Hi, I’m Jo. I work with Gavin at Solus. I’ve been working with him since the early days; in fact, slightly before that, so that’s about six years.

I divorced in 2018, and as part of that, I acquired half of my husband’s pension, plus what was left of my pension, and I needed advice on how to manage it.

Gavin was referred to me by the lawyer I was using for my divorce.

Gavin really stood out to me, because my experience of people who are highly technical in something is that if you’re not careful, they talk down to you. I know what it’s like to be an expert in something, but the most important thing is to engage. What Gavin did was explain something complicated, but he did it in a way that appreciated that I was able to grasp those things even if I didn’t know as much about them as he did.

My father died when he was 58, and at the time, I didn’t realise how young that was. So, when I hit that age, I realised life was about living and that I would live it as best I could and be as adventurous as I could. Gavin has enabled me to do that.

Since my divorce, he’s helped me get my head around my pension and how it can work for me, and that, in turn, has meant I can as well as have it for security in the future.

What my pension has enabled me to do now is to experience things that I didn’t when I was younger. I’m now living a gap year in four parts. I’m following my daughter, who’s at university in the US, and I’m using it as an opportunity to travel. I’ve done two years and almost 15,000 miles, and I’m already planning stage three next year.

The best thing about working with Gavin is he gives me security but allows me to have a sense of adventure. So I can use my pension to do things that enhance my life now.

I feel more secure and confident in making decisions. I can make decisions now about what I want to do and how I want to use my pension, knowing that I’ll still have security in the long term.

If I were to use three words to describe Gavin, they would be thoughtful, because he definitely thinks a lot about his clients and how life affects them; empathetic, because he identifies with them and tries to understand what they’re thinking; and also insightful, because he has a great deal of insight into where my life might be going.

Gavin has enabled me to see my pension as something that I can use and that I don’t need to hoard.

I’d absolutely recommend Gavin. I think he is somebody who will work with you. He won’t patronise you or tell you what to do; he will make you feel in control of your pension.