How much is the UK State Pension?

The full new State Pension is the default starting figure in the tool and is paid to people who reach State Pension age with enough qualifying National Insurance years (currently 35 for the full amount). You can edit the figure and the number of qualifying years you expect — fewer years scales the amount down proportionally.

How is pension tax relief handled?

Personal pension contributions receive tax relief, so a £80 net contribution becomes £100 in the pot at basic rate. The tool grosses up your personal contribution by your relief rate before investing it, which is why your effective saving is larger than what leaves your pocket. Employer contributions go in gross.

What drawdown rate does it use?

By default it applies a 4% sustainable withdrawal rate to the final pot to estimate annual income that could last roughly 30 years, a widely cited rule of thumb. You can change it: a lower rate is more cautious, a higher rate risks depleting the pot early. The State Pension is added on top as a separate, inflation-linked income.

Does it account for inflation?

The projection is in nominal terms by default — future pounds, not today's buying power. For a real-terms view, set your expected return net of inflation (for example, use 3% instead of 6%). The State Pension figure is shown in today's money and tends to rise over time under the triple lock.

Is this financial advice?

No. It is an educational model that runs entirely in your browser and simplifies tax, contribution limits (the annual allowance), and the State Pension rules. Use it to understand the shape of your retirement, then speak to a regulated financial adviser before making decisions.

United Kingdom Pension & Retirement Calculator

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The UK Pension & Retirement Calculator projects the two pillars of retirement income in the United Kingdom: the State Pension you earn through National Insurance, and the private pot you build through workplace and personal pension contributions. It compounds your contributions — including employer match and tax relief — to your chosen retirement age, then estimates the sustainable annual income that pot could provide on top of the State Pension.

How it works

Each year until retirement, the tool adds three things to your pot and compounds the running balance at your expected return:

Your contribution — salary × personal %, then grossed up by tax relief (a 20% basic-rate relief turns £80 net into £100 gross).
Employer contribution — salary × employer %, added gross.
Growth — the whole balance grows at your expected annual return; your salary grows by an optional rate each year.

At retirement it applies a safe withdrawal rate (default 4%) to the final pot to estimate annual private income, then adds the State Pension (scaled by your expected qualifying NI years out of 35) to give total projected retirement income.

private_income = final_pot × withdrawal_rate
total_income   = private_income + state_pension × (ni_years / 35)

Tips

Auto-enrolment minimums are 5% employee plus 3% employer — but contributing more, especially early, has an outsized effect because of decades of compounding.
For a real-terms result, set the return net of inflation (e.g. 3%) so the pot is in today’s money.
The 4% rule is a guide, not a guarantee; lower it for a more cautious plan. Everything is computed in your browser and never uploaded.