Retirement Savings Calculator

How this is worked out

Each year the existing pot grows, a year of contributions goes in, and the process repeats. Contributions are credited with roughly half a year of growth because they arrive throughout the year rather than all on 1 January — a small refinement that stops the projection from understating the result.

Two choices make this projection more honest than most:

The return is entered after inflation. So the final pot is expressed in today's money. A projection showing 1.2 million in 2060 is meaningless unless you also know what 1.2 million will buy then. This one shows you a figure you can actually judge against your current spending.

The employer contribution is separate. It is easy to forget how much of the pot it builds. Where an employer matches your contribution, raising yours by 100 a month often adds 200 a month to the pot. There are very few other places where money doubles the moment it moves.

The income line applies a 4% withdrawal rate as a rough translation from pot to income. It is a convention, not a promise — see the safe withdrawal rate calculator for how sensitive that number is.

A worked example

Age 35, retiring at 67, 45,000 saved, contributing 350 a month with 200 from an employer, 4% real return:

Pot at 67: about 625,000 in today's money
Contributed over 32 years: 211,000
Growth: about 369,000
Income at 4%: about 25,000 a year, or 2,080 a month, before tax

Now raise your own contribution by 100 a month — and assume the employer matches it, as many schemes do:

Pot rises to about 771,000
Income rises to about 30,800 a year

An extra 100 a month from you, sustained for 32 years, produced roughly 146,000 more. Of the 38,400 you contributed, the employer added another 38,400 and growth did the rest.

What this doesn't cover

Any state pension is not included. In most countries it provides a meaningful base, so total retirement income is usually higher than this figure alone.
Tax is not deducted, on the way in or the way out. Pension contributions often receive relief going in and are taxed coming out, which flatters contributions relative to ordinary saving.
Charges are not deducted. An annual fee of 1% can reduce a 30-year outcome by a fifth. Enter your return net of fees if you know it.
A steady real return every year is a simplification. Markets are not steady.

Common questions

What real return should I assume?

There is no correct answer, only a defensible range. Long-run figures for a diversified portfolio after inflation and fees have often been discussed in the region of 3% to 5%, with more in shares and less in bonds. Run the projection at the bottom and the top of your range — if the plan only works at the top, it is not really a plan.

Is it too late if I am starting in my fifties?

Later means compounding has less time to work, so contributions do more of the lifting and the outcome depends more on the amount than the years. It is worth being clear-eyed about that rather than discouraged by it: the calculator will show you what is achievable, and knowing the real number early is what allows the plan to change.

Why is my provider's projection different?

Providers usually project in future money using a nominal return, and often apply prescribed assumptions set by a regulator. Their bigger number and this smaller one can both be right — they are denominated in different things.