Are you confident in your retirement?
According to new research by Nucleus, confidence in retirement amongst the public has recently hit an all-time low. The results showed that only 26% of adults felt that they would have enough money to live on for the rest of their lives. Planning for retirement can feel overwhelming, and you are not alone if you feel unsure about the future. Many people today worry about rising living costs, uncertain markets and whether their savings will last long enough. The good news: with the right guidance and a clear plan, confidence can be rebuilt.
Why People Feel Less Confident About Retirement
1. The cost of living keeps rising:
Every year, everyday expenses increase, reducing the buying power of your savings. Please see chart below which illustrates the impact of inflation on purchasing power:
2. Markets feel unpredictable:
Ups and downs in the stock market make many savers nervous about investing. The chart below illustrates emotional response to various stock market conditions:
3. People are living longer:
A longer life is great—but it means your money needs to last longer too. This chart illustrates how life expectancy has increased since the 1950’s:
4. Retirement products can be confusing:
Pensions, ISAs, annuities, drawdown… it’s hard to know what’s right for you.
5. It’s easy to put off financial decisions:
Life is busy, and retirement can feel far away—until suddenly it’s not!
How Clear Can help you feel more secure:
1. Turning worries into a clear plan –
Clear can help establish your goals and objectives and put a plan in place to give you the best chance of achieving them.
2. Showing your future with cashflow tools –
Cashflow forecasts help you see your financial future which will give you confidence that you remain on track and can make any changes necessary if required.
3. Helping you invest at a comfortable risk level –
Different people are comfortable with different levels of risk. We will help you understand what is suitable for you and ensure that the volatility of your investments is best suited to your individual preference and circumstances.
4. Making sure you don’t pay more tax than needed –
The right pension strategy along with a holistic approach to drawing income from your other investments, in the most tax efficient manner possible, can help your money last longer.
5. Keeping you on track, even when life changes –
Regular check-ins mean your plan stays up to date and any changes can be made as appropriate.
Conclusion
A more confident future Is possible.
Retirement planning doesn’t need to be stressful. With personalised advice and a clear roadmap, you can move from uncertainty to confidence—one step at a time.
Daren Fuller-Clear Senior Paraplanner
Football Vs FTSE
For the last 10 years, the UK stock market has not been the investment destination of choice.
Whether due to economic sluggishness, chaotic politics, or just the types of company available (“not tech”), since 2016 money has been flowing the wrong way (although 2025 may be different!)
Source: Calastone
However, there is one very visible part of Britain which seems to have gone from strength to strength during that time.
Football.
2 billion people follow the Premier League each season, with it contributing nearly £10 billion to the UK economy, as well as more than 100,000 jobs.
Then you have Hollywood stars getting involved in 3pm lower-league kick-offs, this means something must be going right …!
Source: Goal
Over half of the clubs in the Premier League have changed ownership in the past decade.
Although owning a football club isn’t JUST about the investment return, it is interesting to compare the “returns” of big football teams to the “returns” of the big stocks over the past ten years …
The chart below compares the top six companies in the FTSE 100, and the “big six” football clubs.*
 Source: 7IM/Forbes/FactSet, company data since 31/12/2015 to 26/10/2025, market capitalisation of business. Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
This shows a mixed bag of results. Some companies did ok, but in general you’d say it’s been better to be in British football than to be in British business … but, in investment terms, football teams are tiny!
Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea wouldn’t even make it into the FTSE 100, and although both the Manchester teams and Liverpool would, they’d be hanging around in the relegation zone, alongside companies like Howden Joinery, Autotrader and JD Sports!
* Bear in mind you can’t actually invest in football clubs (with the exception of Manchester United, who have some shares listed, weirdly, in New York), so this report just looked at the total size of the club in 2015 compared to now, as estimated by Forbes, and the same for the big companies, looking at size rather than share price returns (but they end up pretty similar).
Source:7IM@7am
Unintended consequences
Ever noticed a Wilkes’ Gob?
You may well have seen one at some point, particularly if you’ve spent any time in Leicestershire. You might have seen something similar if you’ve been to Brick Lane in Shoreditch (although you were probably looking at the beautiful selection of curries).
A Wilkes’ Gob is a type of brick. Specifically, a double-sized brick.
Source: Wikimedia Commons, Measham, Leicestershire, Wilkes’ Gob on the right.
In 1784, the British government needed cash to cover the cost of the American War of Independence. With new towns springing up as the Industrial Revolution took hold, MPs imposed a “brick tax” of 2 shillings and sixpence for every thousand bricks produced, resulting in BIGGER BRICKS. At least for fifteen years, until the government closed the loophole.
The Wilkes’ Gob is a great real-world example of why clever tax ideas often don’t produce sensible outcomes as people find other solutions.
A couple of other more … quirky … taxes in British history; and the resulting behaviour, which very rarely involved paying the tax are:
The Hat Tax was also introduced in 1784. The idea was that richer people have more hats, so would have to pay more tax. Quite aggressively, the punishment for forging hat-tax stamps was death! So, to deal with this people stopped wearing hats or started wearing these a new invention “caps” which were exempt!
The Window Tax (1696). In the 17th century, most people thought the government had no business asking them about their income. So, when William III needed to raise money, he had to do it based on things his revenue officers could count. For example, windows. More windows = bigger house = more money = more tax. This resulted in bricked up windows across the country (which you can still see). Allegedly, the creation of the phrase “daylight robbery” to describe the tax.
But, most one of the most surprising tax fact: Until 1990, in the UK, a married woman’s tax rate was the same as her husband’s! When that rule changed, the UK workforce saw a significant increase in workers.
Tax isn’t about the numbers. It’s about the behaviour.
Source:7IM@7am
Consumer confidence wanes prior to the budget and after.
- Headline CSI index slips to four- month low.
- Renewed pessimism across households regarding future financial wellbeing.
- Debt amassed to greatest degree since July.
Source: S&P Global
Don’t forget to get your orders in for Clear Minds Christmas cards by following the link below and help support the charity.
[email protected]
The charity is currently working with 19 therapists, helping 34 clients and has funded 1534 sessions.
Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year!
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