- Projected pot
- £416,242
- Needed monthly
- £683
- Target gap
- £82,386 short
Retire · Calculator 19
How much pension should you have by now?
Compare your pension with a personalised age benchmark based on your desired retirement spending, then see what to contribute and how retiring later changes the result.
1 Enter your figures2 Review assumptions3 Explore the result
Your figures
Advanced assumptions
Your entries stay in this tab and are not sent to Money Considered. A shareable link includes only the assumptions shown in its URL.
Behind your personalised age benchmark
£43,125 behindBased on your desired spending and current contribution, the modelled pension pot needed at age 40 is £143,125.Your current position
Your pot versus the pot needed today
Projected pot at 67£416,242Central path, in today’s money
Pot needed at retirement£498,629For £30,000 annual spending
Current pension funding12.0%£500 a month as a share of salary
Monthly contribution needed
£683 a monthThat is £183 more than the amount entered, starting now and increasing by 2.0% a year.Projected position
A range, not a promised pot
Cautious£237,274Central£416,242Stronger£759,490Target£498,629
The time lever
What if you retire two or five years later?
- Projected pot
- £448,837
- Needed monthly
- £600
- Target gap
- £49,792 short
- Projected pot
- £500,755
- Needed monthly
- £496
- Target gap
- £2,127 ahead
The shortfall has more than one lever.
Increasing contributions is one response. Retiring later gives the pot more time to grow, adds contributions and can shorten any gap before State Pension begins. Desired spending and the drawdown assumption also materially change the benchmark.
Assumptions used
- This is a personalised benchmark for defined-contribution pensions, not a generic salary multiple.
- The benchmark pot needed today is the opening balance that would reach the retirement target if the entered monthly contribution continues under the central assumptions.
- Returns are smooth annual assumptions before the entered 0.5% fee; actual returns will vary and can be lower.
- All displayed pots and spending targets are in today’s money using 2.0% inflation.
- The full entered State Pension is assumed from age 67; check your own forecast and State Pension age.
- The target pot uses a simplified State Pension bridge and a 3.5% illustrative drawdown rate. It does not model post-retirement market paths.
- Tax on pension withdrawals, tax-free cash, defined-benefit income, partner finances, annuity pricing and care costs are excluded.
A result that is ahead or behind is a planning signal, not financial advice. Use current pension statements and your official State Pension forecast, then revisit the assumptions regularly.
Common questions
How much pension should I have? FAQs
How much pension should I have at my age?
There is no single pot that everyone of the same age should have. This calculator estimates the pot needed today from your own desired retirement spending, retirement age, current monthly contribution, State Pension assumption and investment assumptions.
Why does the calculator not use a salary multiple?
A rule such as a multiple of salary ignores the retirement spending you actually want, when you plan to retire, what you will contribute and what State Pension you may receive. Salary is used here only to put your gross pension contribution in context.
How is my personalised current-pot benchmark calculated?
The calculator works backwards from the target pot at retirement. It solves for the pension balance needed today so that the entered monthly contribution reaches that target under the central return, fee, inflation and contribution-growth assumptions.
How is the pension pot required at retirement calculated?
The model first estimates the annual private-pension income needed after the entered State Pension begins and divides it by the illustrative drawdown rate. If you retire earlier than State Pension age, it adds a simplified cash bridge for those intervening years.
What should I include in the monthly pension contribution?
Enter the gross total reaching your defined-contribution pensions each month, including personal, employer and tax-relief amounts where applicable. Do not include a defined-benefit pension promise as if it were a monthly contribution.
What State Pension amount should I use?
The default is the 2026/27 full new State Pension of £241.30 a week, rounded annually to £12,548. Your amount depends on your National Insurance record and circumstances, so use your official State Pension forecast instead.
Why can retiring two or five years later make such a difference?
A later retirement adds contribution years, gives the existing pot longer to grow and can reduce or remove the period before State Pension begins. It can therefore change both the projected pot and the pot required.
Are the cautious, central and stronger figures forecasts?
No. They are deterministic illustrations using smooth annual returns. They are not probability bounds, and actual returns can fall outside the range or arrive in a much less favourable sequence.
Is the drawdown rate a guaranteed retirement income?
No. It is a planning conversion from a pot to an illustrative annual income. Sustainable withdrawals depend on market returns, inflation, fees, tax, spending changes and longevity after retirement.
Can I include a defined-benefit pension?
Not directly. A defined-benefit pension is normally expressed as promised annual income rather than a pot. You could reduce the desired spending target by a cautious estimate of that income, but a dedicated cash-flow plan is more appropriate.
Does the result include tax on pension withdrawals?
No. Desired spending and projected pension income are shown before tax. Tax-free cash, Income Tax on withdrawals, pension-access rules and the effect of different withdrawal patterns are outside this diagnostic.
Does being ahead of the benchmark mean I can stop contributing?
No. The result depends on the assumptions and does not measure every retirement risk. Use it as a prompt to test the cautious scenario, check your statements and forecast, and consider regulated advice where appropriate.