Summary
What-If Scenarios let advisers test alternate financial plans without changing the client’s main plan.
Advisers can adjust key inputs (retirement age, income, spending, portfolio, etc.) and instantly see the effects.
Examples include retiring early, stopping work, investing more aggressively, adding long-term care costs, or the death of a partner.
Description
Clients often come to meetings with big questions:
What if I retire earlier?
What if I stop working next year?
What happens if my partner passes away?
Timeline’s What-If Scenarios tool is designed so advisers can answer those questions on the spot clearly, quickly, and without fear of breaking the original plan.
You’ll find the What-If Scenarios tab between Charts & Tools and Settings. It opens a clean two-panel interface:
Left panel: Input changes like income, spending, retirement age, and portfolio mix.
Right panel: Real-time output showing the impact on Success Rate, Legacy, Plan Duration, and key balances.
When you click Try it out, Timeline temporarily applies those changes and recalculates the plan. You can then Discard changes to revert to the original plan
This makes client conversations more engaging, exploratory, and productive without ever touching the underlying data.
Example Scenarios
1. Retire Earlier
Client question: “What if we retire at 60 instead of 65?”
Action:
Adjust Retirement Age to 60.
Click Try it out.
Outcome:
Success Rate, legacy, and plan duration will probably decrease
2. Stop Working – Changing Income Sources
Client question: “What if I stop working in 2026?”
Action:
Go to Income.
Remove employment income or change the end date.
Outcome:
Success Rate, legacy, and plan duration will probably decrease
3. Invest More in Equities – Changing Portfolio
The adviser can clearly show the impact of equities in the portfolio
Action:
Open the Portfolio section.
Adjust the asset mix to allocate a higher percentage to equities.
Outcome:
Success Rate, legacy and plan might increase due to higher long-term returns.
4. Add Long-Term Care – Changing Expenditure
Client question: “What if we need long-term care from age 85?”
Action:
Go to Expenditure.
Add a new cost (e.g. £3,000/month) starting from age 85 onward.
Outcome:
Success Rate, legacy, and plan duration will probably decrease
5. Partner Dying – Stress Test Scenario
Client question: “What happens if my partner passes away?”
Action:
Remove partner’s income (state pension, DB pensions, employment, etc.).
Optionally remove or transfer investment accounts.
Adjust expenditure down to reflect single-person household.
Conclusion
Timeline’s What-If Scenarios feature is built for live conversations: fast, flexible, and risk-free. Advisers can safely explore major life changes, understand the financial trade-offs, and help clients make informed decisions—all without altering the original plan.
Whether clients are curious, cautious, or facing real change, this tool supports confident advice and clear, visual storytelling.