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See what pot you might need in retirement

Estimate the pot you might need and how much extra to save each month. Spending targets are what you want to live on after tax, so pension withdrawals are grossed up by 25% to cover basic-rate tax. Figures are in today's money.

How to use this calculator

  1. Tell us if you're planning for one person or two.
  2. Pick how much you'd like to spend each year in retirement. The Minimum, Moderate and Comfortable levels come from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) Retirement Living Standards, or enter your own figure.
  3. Add your birth year, the age you'd like to retire, and how long to plan for. We suggest planning to at least age 90.
  4. Tell us about your state pension. If you're not sure, check your forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension, it takes two minutes.
  5. Add anything you've already saved for retirement and what you put away each month, including employer pension contributions.
  6. Adjust the growth and inflation assumptions if you'd like. The defaults are sensible long-term starting points, not predictions.

Retirement goal calculator

Estimate the pot you might need at retirement and how much to save each month to get there. A guide to help you plan, not a definitive answer.

Who is this plan for?

How much do you want to spend each year in retirement?

Moderate: £32,700 a year for a one-person household. Source: Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) Retirement Living Standards

These levels are yearly spending after tax, in today's money. They switch automatically for one or two people. Because they are spending, not salary, the pot needed is based on a gross amount about 25% higher.

About you

Your details

State pension

£

If you take your DB pension before the payable age, enter the factor your scheme applies (e.g. 0.85 for a 15% reduction). Set to 1.0 if taking at the payable age or later.

Not everyone has a defined benefit pension. They are usually from public sector or older workplace schemes, so leave at 0 if this doesn't apply. All amounts are in today's money. A defined benefit pension starts at the payable age you enter, not at your chosen retirement age, and stays level in today's money. It is not cut when the state pension starts. A defined contribution pot cannot be drawn before age 55.

Current retirement savings

£
£

DC pension savings are taxed on withdrawal (25% tax-free, remainder at basic rate). Cash, ISA and investment savings are assumed tax-free. Combined total for two people.

£

Include employer pension contributions. Combined total for two people. Assumed to split between the two savings types pro-rata.

One-off lump sum in retirement (optional)

£

For example a planned house purchase, Hajj, or helping family. Taken from your pot in that year (Person 1's age for two people), with the same tax treatment as other withdrawals.

Assumptions

%
%
%
%

Growth rates are yearly averages before inflation and before costs. Costs are your total yearly charges across platform and funds; many index fund portfolios sit around 0.3% to 0.7% a year.

Your retirement numbers

Based on your details and assumptions, here is a guide to what you might need:

Enter your birth year to see your numbers.

Extra to save each month

£—

Pot needed at retirement

£—

All figures are in today's money

Projected savings at retirement

£—

Shortfall to fund

£—

Years until retirement

—

Years in retirement

—

Pot left at end of plan

£—

Total drawn from pot

£—

Cash flow

Enter your details to see the chart.

Yearly income picturePer year
Enter your details to see the breakdown.

How it works: we project your current savings and monthly saving up to retirement using your growth rate, then work out the pot needed to cover your yearly spending gap through retirement using your post-retirement growth rate. During retirement, we draw first from tax-free savings (cash/ISA), then from your DC pension. The headline shows the extra monthly saving needed on top of what you already save. Everything is adjusted for inflation, so all figures are in today's money.

Tax assumptions: state pension and defined benefit income are taxed at 20% above the personal allowance (£12,570 per person). Withdrawals from your DC pension (25% tax-free, remainder at basic rate) give you 85p to spend per £1 withdrawn. Withdrawals from cash/ISA/investment savings are assumed tax-free. Growth is applied after deducting your yearly costs.

Education-only. This is not personal financial advice or a recommendation. The results are estimates based on the figures and assumptions you have entered, and real returns, inflation, costs, tax rules, DB pension rules and state pension rules can all differ. Capital is at risk.

This calculator is for education only. It is not financial advice, a personal recommendation, or a prediction of what will actually happen. The results are estimates built on the figures and assumptions you enter, and on simplified rules for tax, the state pension and investment returns. Real returns vary from year to year and can be negative, inflation can be higher or lower than assumed, and tax rules, allowances and state pension rules can and do change. The Retirement Living Standards figures assume you own your home outright, so if you expect to rent in retirement you will likely need more. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you put in. Before acting on anything here, consider speaking to a regulated financial adviser who can look at your full circumstances.

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