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Projection in future money, before inflation, assuming steady growth and contributions; real investment returns vary and can be negative. The State Pension comes on top. Estimates only, not financial advice.
What The Pension Pot Calculator Works Out
- Projected pot: your current pot and monthly contributions compounded month by month at the growth rate for the years until retirement. On the defaults (GBP 40,000 saved, GBP 300 a month, 5% growth, 25 years) the pot reaches roughly GBP 318,000. Enter the total monthly contribution: yours, your employer's and the tax relief together. Auto-enrolment requires at least 8% of qualifying earnings in total.
- Possible annual income: the pot multiplied by a 4% withdrawal rate, the classic rule of thumb for a sustainable income that is not meant to run the pot down too fast. The full new State Pension adds around GBP 12,500 a year on top from State Pension age.
- Of which growth: the projected pot minus everything paid in. On the defaults more than half the final pot is investment growth rather than contributions, which is why starting early matters so much.
- Contribution increase (advanced): raises the monthly contribution by this percentage once a year, matching pay rises. A 3% annual increase on GBP 300 a month adds tens of thousands to the pot over 25 years.
- Annual charges (advanced): deducted from the growth rate each year. Platform and fund fees of 0.5% to 1% are typical; the "lost to charges" card shows how much pot the fee compounds away compared with a fee-free projection.
- One-off lump sum (advanced): an extra amount added to the pot today, for example a bonus or a transfer in, which then grows for the whole period.
- Pot in today's money (advanced): the projected pot deflated by the inflation rate for the years to retirement. At 2.5% inflation prices rise by about 85% over 25 years, so the real spending power is a little over half the headline figure.
- Withdrawal rate (advanced): overrides the 4% assumption used for the income card. UK guidance often treats 3% to 4% as the sustainable zone once fees are included.
- Tax-free lump sum (advanced): 25% of the pot can normally be taken tax free from age 55 (57 from April 2028), capped by the GBP 268,275 lump sum allowance across all your pensions. The rest is taxed as income when drawn.
- Monthly needed for target (advanced): the level monthly contribution that would grow the pot to your target figure, so you can see the gap between what you pay in now and what the goal requires. The table underneath shows the pot and the amount paid in at five-year intervals.
Source and further reading: MoneyHelper: pensions and retirement.