Retirement & Pensions
Project your pension pot at retirement and estimate your monthly income, including State Pension, employer contributions, and inflation-adjusted values.
35 years to retirement
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How long your pot should last after retirement
Projected pension pot at age 65
£682,822
£3,235/month estimated income · £287,721 in today's money
Drawdown over 25 years · State Pension is illustrative (full new State Pension 2026/27)
Contributions at start of each year, growth applied annually
| Age | Your Contribution | Employer | Growth | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | £4,800 | £2,400 | £360 | £7,560 |
| 31 | £4,800 | £2,400 | £738 | £15,498 |
| 32 | £4,800 | £2,400 | £1,135 | £23,833 |
| 33 | £4,800 | £2,400 | £1,552 | £32,585 |
| 34 | £4,800 | £2,400 | £1,989 | £41,774 |
This calculator projects how your pension pot might grow over time, based on your current pot size, ongoing contributions, assumed investment growth rate, and retirement age. All figures are shown in today's money (real terms) by adjusting for inflation, so you can judge whether the projected fund will actually cover your retirement costs.
Compound growth is the dominant force in pension projections. A 25-year-old contributing £200/month until 65 at 5% real growth will accumulate roughly twice as much as a 35-year-old contributing £400/month over the same period, despite contributing a similar total. The extra decade of growth does the heavy lifting. The Pension Calculator makes this comparison concrete: try halving your monthly contribution and starting 10 years earlier to see the difference.
Your employer's contribution is essentially free money. Don't leave it on the table by contributing less than the minimum needed to claim the full employer match. Tax relief adds a further boost: a basic-rate taxpayer contributing £80 effectively puts £100 into their pension (the government adds 20% relief). Higher-rate taxpayers can claim an additional 20% through Self Assessment, making each £100 contribution cost just £60 net.
The pension annual allowance (the maximum you can contribute across all pension schemes in a tax year and receive tax relief) is £60,000 for 2026/27 (or 100% of your UK earnings if lower). High earners above £260,000 in adjusted income face a tapered allowance. Carry forward lets you use unused allowance from the previous three tax years to make larger one-off contributions.