Learn Library
Understand your retirement finances
The Learn Library is our contribution to closing the advice gap: a deliberate, consolidated guide to UK retirement rules for people navigating their own finances. We cover pensions, ISAs, tax and property in plain English — because self-directed investors deserve the same clarity on the rules that everyone else pays for.
Recommended reading order
New here? Follow these 8 articles to build a solid foundation.
Foundations 10 topics
What retirement modelling is, how projections work, and how to think about uncertainty.
What Is Retirement Modelling?
Why modelling your retirement matters and what a projection actually shows you.
Read articleThe Building Blocks of a Retirement Projection
The five components that make up any retirement model — income, spending, assets, tax, and time.
Read articleHow Money Flows in Retirement
Income sources, spending categories, the annual surplus or shortfall, and what happens when outgoings exceed income.
Read articleHow a Projection Works
What happens inside the year-by-year simulation — and why your assumptions are the most important input.
Read articleUnderstanding Uncertainty
Why no projection is a prediction — and how scenarios and Monte Carlo simulation help you think about the range of possible outcomes.
Read articleGetting Help With Your Finances
The difference between guidance and advice, where to get free help, and when to consider a financial adviser.
Read articleWithdrawal Order in Retirement
Why the sequence you draw from pensions, ISAs, and other accounts affects your lifetime tax bill — and how to model different orderings.
Read articleEmployment Income
How employment income works — gross vs net pay, income tax, National Insurance, salary sacrifice, and pension contributions.
Read articleCouples and Retirement
How retirement finances work differently for couples — different ages, different allowances, marriage allowance, survivor income, and why modelling both partners together matters.
Read articleInflation and Your Retirement
How inflation erodes purchasing power over a long retirement, why real vs nominal matters, and how frozen tax thresholds create fiscal drag.
Read articlePensions 9 topics
How UK pensions work — from contributions and tax relief to drawdown and crystallisation.
How UK Pensions Work
An overview of the main UK pension types — workplace, personal, and state — and how they're taxed.
Read articleAccessing Your DC Pension
Three ways to take money from a defined contribution pension — flexi-access drawdown, UFPLS, and annuities — and how each one works.
Read articlePension Tax Relief
How pension tax relief works — basic rate, higher rate, salary sacrifice, and the real net cost of pension contributions at each tax band.
Read articleUFPLS vs Flexi-Access Drawdown
A side-by-side comparison of the two main routes to accessing a DC pension — how each one works and how the tax differs.
Read articlePension Annual Allowance & Carry Forward
The £60,000 annual limit on pension contributions, 3-year carry forward of unused allowance, the tapered allowance for high earners, and the Money Purchase Annual Allowance.
Read articleHow Annuities Work
What an annuity is, how it converts a pension pot into guaranteed income, what affects the rate you get, and how guaranteed income fits alongside drawdown and tax.
Read articleDefined Benefit Pensions
How DB pensions work — final salary vs CARE schemes, what you receive in retirement, commutation, and inflation protection.
Read articleThe UK State Pension
How the State Pension works — qualifying years, the full amount, deferral, and how it interacts with your other retirement income.
Read articleSelf-Employment and Pensions
How self-employed people save for retirement — SIPPs, tax relief via Self Assessment, Class 2 and 4 NI, and dealing with variable income.
Read articleSavings & Investments 13 topics
Savings accounts, investment wrappers, property, and how growth and fees affect your retirement pot.
ISA Types and How They Work
Stocks & Shares ISAs, Cash ISAs, Lifetime ISAs, and the annual allowance — how ISAs shelter savings and investments from UK tax.
Read articleLifetime ISA (LISA)
The 25% government bonus, age restrictions, withdrawal penalty, and how a Lifetime ISA fits into long-term retirement saving.
Read articleGeneral Investment Accounts
What a GIA is, how dividends and gains are taxed, cost basis pooling, and why GIAs are often drawn before ISAs in retirement.
Read articleCash Savings
Interest rates, FSCS protection, the Personal Savings Allowance, inflation drag, and the role cash plays in a retirement projection.
Read articlePremium Bonds
How Premium Bonds work in the UK — the prize draw system, current prize fund rate, and how they are treated in retirement projections.
Read articleVenture Capital Trusts (VCTs)
30% income tax relief, tax-free dividends, CGT exemption, the 5-year minimum holding, and the risks of investing in early-stage UK companies via VCTs.
Read articleCryptocurrency and UK Tax
HMRC's treatment of crypto as a capital asset, CGT on disposals, income tax on staking and mining, record-keeping requirements, and retirement planning considerations.
Read articleInvestment Bonds
Insurance-based wrappers, the 5% cumulative annual allowance, chargeable events, top-slicing relief, and how investment bonds differ from other savings products.
Read articleProperty in Retirement
How residential property is taxed — primary residence exemption, secondary property CGT, rental income, Rent-a-Room scheme, downsizing considerations, and stamp duty.
Read articleRental Income in Retirement
How rental income from buy-to-let property is taxed, the mortgage interest restriction, allowable expenses, and how rental income interacts with your other retirement income.
Read articleBed and ISA Explained
How to gradually move GIA investments into a tax-free ISA wrapper using the annual CGT allowance — step by step, with worked examples.
Read articleInvestment Returns: Real vs Nominal
The difference between real and nominal returns, how compound growth works, and how investment growth assumptions affect retirement projections.
Read articleInvestment Fees and Their Impact
Platform fees, fund charges, and the compounding drag on returns — how annual fees reduce the real growth of your investments over time.
Read articleTax 6 topics
How the UK tax system works — income tax, Capital Gains Tax, dividends, and how they interact in retirement.
How the UK Tax System Works
The three main taxes in retirement — income tax, Capital Gains Tax, and dividend tax — how they interact, and why the account you hold investments in changes the picture.
Read articleUK Income Tax in Retirement
How the UK income tax bands work, the Personal Allowance taper, and how pension income is taxed.
Read articleCapital Gains Tax on Investments
How CGT applies when you sell investments, the annual allowance, current rates, and how Bed & ISA can shelter future growth.
Read articleDividend Tax
How dividends are taxed in the UK, the annual dividend allowance, rates by income band, and how the wrapper you hold investments in changes the picture.
Read articleNational Insurance in Later Career
How National Insurance works as you approach retirement — when it stops, qualifying years, and the impact on your take-home pay.
Read articleThe Personal Allowance Taper
Why income between £100,000 and £125,140 is taxed at an effective 60% — the mechanics of the Personal Allowance taper and how it appears in retirement projections.
Read articleFrequently asked questions
What is FutureClear?
FutureClear is a retirement scenario modelling tool. You enter your financial details — pensions, ISAs, investments, property — and it projects whether your money is likely to last through retirement under different assumptions. It does not provide financial advice.
How long does it take to set up?
A basic projection takes under a minute using Quick Start. A full setup with all your assets and detailed assumptions typically takes 10-15 minutes. You can add more detail at any time.
Is this financial advice?
No. FutureClear is an educational modelling tool. It shows projected outcomes based on assumptions you provide. It does not make personal recommendations. For personalised financial advice, please consult a qualified financial adviser.