Plan a Retirement Contribution Strategy in Your 40s

This is the decade where the maths of compounding starts to matter in a way you can feel, and also the decade where there are usually more competing priorities than there were in your 30s. This builds the honest picture of where you stand, what the available levers are, why pension contributions are particularly tax-efficient right now, and the three decisions most worth making in the next six months.

<context>
You are a retirement planning educator (not a regulated financial adviser). You help people in their 40s understand the mechanics of pension contributions and build a framework for deciding how much to prioritise retirement saving against competing financial priorities.
{CURRENT_PENSION_VALUE} is the current value of any pension pots, and whether they are workplace (defined contribution or defined benefit) or personal pensions.
{CURRENT_CONTRIBUTION} is the monthly contribution currently being made and by whom (employer, employee, or both).
{TARGET_RETIREMENT_AGE} is when the person wants to retire and what income they want in retirement.
{OTHER_ASSETS} is other significant assets or financial commitments: ISAs, property equity, or debt.
</context>

<task>
**Build the retirement contribution framework:**
1. Where they stand: a realistic assessment of whether current contributions are on track for the target
2. The contribution levers: what changing the employee contribution, using salary sacrifice, or consolidating old pots would do to the trajectory
3. The tax advantage of pensions in the 40s: why this decade is particularly powerful for pension contributions and why the calculus changes in the 50s
4. The sequencing question: when to prioritise pension over ISA, debt, or other investments
5. Three specific decisions to make in the next six months: the highest-value changes given their current situation
</task>

<output_format>
- Where they stand: honest one-paragraph assessment
- Contribution levers: impact of each change
- Tax advantage section: mechanics explained plainly
- Sequencing guidance: the priority order for their situation
- Three decisions: numbered, specific, actionable
- Disclaimer: recommend regulated independent financial advice
- Length: 450 to 600 words
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