With Halloween approaching, children and families are busy dressing up and decorating their homes with all the usual spooky characters, such as ghosts, witches, vampires, and more.
But in the adult world, we know there are things far scarier than anything supernatural. Chief among them? Financial fears.
Whether it’s worrying about not having enough for retirement or feeling uneasy about investing, anxieties around money are prevalent for many.
Read on to discover four common financial fears and what you can do to conquer them.
1. ‘I’m scared I’ll lose money if I invest’
Investing always comes with risk, so it’s perfectly normal to feel nervous about putting money into the market.
While markets can fluctuate, which can reduce investor confidence, they have historically delivered strong returns over the long term.
For instance, research by Capital Group found that over the past 91 years, the S&P 500 has had negative returns in 33% of the years. However, if you zoom out and look at 10-year periods over the same time frame, it has made gains 100% of the time.
So, by staying invested for the long term, you would not only have recouped your short-term losses, but you’d have also made gains.
Moreover, the market has historically had a better chance of beating inflation than cash, over long time horizons.
Research by Schroders found that cash has typically had around a 60% chance of beating inflation, no matter the time period it’s held for. The stock market, on the other hand, has typically had about a 70% chance of beating inflation over a year, rising to nearly 90% after a decade, and reaching 100% over 20 years.
So, while you may be scared of losing money if you invest in the market, history shows that your money is more likely to lose its real-term value if you keep it as cash.
2. ‘I’m nervous I’ll run out of money in retirement’
The shift from work to retirement can be challenging for both financial and emotional reasons. You may worry about lacking a purpose and how you’ll spend your time, or you might be concerned that you’ll run out of money.
In many ways, the two worries are linked. After all, if you don’t have enough money in retirement, it may be hard to achieve all the things you want to as many of them will likely require a certain amount.
A financial planner can help you create goals for your retirement and then find the financial targets you will need to achieve them.
To help ease your fears of falling short and not having enough, you can then conduct regular pension and savings reviews to see if you’re on track.
If you’re behind schedule, your financial planner can recommend solutions to get you back to where you need to be. These could include increasing your pension contributions, paying a lump sum, topping up your National Insurance contributions for the State Pension, or delaying your retirement by a year or two.
Being clear about what your goals are and how close you are to achieving them can help calm fears about not being prepared, as you will know exactly where you stand and what you can do to improve your situation, if needed.
3. ‘I’m afraid about not being able to pay for care’
It’s also very common to be fearful of not having enough saved to be able to pay for social care without losing a considerable portion of your estate.
The latest figures from carehome.co.uk reveal that the average yearly cost of residential care in 2025 is £67,496, or £79,820 for nursing home care.
Currently, in England, if you have assets worth more than £23,250 (the upper capital limit), you will be expected to pay the full cost of your care home fees. If your asset values are below this, the local authority will pay a portion until your capital is below £14,250 (the lower capital limit), when it will pay the full amount.
So, it’s important to plan ahead to ensure your estate is protected from potentially significant costs.
A financial planner can help you prepare for the cost of care. This could involve several strategies including:
- Ring-fencing a portion of your retirement savings specifically for care needs
- Moving some of your assets into a trust to take them outside of your estate
- Investing in an immediate needs annuity that covers your care costs
- Gifting some of your assets to beneficiaries early to help ensure they are passed on and not used to pay for care.
A financial planner can help you create a plan that works for you and your situation. While you may still have to pay for care, they can help ensure more of your estate is protected and that you have control over what is an isn’t used to help fund the payments.
4. ‘I’m anxious my family won’t have enough from my inheritance’
Worrying about not having enough to pass onto your loved ones is one of the most common financial fears, as it’s only natural to want to know your family are secure once you’re gone.
Without a solid estate plan, Inheritance Tax (IHT) can substantially reduce the amount your loved ones receive after your death.
For the 2025/26 tax year, your estate can usually pass on:
- £325,000 through the standard nil-rate band
- £175,000 through the residence nil-rate band.
In addition, anything left to your spouse or civil partner is exempt from IHT, and they can inherit any unused allowances. This means that together, you could pass on up to £1 million free of IHT.
Anything above these thresholds is typically taxed at 40%, so it’s important to make full use of the available allowances.
If you’re still concerned about a potential IHT bill, other estate planning strategies can help reduce your liability. These could include:
- Gifting
- Putting assets in trust
- Exploring Business Relief schemes.
A financial planner can help you develop an estate plan that ensures more of your estate is protected from IHT and that your family and loved ones are supported after you’re gone.
Get in touch
To find out more about how financial planning can help relieve your fears, get in touch.
Email us at hello@vwmwealth.com or call us on 0141 229 4004.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning, cashflow planning, tax planning, trusts, or will writing.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available.
The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
