Real Life Advice Report 2025: Chapter 1 – The value of advice in a volatile world

The volatile geopolitical and economic backdrop is driving greater uncertainty about the future among nearly half of all adults.

This is according to SJP’s 2025 Real Life Advice Report. It surveyed 8,000 people to find out how people’s attitudes to their money, financial advice and the future had changed over time.

At a glance:

• One in two people are feeling more uncertain about the future now than they did two years ago. Only 18% feel more certain.
• 51% of those who have a financial adviser and ongoing advice are optimistic about the remainder of 2025. This compares to just 34% of those who do not receive advice or have a financial plan in place.
• 95% of those receiving ongoing professional financial advice say it helps them reach and stay on track with their goals

2025 has been another volatile year so far. There has been ongoing geopolitical turmoil, from Trump’s tariffs to global conflicts. Living costs have risen. Stock markets have bounced around from new record highs to sudden dips. Bond markets have been turbulent.

Still to come is the Autumn Budget in November. This is adding further uncertainty over possible future tax rises.

The first chapter of this year’s Real Life Advice Report explores the impact of this growing uncertainty on financial behaviour – and the role advice can play in navigating it.

A more uncertain future?

The survey highlighted the extent to which people were feeling affected by the current political and economic backdrop. One in two people are feeling more uncertain about the future now than they did two years ago. The biggest drivers of unease among this group are the cost of living and inflation, with 76% citing these factors. More than half (57%) also point to global events including the ongoing Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict.

Concerns about the state of the UK economy and instability also drove negative sentiment about the future for 56% of respondents. Meanwhile just under half (45%) expressed fears about government support in areas such as pensions, welfare and long-term care.

In contrast, less than a fifth (18%) of respondents feel more certain.

The generation gap

The survey also highlighted a marked generational divide. Older people were more likely than younger people to feel uncertain about their future. 54% of over-55s fell into this camp, compared to 48% of 35 to 54 year-olds and 45% of 18 to 34 year-olds.

Taking advice – reasons to be positive

But it is not all doom and gloom. Overall, the number of those with a more positive outlook for 2025 outweigh those with a pessimistic outlook – with 4 in 10 optimistic compared to 3 in 10 expressing pessimism.

There was also a notable difference in levels of optimism and confidence among those taking professional financial advice or with a financial plan in place.

Just over half of those who have a financial adviser and ongoing advice or with a full financial plan in place are optimistic about the remainder of 2025 (51% and 53% respectively). This compares to only a third of those who do not receive advice expressing optimism about the next few months. Just 29% of those without a financial plan are positive.

Financial wellbeing in times of uncertainty

Unfortunately, there is no magic cure to address the ongoing economic and political volatility –  in the UK and further afield. Going into the next few months, it looks likely to continue.

However, as the survey highlights there are ways for people to potentially reduce the impact of the instability on mindset and finances. Nearly a third (30%) of those that take ongoing professional financial advice feel more certain about the future overall than they did two years ago. This compares to just 13% of those who don’t take advice.

Meanwhile, 95% of those receiving ongoing professional financial advice say it helps them reach and stay on track with their financial goals. More than 8 in 10 said they were either ahead of or on track against their savings and investment goals despite the difficult economic conditions of recent years. This compares to 65% of those that don’t currently take financial advice.

Despite the uncertainty ahead, it is hard to argue against the conclusion that planning for the financial future could stand people in good stead – emotionally and financially.You can read the 2025 Real Life Advice Report Chapter 1 here.

Background

Opinium surveyed 8,000 UK adults nationwide between 22^nd July and 5^th August 2025. Quotas and post-weighting were applied to the sample to make the dataset representative of the UK adult population. Within this poll, the relevant weighted sub-samples were:

• Men, women, other gender, 18-34, 35-54, 55+, Scotland, Northern Ireland, North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, East Midlands, West Midlands, Wales, East of England, London, South East, South West, working, self-employed, student, retired, unemployed, other not working.

Chapter 2 of SJP’s 2025 Real Life Advice Report – coming soon

Chapter 2: Parental advice, generational friction, will be released in October 2025.

SJP Approved 17/09/2025