We have built something we should have built years ago
The AoLP Occupational Pension Planning Engine gives defined benefit pension scheme members the ability to understand their entitlements, explore their options, and make informed decisions — without waiting for an adviser appointment that may never come.
By Steve Conley · Academy of Life Planning · April 2026
Across the United Kingdom, there are tens of millions of defined benefit pension entitlements.
Public sector schemes alone account for close to 20 million memberships. Private sector defined benefit schemes add several million more. Taken together, this represents in the region of 29 million defined benefit memberships — recognising that many individuals hold more than one entitlement.
This is one of the largest pools of guaranteed financial value in the country.
And yet, most members do not fully understand what they have.
That is not a personal failing. It is a structural reality.
Defined benefit pension schemes are not pots of money. They are promises — built on accrual rates, pensionable earnings, service history, and scheme rules that vary across sections and generations. The documentation is dense. The calculations are opaque. And the system surrounding them is not designed to answer the planning questions that members actually have.
“What happens to my pension if I retire three years early?”
That is not a specialist question.
It is a fundamental financial planning question.
And until now, most members have had no reliable way to answer it.
What we have built
The AoLP Occupational Pension Planning Engine is a structured AI planning system built inside Claude.
It is designed specifically for defined benefit pension schemes — public and private sector.
A member sets it up once, uploads their scheme documents, and from that point forward has an ongoing planning environment grounded in their own pension data.
The engine interprets:
- Final salary and career average structures
- Accrual rules and service history
- Normal pension ages
- Actuarial reduction factors
- Early and partial retirement options
- Annual allowance dynamics
- Death and dependant benefits
It works from the member’s own facts — not generic assumptions.
Where figures change over time — such as actuarial reduction factors or tax limits — the engine retrieves the latest published values and makes them visible within the analysis.
The member can see exactly what each number represents and where it comes from.
Why this matters
Most defined benefit scheme members experience what we describe at AoLP as structural exclusion.
The information exists.
The scheme booklets are published.
The rules are available.
But the ability to convert that information into a clear, personalised planning answer is not.
The result is that members make decisions such as:
- When to retire
- Whether to take benefits early
- Whether to reduce working hours
- Whether to increase pensionable earnings
- Whether to take a larger lump sum
…without fully understanding the financial consequences.
Some of these decisions are permanent.
The cost of getting them wrong is not theoretical — it is a reduction in guaranteed income for life.
This tool is designed to support understanding and planning in relation to occupational pension schemes. It provides illustrative calculations and scenario modelling based on the information supplied and the assumptions applied.
It is not a substitute for professional advice.
Before making any significant decisions regarding your pension — including retirement timing, benefit options, or contribution levels — you should confirm the details with your scheme administrator and, where appropriate, seek guidance from a suitably qualified pension professional.
While every effort has been made to ensure the outputs are reasonable and clearly explained, the Academy of Life Planning does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or ongoing validity of the calculations or assumptions used.
All outputs should be treated as indicative and for planning purposes only.
From scheme rules to decision clarity
This engine closes that gap.
It does not replace financial advice where advice is required.
It does not attempt to do what it is not designed to do.
What it does is more fundamental:
It turns complex scheme rules into decision-ready understanding.
Members can:
- Establish what they have accrued
- Understand what their pension is projected to provide
- Model early retirement and see the permanent impact
- Explore partial retirement options where available
- Understand how earnings affect their final benefits
- Assess contribution limits and tax implications
- Review death benefits and nomination status
Each response follows a consistent structure:
- Current position
- Scenario tested
- Modelled outcomes
- Key trade-offs
- Optimised insight
- Clear planning direction
- Assumptions and uncertainty
This is not a static report.
It is an ongoing planning capability — one that the member can return to at any time and interrogate as their circumstances evolve.
What a first session looks like
A first session typically takes between 20 and 40 minutes.
During that time, a member can:
- Build a clear picture of their defined benefit entitlements
- Understand projected income at retirement
- Identify the decisions that matter most
- Begin modelling those decisions immediately
From that point onward, the engine becomes a persistent planning environment — allowing continuous exploration and refinement.
A structured Planning Summary Report can be generated at any stage — for personal use or to support further conversations.
Structural trustworthiness
At AoLP, we focus on structural trustworthiness.
A system should not depend on access, availability, or interpretation barriers. It should be designed so that the individual can understand their position directly.
This engine reflects that principle.
It does not obscure information.
It does not rely on hidden interpretation.
It does not require intermediation.
It presents:
- What the member has
- What their options are
- What each option leads to
The decision remains entirely with the member.
This is version 1.0
We are launching Version 1.0 today.
It is complete, tested, and ready for use.
It is also the starting point.
We will continue to refine the engine based on real-world use and feedback from members and Total Wealth Planners. Updates are simple — replace the file, and the system improves immediately.
An invitation
If you are a member of a defined benefit pension scheme, this engine is for you.
If you work with people who are, it is for them.
You have spent years building this entitlement.
You should be able to understand it.
Set up takes 4 minutes. No credit card required.
Set up the engine here →
About the author
Steve Conley is the founder of the Academy of Life Planning. A Chartered pension professional since 1989, he has held senior roles including Head of Pensions at several of the UK’s largest financial institutions. AoLP exists to democratise financial planning, promote structural trustworthiness in financial services, and empower individuals through holistic wealth and human capital strategies.
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