The short answer
WealthR is a planning tool. It doesn't hold any money. It tracks and forecasts across every pension provider you use, plus your ISAs and property, and shows your combined retirement income, withdrawal order and depletion risk. Free at the core tier.
PensionBee is an FCA-regulated SIPP provider. It actually holds and invests your pension money — usually by consolidating older workplace pensions into one managed pot. Annual fees apply.
Most users in their 40s, 50s and beyond will benefit from both: PensionBee (or another SIPP provider) for the pension wrapper itself, WealthR for the plan that sits across the whole picture.
Side by side
| Feature | WealthR | PensionBee |
|---|---|---|
| Type of product | Planning & tracking app | FCA-regulated SIPP pension provider |
| Holds your money? | ✕ No — tracks, doesn't hold | ✓ Yes — your pension is invested with them |
| Cost | Free core; Pro £4.99/mo or £39.99/yr | Annual fees on assets (~0.50%–0.95% — verify current rates) |
| Covers multiple providers | ✓ Yes — every SIPP, workplace, DB, State Pension | ~ Consolidates old pensions into one PensionBee pot |
| Covers DB (defined benefit) pensions | ✓ Yes — annual income, indexation, lump sum | ✕ Not a DB scheme |
| Covers State Pension | ✓ Yes — NI years, age, indexation, start date | ✕ Separate from PensionBee |
| Covers ISAs / GIA / property | ✓ Yes — all wrappers and asset types | ✕ Pension-only |
| UK income tax calculator | ✓ Full 2026/27 with HICBC, Marriage Allowance, Scottish bands | ~ Pension-specific calculators only |
| Retirement income forecasting | ✓ 11 stream types with correct tax treatment | ~ Drawdown calculator for the PensionBee pot |
| Sequence-of-returns stress test | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Tax-efficient withdrawal ordering | ✓ Yes (across every wrapper) — Cash → GIA → SIPP UFPLS → ISA → SIPP marginal | ✕ No (only sees one pension) |
| Pro Tax Year Optimiser | ✓ HICBC escape · Marriage Allowance scanner with backdating · Move-into-ISA (Bed & ISA) candidates against CGT allowance | ✕ No |
| Scenarios — what-if modelling | ✓ Income shock, cost of raising a child, one-off shocks · save and compare scenarios | ✕ No |
| Financial stress test | ✓ Job loss, mortgage rate rises, childcare, one-off costs · runway / 5yr net worth impact | ✕ No |
| FIRE / Coast FIRE | ✓ Magic number, coast number, accumulation and drawdown charts · portfolio runway | ✕ No |
| ISA allowance tracker | ✓ All 6 UK wrappers — S&S, Cash, LISA, JISA, IFISA, legacy Help to Buy | ✕ Pension-only product |
| Dividend income horizon | ✓ Reinvestment then income phases · UK £500 dividend allowance modelled | ✕ No |
| Property / mortgage tracking | ✓ Multi-property · joint ownership % · monthly amortisation · BTL cashflow + gross yield | ✕ Pension-only |
| JISA (Junior ISA) support | ✓ Per-child tracking · opt-in to net worth | ✕ Pension-only |
| Couples / household planning | ✓ Partner pensions tagged separately · joint property ownership % | ✕ Per-account |
| Year Review with shareable card | ✓ Personalised end-of-year recap · social-safe or with-amounts share image | ✕ No |
| Monthly debrief | ✓ Automatic debrief on each saved month · comparable-basis change · best-month flag | ✕ No |
| Website-side calculator tools (separate from the app · no sign-up) | ✓ 19 free tools on wealthr.co.uk/tools/ — HICBC, marriage allowance, CGT calculator, stamp duty (SDLT), LBTT Scotland, LTT Wales, pension carry forward, Bed & ISA, CGT tracker, Coast FIRE, FIRE number, IHT on pensions, income shock, long-term care, Monte Carlo retirement, mortgage overpayment vs invest, salary sacrifice, cost of raising a child | ~ Pension-specific calculators only |
| FCA-regulated | ✕ Not regulated — planning aid | ✓ Yes — FCA-regulated SIPP provider |
| Investment management | ✕ Doesn't manage money | ✓ Multiple plans (tracker, tailored, etc.) |
| Adviser share link | ✓ Pro — share with your IFA read-only | ✕ Not applicable |
| PDF reports | ✓ Pro — IFA-style report | ~ Standard pension statements |
| Mobile app | ✓ Web + PWA | ✓ Native iOS & Android |
| Built in | Edinburgh, UK | London, UK |
What each does well
Where WealthR is stronger
WealthR is built around the question "what happens across all my retirement income sources?" — not just one pension. UK retirees typically have 3–6 income streams in play: a SIPP (possibly with PensionBee), one or two old workplace DC pensions, maybe a DB pension from an earlier career, the State Pension at 66 or 67, ISA withdrawals, possibly some GIA dividends or rental income. WealthR models all of these together with the correct UK tax treatment, then runs a sequence-of-returns stress test and recommends a tax-efficient withdrawal sequence. PensionBee can't do this because it only sees the money it holds — typically one consolidated SIPP pot.
