Enter your target retirement income to see exactly how much pension pot you need and how much to save each month.
Your Retirement Target
£
How much you want to spend per month (today's money)
£
Full new State Pension is £958/month (2026/27). Enter 0 if not applicable.
Minimum pension access age is 55 (rising to 57 in 2028)
£
Combined value of all your pension pots today
Age when State Pension begins
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Target Pot Needed
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Gap to Fill
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Monthly Saving Needed
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You have a shortfallYou need to save more each month to reach your retirement target.
Current pot progress0%
Your Target Income
Monthly target—
State Pension (monthly)—
Gap from private pension—
Annual income from pot—
Pot Calculation
Withdrawal rate used—
Target pot (today's £)—
Target pot (nominal)—
Years of retirement funded—
Full Breakdown
Early retirement note: You plan to retire at , before State Pension age (). Your pot needs to cover the full years before State Pension starts. The monthly saving shown covers this bridging period.
Important: This calculator uses the 4% safe withdrawal rate rule as a planning guideline. It is not financial advice. Actual sustainable withdrawal rates depend on investment returns, inflation, life expectancy and market conditions. We recommend consulting a regulated financial adviser (check the FCA register) for personalised retirement planning.
How Much Pension Pot Do You Need to Retire?
The most widely used rule of thumb for retirement planning is the 25× rule (also called the 4% rule). You need a pension pot worth 25 times your annual income requirement from private savings.
How the 25× rule works
If you need £20,000/year from your pension pot, you need £500,000 saved. At 4% withdrawal annually, your pot should last 30+ years based on historical market returns.
Annual income from pot
Target pot (4% rule)
Monthly income
£10,000/year
£250,000
£833/month
£15,000/year
£375,000
£1,250/month
£20,000/year
£500,000
£1,667/month
£25,000/year
£625,000
£2,083/month
£30,000/year
£750,000
£2,500/month
£40,000/year
£1,000,000
£3,333/month
State Pension reduces your target
The full new State Pension for 2026/27 is £11,502/year (£958/month). This is paid from age 66 (rising to 67). If you qualify for the full amount, your private pension only needs to make up the remainder.
For example: targeting £2,500/month total. Full State Pension = £958/month. Your pot needs to generate £1,542/month = £18,500/year. Target pot = £18,500 ÷ 0.04 = £462,500 — not £750,000.
Inflation matters for long retirements
The 4% rule was originally modelled in nominal terms. If you plan a 30+ year retirement, factor in inflation. At 2%/year inflation, £2,500/month today buys roughly £1,643/month in purchasing power after 25 years. Drawdown strategies and index-linked annuities can help protect against this.
Pot Required by Withdrawal Rate and Target Income
The 4% rule is a guideline — more conservative planners use 3% or 3.5%, especially for retirements starting before 65 or expected to last 35+ years.
Annual income needed from pot
3% rate (33.3× pot)
3.5% rate (28.6× pot)
4% rate (25× pot)
5% rate (20× pot)
£10,000
£333,333
£285,714
£250,000
£200,000
£15,000
£500,000
£428,571
£375,000
£300,000
£20,000
£666,667
£571,429
£500,000
£400,000
£25,000
£833,333
£714,286
£625,000
£500,000
£30,000
£1,000,000
£857,143
£750,000
£600,000
Use a more conservative rate (3–3.5%) if you plan to retire at 55–60 and expect a 35–40 year retirement. Use 4–5% if retiring later (67+) with a shorter expected drawdown period.
Worked Examples
Emma, age 30
Basic rate taxpayer. Wants £2,000/month in retirement at 67. Current pot: £15,000.
Target income (monthly)£2,000
State Pension£958
From private pot (monthly)£1,042
Annual from pot£12,504
Target pot (4% rule)£312,600
Gap£297,600
Monthly saving (6% growth)~£205/month
David, age 45
Higher rate taxpayer. Wants £3,500/month in retirement at 65. Current pot: £120,000.
Target income (monthly)£3,500
State Pension£958
From private pot (monthly)£2,542
Annual from pot£30,504
Target pot (4% rule)£762,600
Gap£642,600
Monthly saving (6% growth)~£1,640/month
These are illustrative estimates. Actual outcomes depend on investment returns, inflation and personal circumstances. The pension contribution calculator shows how salary sacrifice can reduce the real cost of saving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Using the 4% rule, you need 25× your required annual income from your pension pot. The full State Pension (£11,502/year in 2026/27) reduces the amount your private pot needs to generate. Someone wanting £30,000/year total with full State Pension only needs their pot to generate £18,498/year — requiring around £462,450.
The 4% rule is a retirement planning guideline from the 'Trinity Study' showing that withdrawing 4% annually from a diversified portfolio has historically lasted 30+ years. It means your target pot = annual income needed ÷ 0.04 (or 25× your annual need). It is a guideline, not a guarantee — real outcomes depend on market returns, sequence-of-returns risk, and longevity.
Yes. The full new State Pension for 2026/27 is £11,502/year (£958/month). This reduces how much income you need to draw from your own savings. State Pension age is currently 66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028. If you retire before State Pension age, your pot needs to bridge the gap until it kicks in.
The minimum pension access age is currently 55, rising to 57 in April 2028. From this age you can take up to 25% as a tax-free lump sum (capped at £268,275) and draw income. Income withdrawals are taxable. Retiring before 57 after April 2028 means relying on other savings (ISAs, investment accounts) until pension access is permitted.
Use 4% as a baseline. Consider 3–3.5% if you are retiring before 65 (longer retirement expected) or in a lower-return environment. A 3% rate requires a larger pot — 33.3× annual income vs 25× at 4%. Use the selector in this calculator to model different scenarios. Always seek regulated financial advice for a personalised drawdown strategy.
This calculator uses the standard future value of an annuity formula: it works out how much your current pot will grow to at retirement, then calculates the monthly contribution needed to close the remaining gap. The formula accounts for compound growth over your remaining years to retirement. A higher growth assumption or more years of saving dramatically reduces the required monthly contribution.