The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has intensified scrutiny of the UK’s retirement income advice market, citing persistent failings in how advisers assess client needs and model sustainable withdrawal strategies.
Ortec Finance, a provider of technology and solutions for risk and return management, recently explored decumulation advice.
In the FCA’s latest guidance, the regulator highlights outdated practices and insufficient risk assessment as key concerns — suggesting many firms remain unprepared for the complexities of today’s retirement journeys.
As life expectancy rises and retirement paths grow more individualised, traditional advice models are showing their limitations. The FCA’s Consumer Duty regime demands not only suitable advice at inception but an ongoing commitment to ensure clients remain on track. Static tools and rigid cashflow forecasts can no longer meet this evolving standard. Advisers must instead adopt dynamic, responsive systems that support continuous monitoring and adaptation to clients’ changing circumstances.
Despite the presence of advanced software providers like Voyant, Timeline, Dynamic Planner, and EV, fragmentation persists in the advice process. Integration between these tools is often limited, and many platforms continue to rely on Monte Carlo simulations based on historical returns, it said.
One solution aiming to address these issues is OPAL, developed by Ortec Finance. Originating in institutional fund management, OPAL has been adapted for private client use, bringing institutional-grade modelling into the adviser’s toolkit. It enables financial professionals to construct, test, and continually revise client plans within a single, goal-oriented ecosystem.
OPAL integrates fact-finding, risk assessment, and investment planning into a unified platform, underpinned by a scenario generator informed by over 700 economic variables updated monthly. Rather than relying on generic averages, OPAL adapts to current market dynamics such as shifting yield curves and inflation trends. It can project and adjust for different withdrawal strategies, giving daily feasibility scores that allow advisers to spot issues in real-time — long before annual reviews would typically flag them.
The platform also enhances compliance and auditability. By capturing client preferences, goals, and financial constraints in a structured and traceable format, OPAL ensures that every recommendation aligns with both the client’s risk tolerance and the regulator’s expectations. When markets shift or clients’ needs evolve, OPAL generates alerts, prompting timely reviews and mitigating regulatory risk.
Thanks to integrations with portfolio and client relationship management platforms like Salesforce, OPAL helps reduce administrative overheads. Its client-facing reports are also clear, white-labelled, and digital-ready — enhancing transparency and client trust, a key FCA requirement.
As retirement planning becomes an ongoing process rather than a one-off event, advice solutions must evolve accordingly. Tools like OPAL offer firms a chance to move from reactive, fragmented models to a more intelligent, data-driven approach.
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