WealthR also includes a full UK income tax calculator, FIRE/Coast FIRE calculators, top-slicing relief for offshore bonds (Pro), and an adviser share link so any IFA you choose can view your plan read-only. PensionBee includes pension-specific calculators (contribution growth, drawdown from one pot) but isn't trying to be a holistic financial planner.
Where PensionBee is stronger
PensionBee is excellent at one thing: making your pension simple to manage. They consolidate old workplace pensions you've forgotten about, pick an investment plan that matches your risk profile, and put it all in one beautifully designed app. WealthR can't do any of that — WealthR doesn't hold money or manage investments.
If you have 4–5 old pension pots scattered across previous employers and you want them combined into one place with transparent fees and clean UX, PensionBee is the right tool. WealthR is the right tool for planning what to do with that consolidated pot (plus your ISAs, plus the State Pension you'll get later) once it exists.
PensionBee is also FCA-regulated. WealthR is not — WealthR is a planning aid, not regulated advice.
WealthR — pros
- Free at the core tier with no expiry — full planner, not a teaser
- 19 free standalone UK calculators on the website (no sign-up)
- Covers every pension type (SIPP, DB, DC, LISA, State)
- Covers ISAs, property, GIA, crypto, side income
- 11-stream retirement income module with tax-efficient withdrawal ordering
- Sequence-of-returns + financial stress tests
- What-if Scenarios — income shock, child cost, life events
- Full UK income tax calculator (HICBC, Marriage, Scotland, £100k trap)
- Pro Tax Year Optimiser — personalised HICBC / Marriage / Bed & ISA action plan
- ISA tracker for all 6 UK wrappers
- Dividend income horizon with UK £500 allowance
- BTL cashflow + gross yield · multi-property + joint ownership
- Couples / household planning — partner pensions, joint property
- Year Review with shareable social card
- Adviser share links and IFA-style PDF reports (Pro)
WealthR — cons
- Doesn't hold or manage money
- Manual entry — about two minutes a month
- Not FCA-regulated — planning aid only
- Doesn't consolidate old pensions
PensionBee — pros
- Consolidates old pensions into one managed pot
- Beautiful UX, app-first experience
- Transparent fees
- FCA-regulated SIPP provider
- Multiple investment plans to choose from
PensionBee — cons
- Pension-only — doesn't model ISAs / GIA / property / non-pension assets
- Annual fees on assets under management (verify current rates on pensionbee.com)
- Doesn't model DB / State Pension / ISAs alongside the pot
- No sequence-of-returns stress test
- No tax-efficient withdrawal ordering across providers
- No UK income tax calculator built in
- No Pro Tax Year Optimiser (HICBC, Marriage Allowance, Bed & ISA)
- No what-if Scenarios for life events
- No financial stress test for life events
- No FIRE / Coast FIRE modelling
- No ISA allowance tracker
- No dividend income horizon planner
- No multi-property with joint ownership or BTL cashflow
- No JISA as a tracked category
- No couples / household planning view
- No standalone calculator tools on the website (beyond pension-specific)
When to choose which
Choose WealthR if…
- You want to model retirement income across all sources
- You have a DB pension, State Pension or multiple SIPPs
- You want sequence-of-returns stress testing
- You want tax-efficient withdrawal recommendations
- You want a free UK income tax calculator
- You want to share your plan with an IFA read-only
- You're a UK couple planning retirement together
Choose PensionBee if…
- You want to consolidate old workplace pensions
- You want a single managed SIPP
- You want a clean app-first pension experience
- You want FCA-regulated investment management
- You're comfortable paying annual fund fees
- You only want to think about one pension provider
Why most retirees end up using both
The Venn diagram is tiny. PensionBee solves the "I have five pensions from five jobs and I've lost track" problem — by bringing them under one provider. WealthR solves the "I have one PensionBee SIPP, one workplace DC, a DB pension from my old employer, the State Pension coming at 67, my wife's SIPP, two ISAs and a buy-to-let — what does the next 25 years actually look like?" problem.
In WealthR, your PensionBee pot is just one entry in your Pension tab — alongside your DB pension, State Pension, and your partner's pots. WealthR aggregates the lot, calculates the correct combined UK tax, recommends a drawdown order across them, and shows whether your plan survives a market crash early in retirement.
FAQ
Can I track my PensionBee pot in WealthR?
Is WealthR a pension provider like PensionBee?
Should I move my pension to PensionBee before using WealthR?
Does WealthR give IFA-level retirement advice like PensionBee's guidance does?
Why does WealthR cover DB pensions and the State Pension when PensionBee doesn't?
What about adviser involvement — does WealthR have an equivalent to PensionBee's regulated status?
Track your PensionBee pot — and every other pension — in one plan.
Free forever at the core tier. Add your PensionBee SIPP, workplace DC, DB pension and State Pension entitlement; WealthR models the combined retirement income, withdrawal order and depletion risk.
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