Retirement Calculator
Project your nest egg, model withdrawals, and stress-test your plan against inflation to see whether your savings will last a full retirement.
Your plan
Balance over your lifetime
Real nest egg: £756,158Yearly projection
Working vs retired years| Age | Phase | Contributed | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Working | £34,000 | £36,412 |
| 32 | Working | £43,000 | £48,772 |
| 33 | Working | £52,000 | £62,158 |
| 34 | Working | £61,000 | £76,654 |
| 35 | Working | £70,000 | £92,354 |
| 36 | Working | £79,000 | £109,357 |
| 37 | Working | £88,000 | £127,771 |
| 38 | Working | £97,000 | £147,713 |
| 39 | Working | £106,000 | £169,310 |
| 40 | Working | £115,000 | £192,701 |
| 41 | Working | £124,000 | £218,032 |
| 42 | Working | £133,000 | £245,466 |
| 43 | Working | £142,000 | £275,177 |
| 44 | Working | £151,000 | £307,354 |
| 45 | Working | £160,000 | £342,202 |
| 46 | Working | £169,000 | £379,942 |
| 47 | Working | £178,000 | £420,814 |
| 48 | Working | £187,000 | £465,079 |
| 49 | Working | £196,000 | £513,018 |
| 50 | Working | £205,000 | £564,935 |
| 51 | Working | £214,000 | £621,162 |
| 52 | Working | £223,000 | £682,056 |
| 53 | Working | £232,000 | £748,004 |
| 54 | Working | £241,000 | £819,425 |
| 55 | Working | £250,000 | £896,774 |
| 56 | Working | £259,000 | £980,543 |
| 57 | Working | £268,000 | £1,071,266 |
| 58 | Working | £277,000 | £1,169,517 |
| 59 | Working | £286,000 | £1,275,924 |
| 60 | Working | £295,000 | £1,391,163 |
| 61 | Working | £304,000 | £1,515,966 |
| 62 | Working | £313,000 | £1,651,128 |
| 63 | Working | £322,000 | £1,797,508 |
| 64 | Working | £331,000 | £1,956,038 |
| 65 | Working | £340,000 | £2,127,726 |
| 66 | Retired | £340,000 | £2,063,829 |
| 67 | Retired | £340,000 | £1,991,481 |
| 68 | Retired | £340,000 | £1,910,093 |
| 69 | Retired | £340,000 | £1,819,043 |
| 70 | Retired | £340,000 | £1,717,671 |
| 71 | Retired | £340,000 | £1,605,280 |
| 72 | Retired | £340,000 | £1,481,131 |
| 73 | Retired | £340,000 | £1,344,441 |
| 74 | Retired | £340,000 | £1,194,384 |
| 75 | Retired | £340,000 | £1,030,085 |
| 76 | Retired | £340,000 | £850,618 |
| 77 | Retired | £340,000 | £655,004 |
| 78 | Retired | £340,000 | £442,207 |
| 79 | Retired | £340,000 | £211,135 |
| 80 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 81 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 82 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 83 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 84 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 85 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 86 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 87 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 88 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 89 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
| 90 | Retired | £340,000 | £0 |
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to retire in the UK?+
A common benchmark is 25x your desired annual spending (the 4% rule). The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week (about £12,548 a year) in 2026/27, so your private pot may need to cover less.
What return should I use before retirement?+
A diversified equity-heavy pension or stocks and shares ISA has historically returned 7 to 10% a year. Use a conservative 5 to 7% for UK planning to leave room for volatility and charges.
Why is the post-retirement return lower?+
Most investors shift to a more conservative allocation in retirement to reduce sequence-of-returns risk, which lowers expected returns.
How does inflation affect my plan?+
Inflation compounds against your spending. A £40,000 lifestyle today may cost far more in 30 years, so both your target and withdrawals are grown by the inflation rate.
How this calculator works
Retirement planning has two phases: building a pot while you work, and drawing an income from it afterwards. This calculator projects the pot you are on track to build, then estimates how long it could sustain the income you want.
The accumulation phase compounds your existing savings plus ongoing contributions. The drawdown phase applies continued growth to the remaining balance while subtracting withdrawals, which is why a pot can last far longer than pot value divided by annual income.
Formula and methodology
Pot = P(1 + r)^n + C × [((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r] | Drawdown: Bₜ = Bₜ₋₁(1 + r) − W- P
- — current pension savings
- C
- — annual contributions
- r
- — expected annual growth (decimal)
- n
- — years until retirement
- W
- — annual withdrawal in retirement
- Grow your current pot at the expected annual return until your retirement age.
- Add each year's contributions and compound them for the years remaining.
- At retirement, apply growth to the remaining balance each year and deduct the target income.
- Continue until the balance is exhausted to estimate how many years the pot supports.
Worked examples
Mid-career saver
- • £120,000 pot at age 45
- • £9,000 a year contributions
- • 5% growth
- • Retire at 67
Around £700,000 at 67, supporting roughly £30,000 a year for well over 30 years at the same growth rate.
Late starter
- • £25,000 pot at age 50
- • £6,000 a year contributions
- • 5% growth
- • Retire at 67
Around £215,000, which supports about £15,000 a year for roughly 20 years.
Assumptions
- Growth is constant every year in both the saving and drawdown phases.
- Contributions and withdrawals are treated as annual amounts.
- State Pension income is not included in the projection.
- Charges and adviser fees are excluded.
- Withdrawals are shown gross, before any income tax.
Limitations
- Sequence risk matters most in the first years of drawdown; poor early returns shorten how long a pot lasts.
- Withdrawals are held flat rather than rising with inflation, which most retirees need.
- Life expectancy is not modelled, so the tool cannot say whether a pot will last your lifetime.
- Defined benefit pensions, annuity purchase and phased retirement are not covered.
Noviqen provides general information, not personalised financial advice. See our editorial policy.
UK context
The State Pension age is currently 66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and the normal minimum pension age for private pensions rises from 55 to 57 in April 2028.
The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week, about £12,548 a year, and is paid on top of anything this calculator projects.
Pension contributions attract tax relief at your marginal rate, subject to the annual allowance (£60,000 for most people in 2026/27, tapered for high earners) and your relevant UK earnings.
Usually 25% of a defined contribution pot can be taken tax free, subject to the lump sum allowance, with the remainder taxed as income when withdrawn.
Automatic enrolment minimums are 8% of qualifying earnings, of which at least 3% comes from the employer.
Bank Rate is 3.75% and CPI inflation 2.9% (Bank of England, 30 July 2026), which is a sensible starting point for the inflation setting above.