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Understand your retirement finances
Plain-English guides to UK pensions, tax, and retirement income. No jargon, no recommendations — just clear explanations of how the rules work.
Recommended reading order
New here? Follow these 7 articles to build a solid foundation.
Start Here 6 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 articlePensions 6 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 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 articleHow Annuities Work
What an annuity is, how it converts a pension pot into guaranteed income, and how annuity income is treated in retirement projections.
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 articleSavings & Investments 12 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 a long-term saving plan.
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 when cash makes sense in a retirement plan.
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 when investment bonds are used in retirement planning.
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 articleEmployment Income
How employment income works — gross vs net pay, income tax, National Insurance, salary sacrifice, and pension contributions.
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 4 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 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.