Pension pot calculator
Project how much your pension could be worth at retirement, how much income it might provide, and how your pot compares to typical benchmarks by age. Updated for 2025.
The single most powerful thing you can do for your pension is start paying attention to it now, whatever age you are. Log in, find out what you have, check what your employer contributes, and increase your own contribution by even 1% if you can. The compound growth effect over decades is extraordinary - money invested today is worth far more than the same money invested in ten years.
The 4% rule
A common retirement planning guide suggests withdrawing 4% of your pot per year. This is estimated to make the money last around 25-30 years without running out.
Employer contributions
Employer pension contributions are essentially free money. If your employer offers to match contributions above the minimum, not taking it is leaving part of your salary on the table.
State Pension 2025
The full new State Pension is £11,502 per year in 2025. You need 35 qualifying National Insurance years to receive the full amount. Check your NI record on the HMRC website.
Lost pensions
The average UK worker has 11 jobs in their lifetime, often leaving small pension pots behind. Use the government Pension Tracing Service to track down any lost pots.
Please note: This calculator provides estimates only and is based on assumed constant growth rates. Actual investment returns will vary and are not guaranteed. Inflation is not accounted for in these projections. State Pension figures are correct as of 2025 and subject to change. This is not financial advice - please speak to a qualified pension adviser before making decisions about your retirement savings.
Calculator results are estimates based on the information you enter and the assumptions built into the tool. They are illustrative only and should not be relied upon as accurate projections. Rates, thresholds and rules change regularly; always verify figures with an appropriate professional or official source before acting on them.
What does the pension pot calculator do?
The pension pot calculator projects the value of your pension pot at a chosen retirement age, based on your current pot value, your monthly contributions (employee and employer combined), and an assumed investment return rate. It then estimates what annual income that pot could sustain in retirement, using a sustainable withdrawal rate.
This gives a concrete answer to the question most people with a pension have never asked: if I continue saving at my current rate, what income will I retire on?
How to use this calculator
Current pot value: Log in to your pension provider’s portal and find the current fund value. This is the starting point for all projections.
Monthly contribution: Enter the combined monthly pension contribution – your contribution plus your employer’s contribution. Your contribution appears on your payslip. Your employer’s contribution may be on the payslip or in the pension portal.
Current age and retirement age: Enter your current age and the age at which you plan to retire. The calculator projects from now to your chosen retirement date.
Annual growth rate: Pension funds invested in equities have historically grown at 5 to 7% annually in real terms (after inflation) over long periods, though this is not guaranteed. The calculator typically uses 5% as a default assumption – conservative but not unrealistically pessimistic.
Reading the result: The calculator shows the projected pot value at retirement and an estimated annual income. The income estimate uses a 4% sustainable withdrawal rate – the amount you can take annually without exhausting the pot over a 25 to 30-year retirement, based on historical market performance.
What the projection does not include
State pension: The projection covers only your private or workplace pension. The full new state pension adds approximately £11,500 per year on top – a significant additional source of income. Add this to the projected pension income to complete the retirement income picture.
Defined benefit pension: If you have a defined benefit (final salary) pension, the income is calculated differently and is not captured by this calculator. Check your DB pension statement for the projected income figure.
Inflation: The projection uses nominal figures (not adjusted for inflation). £30,000 per year in 30 years will have less purchasing power than £30,000 today – factor this into your planning.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I have in my pension by now? A common rule of thumb is to have accumulated pension savings of approximately half your annual salary by age 30, one time your salary by 35, two times your salary by 40, and three times your salary by 45. These are guides rather than precise targets — the right figure depends on your planned retirement age, expected state pension, and lifestyle in retirement. The how much should I have in my pension? post covers this in more detail.
What is a sustainable withdrawal rate? The sustainable withdrawal rate is the percentage of the pot that can be withdrawn annually without exhausting the fund over a long retirement. Research commonly cites 3.5 to 4% as sustainable over 25 to 30 years, based on historical equity and bond returns. At 4%, a £400,000 pot produces £16,000 per year in income before tax.
Does the projection account for tax on pension withdrawals? The projected income is before tax. Pension withdrawals (beyond the 25% tax-free lump sum) are taxed as income in the year of withdrawal. The amount of tax depends on total income in each year of retirement — if the pension plus state pension falls within the personal allowance (£12,570), it may be entirely tax-free.
What if my employer does not offer a pension? All employers with eligible employees must now offer auto-enrolment into a qualifying pension scheme. If you are self-employed, you can open a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) and make your own contributions, claiming tax relief at your marginal rate.
The information on this site is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing on Be More Peter constitutes financial advice, and nothing should be treated as such. The calculators, articles and tools on this site are designed to help you understand financial concepts and run indicative numbers - they are not a substitute for professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances. Before making any financial decision - including decisions about mortgages, pensions, investments, savings or insurance — you should seek independent financial advice from a qualified adviser who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Calculator results are estimates based on the information you enter and the assumptions built into the tool. They are illustrative only and should not be relied upon as accurate projections. Rates, thresholds and rules change regularly - always verify figures with an appropriate professional or official source before acting on them. Be More Peter is not authorised or regulated by the FCA. The content on this site does not constitute a financial promotion.
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- How much should I have in my pension by now?
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