your most rewarding yet. And that’s a powerful feeling. 

Please note, the value of your investments can go down as well as up.