UK Pension Calculator
Your Pot and Income at Retirement
Project your workplace and personal pensions to retirement in today's money, see your tax-free cash and your income before and after the State Pension, and compare it with the Retirement Living Standards.
Read the full answer — method, rates and figures
Quick answer: A UK pension calculator projects your pot to retirement and turns it into income. Take a 35-year-old with £30,000 saved, earning £40,000 and paying 8% in total (5% plus 3% from the employer).
At 5% growth, 0.5% charges and 2.5% inflation they would have about £205,626 at 67 in today's money. That allows £51,406 tax-free and about £6,169 a year drawn at 4%.
With the full State Pension (£12,548 a year in 2026–27) that is about £17,487 a year after tax. That is between the Minimum (£13,900) and Moderate (£32,700) standards of the Retirement Living Standards for one person (Pensions UK Retirement Living Standards, 3 June 2026).
Growth, charges and inflation are assumptions you can change; statutory figures checked 25 September 2026.
How much will my pension be worth?
Paying 8% of a £40,000 salary from age 35, with £30,000 already saved, builds about £205,626 by 67 in today's money at 5% growth. Together with the full State Pension that pays about £17,487 a year after tax. Enter your own figures below.
Assumptions (change them)
Pot at retirement
£205,626
Tax-free cash
£51,406
Income before SP
£6,169
Income with SP
£17,487
Retiring at 67 (32 years from now), your pension would be about £205,626 in today's money (£453,149 in future pounds). Take £51,406 tax-free and draw 4% of the rest, and you have about £6,169 a year after tax.
Your State Pension age is 68 (15 June 2059). From then, adding £12,548 a year of State Pension brings you to about £17,487 after tax, which is between the Minimum (£13,900) and Moderate (£32,700) standards for one person. Between 67 and State Pension age your pot carries you alone for about 1.0 years.
To reach the Moderate standard (£32,700 a year after tax) at 67, about 37.1% of your salary would need to go in each year in total. You and your employer pay 8.0% now.
Today's money at 2.5% inflation; growth 5% minus 0.5% charges; pay growth 3%. Tax: 2026-27 rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Illustration, not advice.
| Age | Paid in that year | Pot (today's money) |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | £3,602 | £49,799 |
| 45 | £4,175 | £72,019 |
| 50 | £4,840 | £96,916 |
| 55 | £5,611 | £124,772 |
| 60 | £6,505 | £155,898 |
| 65 | £7,541 | £190,636 |
| 67 | £8,000 | £205,626 |
Last reviewed 25 September 2026 by the Richify AI agent team.
Reviewed by Felix, Richify's AI CFO — an AI author, presented as one.
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Each year the pot grows by your growth rate minus charges, and that year's contributions are added: yours plus your employer's, as a percentage of a salary that rises with pay growth, capped at the £60,000 annual allowance. Contributions are treated as paid through the year. The result is shown in today's money by removing inflation, so it can be compared with today's prices and today's State Pension.
At retirement 25% of the pot is taken tax-free, up to the £268,275 lump sum allowance, which stays fixed in cash terms. The rest is drawn at your chosen rate. From State Pension age the State Pension is added: £241.30 a week in full, 1/35 per qualifying year, assumed to keep pace with prices. Income is shown after 2026-27 income tax for England, Wales and Northern Ireland (pension income pays no National Insurance), on the assumption that tax thresholds rise with prices once the current freeze ends.
Statutory figures checked 25 September 2026: annual allowance, auto-enrolment thresholds (DWP, 18 December 2025), lump sum allowance, State Pension and tax bands. Benchmarks: Pensions UK Retirement Living Standards, 3 June 2026. Growth, charges, inflation, pay growth and the drawdown rate are assumptions, not forecasts. This is an illustration, not financial advice.
How much should I pay into my pension?
The automatic enrolment minimum is 8% of qualifying earnings, of which at least 3% comes from your employer. Qualifying earnings are pay between £6,240 and £50,270 in 2026-27, so on £40,000 the minimum is £2,701 a year: 6.8% of the whole salary. The minimum is designed as a floor, not a target. In the worked example (age 35, £30,000 saved, retiring at 67), reaching the £32,700 Moderate standard after tax takes about 37.1% of salary a year in total. Starting 10 years later needs a much higher rate, because each pound has less time to compound.
