Free beta launch — now live at AskMyPension.app
Category: Pension Planning · Financial Empowerment · Free Tools · AoLP
Reading time: 4 minutes
We just launched a free app that lets you ask your pension anything.
Ask My Pension is now live.
It is free to use. It works with UK occupational and statutory pension schemes. And we want people to try it — and tell us honestly what works, what does not, and what would make it genuinely useful.
By Steve Conley, Academy of Life Planning · May 2026
Free beta now live at AskMyPension.app
Go to the site. Tell it which pension scheme you are in. Add the information you already have from your pension statement. Then ask the questions you have probably wanted answered for years.
That is it.
No subscription. No setup process. No credit card. No adviser gatekeeping the conversation.
Just clarity.
“What happens if I retire three years early?”
That is not a financial advice question.
It is a planning question. It deserves a clear answer.
Why this matters
Millions of people are making retirement decisions under uncertainty.
Not because the information does not exist — but because it is fragmented, technical, difficult to interpret, and often inaccessible without specialist knowledge.
The scheme booklets exist.
The actuarial reduction tables exist.
The HMRC guidance exists.
But turning all of that into a clear, personalised answer for an ordinary member has traditionally required expertise, time, and access that many people simply do not have.
That gap matters.
Because people still make irreversible decisions every day without fully understanding:
- what they are entitled to,
- what flexibility exists inside their scheme,
- what penalties apply,
- or whether they are actually on track for the retirement income they need.
Good planning begins when people can finally see their position clearly.
What Ask My Pension does
Ask My Pension is an AI-powered pension planning engine developed by the Academy of Life Planning.
It understands the rules behind UK occupational and statutory pension schemes, including:
- NHS
- Teachers
- Local Government
- Civil Service
- Police
- Firefighters
- Defined Benefit schemes
- Defined Contribution schemes
You tell it which scheme you belong to.
It asks a short series of questions based on your pension statement.
Once it has enough context, you can begin exploring your situation in plain English.
Questions it can help you explore
- What benefits have I accrued so far — and what are they projected to be at retirement?
- What happens if I retire early — exactly how much does my income reduce permanently?
- Can I take partial retirement — and what would my total income look like?
- What is the most I can contribute this tax year without breaching my annual allowance?
- How does salary growth affect my pension over the next ten years?
- What death benefits does my scheme provide — and is my nomination registered?
- Am I actually on track for the retirement income I need?
For figures that change regularly — such as actuarial reduction factors, annual allowance limits, and State Pension ages — the system retrieves current published data from sources including the Government Actuary’s Department, HMRC, and DWP.
Every figure is labelled so users can see:
- where the number came from,
- what type of figure it is,
- and whether it is fixed, estimated, or assumption-based.
“Your conversation is private. Only you can see it.”
Privacy matters too
One of the biggest concerns people now have around AI is simple:
“Where is my information going?”
Ask My Pension has been designed around privacy-first principles.
Your conversations are not publicly visible. The system is designed to minimise unnecessary data retention and give people a safe space to explore pension questions without pressure or exposure.
That matters because many people are not ready to speak to an adviser yet.
Sometimes they simply want space to think clearly first.
This is not regulated advice — and that distinction matters
The regulated advice system plays an important role.
But most everyday pension questions are not regulated advice questions.
They are understanding questions.
Scenario questions.
Planning questions.
There is a large gap between:
- “I need clarity”
and - “I am ready to make a regulated financial decision.”
That gap has existed for years.
Ask My Pension is designed to help fill it.
Not by replacing advisers.
Not by telling people what they should do.
But by helping people understand their own position before they make important decisions.
That changes the quality of every later conversation.
Better informed members ask better questions.
“This is democratised financial planning in practice.”
Why the Academy built it
The Academy of Life Planning has always believed that planning should begin with the individual — not the institution.
Most people do not need more complexity.
They need:
- clearer thinking,
- better visibility,
- and tools that help them participate more actively in decisions affecting their future.
Technology should not remove human agency.
It should strengthen it.
Ask My Pension is part of that wider mission:
restoring clarity, capability, and confidence in a world where financial systems often feel distant and difficult to navigate.
This is a beta launch — and feedback genuinely matters
Version 1.0 is now live.
It works. It has been tested. And like every meaningful tool, it will improve through real-world use.
We want honest feedback:
- What worked well?
- What confused you?
- What question did it struggle to answer?
- What would make it genuinely more useful?
There is a direct feedback link inside the app.
Use it.
This is not a polished corporate launch pretending to be finished.
It is an open invitation to help shape something useful.
Try it now
You do not need to create an account.
You do not need to upload documents.
You simply tell it which pension scheme you are in and begin asking questions.
If you work with pension scheme members — as an HR professional, union representative, Financial Life Coach, or financial planner — share it with them.
The more real people use it, the better it becomes.
Try Ask My Pension free now
Ask My Pension is a free public-interest tool developed by the Academy of Life Planning. It provides planning information and scenario modelling based on scheme rules and member-provided data. It does not constitute regulated financial advice. For irreversible decisions, users should confirm figures with their scheme administrator and consider regulated financial advice where appropriate.
Academy of Life Planning 