Free UK tool · Pension calculator UK
Project your pension pot at retirement, estimate your monthly income, and see whether your contributions are on track. Free, private, no sign up — built for UK pension planning with UK rules and allowances baked in.
Your data never leaves your device. Ever.How to use
The pension calculator UK above runs the maths the moment you start typing. Here's how to get a useful number out of it.
Below the headline you'll see total contributions, total growth, an on-track indicator, and a "what if you bumped contributions" callout.
Understanding your pension
Pensions feel complicated but the core mechanics are straightforward. Here's what each piece does.
Most modern UK pensions are Defined Contribution (DC): you and your employer pay into a pot, the pot is invested, and your retirement income depends on how big it grows. Defined Benefit (DB), also called "final salary" or "career average", pays a guaranteed income for life based on your years of service and salary. DB schemes are now rare for new joiners outside the public sector. This calculator models DC.
If your employer matches contributions up to 5%, contributing 5% of your salary doubles to 10% inside the pension. Add basic-rate tax relief and a £100 chunk of take-home becomes around £200 of pension. Always contribute at least to the full match — anything less is a permanent pay cut you've volunteered for.
£60,000 is the standard annual pension allowance for 2025/26 — combined employee, employer, and tax relief. High earners (£260,000+ adjusted income) face tapering down to £10,000. Going over the allowance triggers a tax charge. Most UK savers won't come close, but bonus-heavy years and high earners need to watch it.
£200/month from 25 to 65 (40 years) at 7% growth becomes ~£525,000. The same £200/month from 35 to 65 (30 years) becomes ~£245,000 — less than half. Stretch the start to 45 and it's only ~£104,000. The 30s and 40s are when the compounding compounds. Late starters need to save much more in £ terms to land in the same place.
UK auto-enrolment requires 8% combined contribution (3% employer + 5% employee) on qualifying earnings between £6,240 and £50,270. That's better than nothing but won't fund a comfortable retirement on its own for most people. Aim for 12–15% combined by your 30s, more if you started later.
UK specifics
The full new State Pension is £221.20 a week (£11,502/year) for 2025/26. You need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions for the full amount, and 10 minimum for anything. The State Pension age is currently 66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and to 68 in the 2040s. Check your forecast on GOV.UK — you can pay voluntary contributions to fill gaps in your record.
A workplace pension is set up by your employer and usually has employer contributions attached. A SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) is one you set up yourself with a provider like Vanguard, AJ Bell, or Hargreaves Lansdown. SIPPs give you full control over investments and let you contribute beyond a workplace scheme. Most people use both: workplace pension to capture the employer match, SIPP for additional contributions or once they leave the company.
Pension contributions get tax relief at your marginal rate. A basic-rate taxpayer (20%) putting £80 into a pension sees it boosted to £100. A higher-rate taxpayer (40%) gets the same boost automatically, plus can claim back another £20 via self-assessment, so £100 of pension only costs them £60 of take-home pay. Additional-rate (45%) gets a further £5 back. This is why pension contributions are so powerful for higher earners — the discount is huge.
The Lifetime Allowance (LTA) was abolished from 6 April 2024. There's no longer a cap on the total pension pot you can build up across your lifetime. The annual allowance (£60,000) still applies. The lump sum allowance (£268,275 — the maximum 25% tax-free cash) is the new ceiling on tax-free withdrawals. Big change for high earners and retirees — old "LTA breach" anxiety is gone.
From your eligible earnings (£6,240–£50,270 for 2025/26), the minimum total contribution is 8% — split as 3% employer + 5% employee (which becomes 4% net of basic-rate tax relief). You can opt out, but you'll lose the employer match — almost always a bad deal. The thresholds are reviewed annually by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The pension forecast calculator above uses nominal returns — for "today's pounds," subtract roughly 2.5% inflation. It assumes a single growth rate for the whole accumulation period, doesn't apply taper-relief if you exceed the annual allowance, and uses a simplified 4% safe withdrawal rate for retirement income. Real pension drawdown is usually a mix of tax-free lump sum (25% up to the lump sum allowance) and taxed income from the rest. For complex situations, speak to a regulated UK financial adviser.
FAQ
The questions people most often type into Google about UK pensions and retirement.
A common rule of thumb is to have 1× your annual salary saved in pensions by 30. So if you earn £35,000, aim for ~£35,000 in your pension pot.
By 40 the target is 3× salary, by 50 it's 6×, and by 67 (State Pension age) it's 10×. These are rough benchmarks — auto-enrolment plus modest top-ups generally gets people there if started in their 20s.
It projects your pension pot forward using compound growth: FV = PV × (1+r)n + PMT × ((1+r)n − 1) / r, where PV is your current pot, PMT is your combined monthly contribution, r is the monthly growth rate, and n is the months until retirement.
The projected income is then estimated using the 4% safe withdrawal rate (£100,000 pot ≈ £4,000/year). Toggle the State Pension to add ~£11,502/year on top from age 67.
A very rough rule: aim for total pension contributions (yours + employer) of at least 12–15% of gross salary by age 30, rising to 20%+ in your 40s if you started late.
Auto-enrolment minimums (8% combined) are not enough on their own to give most people a comfortable retirement. The calculator above tells you whether your projected income meets your target, and shows how a small bump in contributions changes the outcome.
Use 25× your desired annual retirement income (the 4% rule). For a £25,000/year retirement, you need a £625,000 pot.
Subtract the State Pension (~£11,500/year) and you only need to fund £13,500 yourself — that's a £337,500 pot. The PLSA's 2024 benchmarks: £14,400/yr minimum retirement, £31,300 moderate, £43,100 comfortable (single, outside London).
It depends on your target lifestyle and whether the State Pension is part of your plan.
Rough benchmarks for a single retiree: £150,000–£300,000 for a minimum retirement (relying heavily on State Pension); £500,000–£800,000 for moderate (some travel, eating out, occasional spending); £1M+ for a comfortable retirement with substantial discretionary spend.
Many UK employers contribute a percentage of your salary if you contribute too — often called "matching". Auto-enrolment requires a minimum 3% employer + 5% employee (8% total of qualifying earnings).
Generous schemes match 1:1 or even 1:2 — you put in 5%, they put in 5% or 10%. Always contribute at least up to the full match: it's free money on top of tax relief. The calculator above lets you enter both your contribution and your employer's so the projection reflects the combined total.
The full new State Pension is £221.20 a week (£11,502 a year) for 2025/26, payable from State Pension age (currently 66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and to 68 in the 2040s).
You need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions for the full amount, with 10 years minimum for any payment at all. Check your forecast on GOV.UK.
A workplace pension is set up by your employer and usually has employer contributions attached. A SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) is one you set up yourself with a provider like Vanguard, AJ Bell, or Hargreaves Lansdown.
SIPPs give you full control over investments and let you contribute beyond a workplace scheme. Most people use both: workplace pension for the employer match, SIPP for additional contributions.
The full picture
Vault is the home for everything this calculator hints at — your pension, ISAs, property, savings, and how it all fits together as a single net-worth view. Same principles: free, private, local only. Nothing you enter ever leaves your device.
Launch Vault