How you pay in matters too: salary sacrifice also saves National Insurance, and relief at source adds basic-rate relief automatically. The pension tax relief comparator shows which method leaves you better off. The annual allowance calculator checks how much you can put in this year with carry forward.
What pension income do I need to retire?
| Standard | One person | Couple |
|---|---|---|
| minimum | £13,900 | £22,500 |
| moderate | £32,700 | £45,400 |
| comfortable | £45,400 | £62,700 |
Yearly spending from Pensions UK Retirement Living Standards, 3 June 2026, for homeowners with no rent or mortgage. The full State Pension of £12,548 a year covers 90% of the single Minimum by itself. The gap to Moderate or Comfortable is what your own pensions and savings have to fill, and it is widest if you stop work before State Pension age. To see how your pot compares with others your age, the average pension pot by age table uses the ONS Wealth and Assets Survey.
When can I take my pension, and how much is tax-free?
A workplace or personal pension can normally be drawn from 55, rising to 57 on 6 April 2028. 25% of each pot can come out tax-free, up to £268,275 in total, and the rest is taxed as income. The State Pension starts later, at 66 to 68 depending on your date of birth. Retire at 60 with a State Pension age of 67, and your pot has to pay for seven years alone, which is why the calculator shows income before and after the State Pension separately.
Thinking of swapping the pot for a guaranteed income? The annuity calculator shows what it buys after tax and compares it with drawdown. Your exact dates are on the State Pension age calculator. What is left of your tax-free allowance after earlier withdrawals is on the lump sum allowance calculator. The UK retirement planning guide covers the bridge years in more depth.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your date of birth and the age you want to retire; the calculator works out your State Pension age and the earliest age you can draw a private pension.
- Enter your current pension savings, your salary and what you and your employer pay in as a percentage of salary.
- Check or change the assumptions: investment growth, charges, inflation, pay growth and how much you plan to draw each year.
- Read the pot at retirement in today's money, your tax-free cash, and your income before and after the State Pension starts, compared with the Retirement Living Standards.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How much will my pension be worth when I retire?
It depends on what you have now, what goes in each year, investment growth after charges, and how long until you retire. The calculator compounds each year's contributions and shows the result in today's money, so you can compare it with today's prices.
A 35-year-old with £30,000, earning £40,000 and paying 8% in total would have about £205,626 at 67 in today's money at 5% growth, 0.5% charges and 2.5% inflation. Growth is never guaranteed, so try a lower rate too.
How much should I pay into my pension?
The legal minimum under automatic enrolment is 8% of qualifying earnings (pay between £6,240 and £50,270 in 2026-27), with at least 3% from your employer, for workers earning £10,000 or more. On £40,000 that is only £2,701 a year, because the first £6,240 is excluded.
For the 35-year-old above, reaching the £32,700 Moderate standard after tax at 67 would take about 37.1% of the whole salary going in each year, on the same assumptions.
When can I take my private pension?
From 55 today, rising to 57 on 6 April 2028 (Finance Act 2022), unless your scheme gives you a protected pension age. Anyone born after 5 April 1973 will be 57 before they can draw.
The State Pension is separate and starts at State Pension age, which is moving from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and is 68 for anyone born after 5 April 1978. Retiring before State Pension age means the pot alone has to cover the gap.
How much of my pension can I take tax-free?
Normally 25% of each pension, up to a lifetime total of £268,275 across all of them (the lump sum allowance, which is not uprated for inflation). The rest is taxed as income when you draw it, at 20%, 40% or 45% after your personal allowance.
Pension income does not pay National Insurance.
What is a good pension income in retirement?
Pensions UK's Retirement Living Standards (3 June 2026) put a year's spending at £13,900 (Minimum), £32,700 (Moderate) or £45,400 (Comfortable) for one person, and £22,500, £45,400 or £62,700 for a couple. They assume you own your home outright; rent or a mortgage comes on top.
The full new State Pension of £12,548 a year is close to the single Minimum on its own.
Is 4% a safe withdrawal rate for a UK pension?
It is a common planning figure, not a guarantee. Drawing 4% of the pot a year has historically lasted around 30 years in many markets, but a poor run of returns early in retirement, high charges, or a longer life can exhaust it sooner.
Drawing less, keeping some flexibility, or buying an annuity with part of the pot for guaranteed income all reduce the risk. The calculator lets you change the rate to see the trade-off.
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Further Reading
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