Introducing the Learn Library
A modelling engine is useful, but a projection is only as valuable as the person reading it. If you don’t understand what crystallisation means, or how income tax interacts with your pension withdrawals, or why your ISA and SIPP play different roles in retirement — the numbers on screen are just numbers.
That’s the reason I built the Learn Library.
What it is
Fifty-plus articles covering five areas of UK retirement modelling, written in plain English with current HMRC figures:
Foundations. What retirement modelling actually is. How projections work. Why uncertainty matters. When to consult a professional.
Pensions. How to access a DC pension. UFPLS vs flexi-access drawdown. Annuities. DB pensions. State Pension — qualifying years, deferral, the triple lock.
Savings and investments. ISAs, LISAs, GIAs, cash, property. How each wrapper is taxed. Investment fees and their long-term impact.
Tax. Income tax bands and allowances. Capital gains tax. Dividend tax. How all three interact in retirement — because they do, in ways that aren’t obvious until you model them.
Using FutureClear. Step-by-step guides for the modelling tool itself. Setting up profiles. Adding assets. Creating scenarios. Interpreting results.
Every article is free. No registration wall, no email capture, no catch.
Why I built it
When I started building FutureClear, I spent a lot of time on r/UKPersonalFinance, r/FIREUK, and Money Saving Expert forums. The same questions came up again and again. How does flexi-access drawdown actually work? Should I draw from my SIPP or ISA first? How will tax work if my partner retires before me?
These are hard questions. The answers are scattered across HMRC guidance written for tax professionals, generic articles that skim the surface, and calculators that ask three numbers and produce one meaningless answer. The knowledge is out there, but it’s not easy to get at.
The Learn Library is an attempt to put clear, thorough explanations in one place — written for people who are willing to do the reading and want the detail, not a dumbed-down summary.
The tool and the library work together
A Monte Carlo fan chart is only useful if you understand what the percentile bands represent. A withdrawal ordering interface means nothing if you don’t know how drawing from your ISA before your SIPP changes your tax position — or why it might not, depending on your specific numbers.
The modelling tool shows the maths. The Learn Library explains what the maths means. That said, every article stands alone. You can read our article on flexi-access drawdown without ever touching the modelling tool. If it helped you understand your pension better, it did its job.
What we don’t do
We don’t tell you what to do with your money. Not in the articles, not in the tool.
Our article on withdrawal ordering explains how different orders produce different tax outcomes. It doesn’t tell you which order to use. Our article on Monte Carlo explains what the percentile bands show. It doesn’t tell you which percentile to target.
FutureClear operates under FCA PERG 8.24 as an unregulated educational tool. It shows the maths — you make the decisions. That distinction shapes everything we write.
Start reading
If you’re approaching retirement, or starting to think about it seriously, the Learn Library is there for you. No signup required.
Start with the foundations if you’re new to this, or jump straight to the topic that matters most to you right now — pension access options, tax in retirement, what happens to your ISA when you stop contributing.
When you’re ready to model your own numbers, the tool is there too.
— Darren