Retirement Calculator

Why project early, even though the future is uncertain

No projection can tell you exactly what your pension will be worth by the time you retire. Investment returns vary from year to year, contribution rates change, and personal circumstances shift. But that uncertainty is exactly why projecting early is useful rather than pointless: a rough estimate today, revisited and adjusted every year or two as your circumstances change, tends to lead to far better retirement outcomes than either ignoring the question entirely or waiting for a single "perfect" number that doesn't really exist. Running the numbers now gives you an early warning if your current savings rate looks unlikely to get you close to the retirement income you want, while there's still time to do something about it, whether that's increasing contributions, adjusting your retirement date, or simply understanding what you can realistically expect.

How to use your result

Treat the figure this calculator gives you as a planning input, not a guarantee. If the projection looks lower than you'd like, our guide on how much to save for retirement walks through practical ways to close that gap, from increasing contributions gradually to making use of employer matching. If you want to check whether you might have pensions from previous jobs that aren't included in what you've entered here, visit our pension dashboard hub to understand what's available today, ahead of the government's dashboard fully opening to the public. And if you'd rather explore how a pension pot translates into an ongoing income once you reach retirement, our dedicated pension income calculator covers annuities and drawdown side by side.