The mid career retirement check in most vets never do

You’re no longer at the start — you’ve built experience, your earnings may have increased, and your career path is clearer than it once was. But retirement can still feel distant enough to sit quietly in the background.

At Chase de Vere, we often see vets reach this stage without ever stopping to take stock of where they are financially — particularly when it comes to retirement. Not because they’ve done anything wrong, but because life, work and the profession itself have a habit of getting in the way.

This isn’t about making big changes or dramatic decisions. It’s about a mid‑career sense check — understanding where your pensions are, what you’ve built so far, where there may be gaps, and whether your assumptions still match reality.

Why mid‑career is a natural pause point

Veterinary careers are rarely linear. Many vets will have experienced:

• Changes between practices or employers
• Time out for further study, parental leave or travel
• A move into locum work, management, ownership or industry roles
• Periods of part‑time work or self‑employment

Each of these can affect retirement provision in small but important ways — often without being obvious at the time.

Mid‑career is often the first point where retirement starts to feel real enough to think about, but still flexible enough to explore without pressure.

1. What pensions have you actually built so far?

One of the most common challenges we see is visibility.

Over a decade or more, it’s easy to build up:

• One or more workplace pensions from different practices or employers
• A personal or private pension, perhaps set up earlier in your career
• Periods where pension contributions were paused or reduced

Because pensions are long‑term by nature, they can fade into the background. Many vets aren’t fully sure:

• How many pensions they have
• Where they are held
• Whether contributions continued consistently through career moves
• How their pensions are being invested and the charges associated with these pensions

A mid‑career check‑in starts with simply understanding what exists and whether it’s appropriate at this moment, rather than judging whether it’s “enough”.

2. Have career moves created gaps — without you realising?

Career progression is usually positive, but it can come with unintended side effects.

For example:

• Moving between practices may mean joining different workplace pension schemes
• Becoming a locum or self‑employed vet can shift responsibility for pension saving entirely onto you
• Career breaks or reduced hours may lead to lower or missed contributions

None of these are mistakes. They’re a normal part of modern veterinary careers. The key is understanding what pension arrangements you have, recognising where gaps may have appeared, so they’re understood rather than ignored.

3. Assumptions vs reality: are they still aligned?

Many vets carry long‑held assumptions about retirement, such as:

• “My pension contributions will probably take care of themselves”
• “I’ll work for longer anyway”
• “I’ll gradually cut back rather than stop completely”

These may still be true — but they’re often based on assumptions made earlier in your career, before your role, income or priorities evolved.

A sense check is about asking:

• Do my original assumptions still reflect how I work today?
• Has my idea of retirement changed?
• Am I relying on anything I haven’t really reviewed?

This isn’t about predicting the future — it’s about making sure your expectations are grounded in your current reality.  The earlier this can be done prior to retirement the better idea you will have of any future action that needs to be taken.  It will then give you a realistic chance of being in a position to make any changes needed so that your retirement goals can be achievable.

Why this isn’t about a course correction

It’s important to stress what a mid‑career check‑in is not.

It’s not:

• A judgement on past decisions
• A recommendation to make changes immediately
• A push towards complex strategies

Instead, it’s about clarity.

Many vets find that simply understanding their position — often for the first time — makes future decisions feel calmer and more manageable, even if no action is taken straight away.

Specialist retirement planning support for BVA members

Chase de Vere is a partner of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), working with its members to provide specialist retirement planning expertise tailored to veterinary careers.

Our advisers understand the realities of the profession — including moving between practices, locum work, self‑employment, ownership, and the impact of career breaks or changing working patterns. For many vets, having a conversation with someone who understands these nuances can be a helpful way to sense‑check where they stand.

As part of this partnership, BVA members can book a free initial chat with one of our specialist advisers to talk through their situation, ask questions, and gain clarity — with no obligation.

Book a free initial chat with a Chase de Vere retirement specialist

Important information

This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute personal financial advice. Retirement planning decisions will depend on individual circumstances. You should seek personalised advice before making any financial decisions.