Retirement Calculator UK 2025
Project your pension pot at retirement, see how long it will last, and find out if you're on track. Includes UK State Pension (£221.20/week from age 66) and shortfall analysis.
How the UK Retirement Calculator Works
This calculator projects your pension pot at retirement using compound growth, then estimates how long it will last in drawdown. It adds in the full new State Pension (for those reaching State Pension age at 66) and compares the total income against your target.
Pension Pot Growth Formula
Your projected pot is calculated using the future value of both your existing savings and regular contributions:
- Existing pot growth: Current Pot × (1 + annual rate)^years
- Contributions growth: Monthly contribution × [(1 + monthly rate)^months − 1] / monthly rate × (1 + monthly rate)
- These are summed to give your projected pot at retirement age
UK State Pension 2025/26
The full new State Pension for 2025/26 is £221.20 per week (£11,502 per year, or £958.53 per month). This is payable from age 66 (rising to 67 by 2028). To receive the full amount, you need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions. Our calculator adds State Pension income from age 66 only — if your target retirement age is before 66, you will receive private pension income only until you reach 66.
Drawdown and Pot Longevity
After retirement, the calculator shows how long your pot will last by withdrawing your required income (total target minus State Pension) from the pot each year, while the remaining pot continues to grow at your assumed rate. This is a simplified model — real drawdown is more complex and subject to investment volatility, tax, and longevity risk.
How Much is Enough? UK Retirement Standards
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) sets three retirement living standards for a single person in the UK:
- Minimum: £14,400/year — covers basic needs with little room for extras
- Moderate: £31,300/year — more financial security, some holidays and leisure
- Comfortable: £43,100/year — regular holidays, more financial freedom
For a couple, these figures are roughly £22,400, £43,100, and £59,000 respectively. These figures are updated periodically and may increase with inflation.
Tax-Free Cash (25% Lump Sum)
When you access your defined contribution pension, you can normally take up to 25% as a tax-free lump sum (subject to a £268,275 lifetime limit from April 2024). The remaining 75% is taxed as income when withdrawn. Many people use the tax-free lump sum to pay off a mortgage or make other large purchases at retirement, then draw regular income from the remaining fund.
Inflation and Real Returns
This calculator uses nominal (not inflation-adjusted) returns. If you assume 5% growth and inflation runs at 3%, your real return is approximately 2%. Over 30 years, inflation can significantly erode purchasing power. To get a rough picture of real returns, reduce your assumed growth rate by your expected inflation rate. The Bank of England targets 2% inflation, but actual inflation varies considerably year to year.
Auto-Enrolment and Employer Contributions
Do not forget to include employer pension contributions in your monthly contributions figure. Under auto-enrolment, your employer must contribute at least 3% of qualifying earnings. If you contribute 5%, your total contribution is at least 8%. Many employers match contributions up to a higher level — always contribute enough to receive the full employer match, as this is effectively free money added to your pension pot.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to the PLSA, a single person needs roughly £14,400/year for a minimum retirement, £31,300/year for a moderate retirement, and £43,100/year for a comfortable retirement. These are before State Pension. The full new State Pension (2025/26) is £221.20/week (£11,502/year), so for a moderate retirement you would need a private pension pot providing around £19,800/year on top. Using a 4% drawdown rate, that implies a private pot of approximately £495,000.
The current UK State Pension age is 66 for both men and women. It is planned to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and further to 68 between 2044 and 2046 under current government proposals. To receive the full new State Pension of £221.20 per week (2025/26), you need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions. You need at least 10 qualifying years to receive any State Pension at all.
The widely cited "safe withdrawal rate" is 4% per year from your pension pot. This means a pot of £500,000 could sustainably provide £20,000 per year. However, UK retirees should consider investment performance, inflation, annuity rates, and retirement duration. Many advisers now suggest 3–3.5% for longer retirements. Our calculator uses your target income and current growth assumptions to show how long your pot might last.
A defined benefit (DB) pension, also called a final salary pension, pays a guaranteed income based on your salary and years of service. A defined contribution (DC) pension builds a pot based on contributions and investment growth — the final amount is not guaranteed. Most modern workplace pensions are defined contribution. This calculator focuses on DC pensions where you accumulate a pot and then draw income from it.
Under UK auto-enrolment, if you are an eligible employee (aged 22 to State Pension age, earning over £10,000/year), your employer must automatically enrol you into a pension scheme. The minimum total contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings (employer minimum 3%, employee minimum 5%). Many employers contribute more. Always include your employer's contribution in the monthly contributions field of this calculator.
Currently, the minimum pension access age for defined contribution pensions is 55 (rising to 57 in 2028). You can take up to 25% of your defined contribution pot as a tax-free lump sum from this age. Accessing your pension early reduces the pot available at normal retirement and may affect your long-term income. The State Pension remains payable only from age 66 regardless of when you access private pensions.
Our calculator defaults to 5% annual growth, a common benchmark for a balanced pension fund over the long term (net of charges, before inflation). Historically, UK equity markets have returned around 7–10% per year before inflation, but this is not guaranteed. After a typical 0.5–1% annual management charge and 2–3% inflation, a real return of 3–5% is a reasonable planning assumption. More cautious investors might use 3%; growth-oriented investors might use 7%.