Pension calculator
See how your pension could grow.
Project contributions, employer payments, fees and investment growth to your intended retirement age.
Project your pension pot
IllustrativePay, growth and fee assumptions ⌄
Projected pot at age 67
£562,793
32 years remaining · £298,637 in today's money
Important assumptions and limits⌄
Investment returns, inflation, charges, contribution levels and pension rules can change. This is a defined-contribution illustration only: it excludes defined-benefit pensions and does not guarantee a retirement income. Consider Pension Wise or MoneyHelper before making retirement decisions.
Growth scenarios
Potential range at retirement
| Scenario | Annual growth before fees | Projected pot |
|---|---|---|
| Lower illustration | 3.0% | £367,869 |
| Central illustration | 5.0% | £562,793 |
| Higher illustration | 7.0% | £884,623 |
Annual projection
Your pension pot over time
| Age | Salary | Employee gross | Employer | Growth | Fees | Closing pot | Today's money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | £50,000 | £2,500 | £1,500 | £2,602 | £268 | £56,334 | £55,229 |
| 37 | £51,000 | £5,050 | £3,030 | £5,521 | £568 | £63,033 | £60,585 |
| 38 | £52,020 | £7,651 | £4,591 | £8,777 | £903 | £70,116 | £66,071 |
| 39 | £53,060 | £10,304 | £6,182 | £12,389 | £1,275 | £77,600 | £71,691 |
| 40 | £54,122 | £13,010 | £7,806 | £16,376 | £1,686 | £85,507 | £77,446 |
| 41 | £55,204 | £15,770 | £9,462 | £20,760 | £2,137 | £93,856 | £83,341 |
| 42 | £56,308 | £18,586 | £11,151 | £25,563 | £2,631 | £102,669 | £89,380 |
| 43 | £57,434 | £21,457 | £12,874 | £30,808 | £3,171 | £111,969 | £95,564 |
| 44 | £58,583 | £24,387 | £14,632 | £36,519 | £3,759 | £121,779 | £101,899 |
| 45 | £59,755 | £27,374 | £16,425 | £42,722 | £4,397 | £132,124 | £108,388 |
| 46 | £60,950 | £30,422 | £18,253 | £49,444 | £5,089 | £143,030 | £115,034 |
| 47 | £62,169 | £33,530 | £20,118 | £56,713 | £5,837 | £154,524 | £121,841 |
| 48 | £63,412 | £36,701 | £22,021 | £64,557 | £6,644 | £166,634 | £128,813 |
| 49 | £64,680 | £39,935 | £23,961 | £73,008 | £7,514 | £179,390 | £135,955 |
| 50 | £65,974 | £43,234 | £25,940 | £82,099 | £8,450 | £192,822 | £143,270 |
| 51 | £67,293 | £46,598 | £27,959 | £91,862 | £9,455 | £206,964 | £150,762 |
| 52 | £68,639 | £50,030 | £30,018 | £102,334 | £10,533 | £221,849 | £158,436 |
| 53 | £70,012 | £53,531 | £32,118 | £113,551 | £11,687 | £237,513 | £166,297 |
| 54 | £71,412 | £57,101 | £34,261 | £125,552 | £12,922 | £253,992 | £174,348 |
| 55 | £72,841 | £60,743 | £36,446 | £138,379 | £14,243 | £271,326 | £182,595 |
| 56 | £74,297 | £64,458 | £38,675 | £152,073 | £15,652 | £289,555 | £191,041 |
| 57 | £75,783 | £68,247 | £40,948 | £166,680 | £17,155 | £308,721 | £199,693 |
| 58 | £77,299 | £72,112 | £43,267 | £182,247 | £18,758 | £328,869 | £208,554 |
| 59 | £78,845 | £76,055 | £45,633 | £198,821 | £20,464 | £350,045 | £217,631 |
| 60 | £80,422 | £80,076 | £48,045 | £216,456 | £22,279 | £372,298 | £226,927 |
| 61 | £82,030 | £84,177 | £50,506 | £235,204 | £24,208 | £395,679 | £236,450 |
| 62 | £83,671 | £88,361 | £53,016 | £255,122 | £26,258 | £420,241 | £246,203 |
| 63 | £85,344 | £92,628 | £55,577 | £276,268 | £28,435 | £446,038 | £256,193 |
| 64 | £87,051 | £96,981 | £58,188 | £298,705 | £30,744 | £473,130 | £266,426 |
| 65 | £88,792 | £101,420 | £60,852 | £322,498 | £33,193 | £501,577 | £276,906 |
| 66 | £90,568 | £105,949 | £63,569 | £347,713 | £35,788 | £531,443 | £287,641 |
| 67 | £92,379 | £110,568 | £66,341 | £374,422 | £38,537 | £562,793 | £298,637 |
How it works
Build a defined-contribution pension illustration
The calculator starts with your current defined-contribution pension balances, then adds projected employee and employer contributions each month until your intended retirement age. Percentage contributions can use full salary, qualifying earnings or a custom pensionable salary. Fixed monthly contributions can instead be increased by an annual percentage.
Investment growth is applied monthly using the annual rate you enter. The percentage and fixed charges are deducted monthly, and salary can increase annually. The calculation also estimates the effect of relief at source, net pay or salary sacrifice on employee cost, but it is not a personalised tax calculation.
Understanding your result
Compare the projected pot with today’s spending power
The headline result is the nominal projected pension pot at your selected retirement age. The “today’s money” result discounts that future amount using your inflation assumption, helping you compare its estimated purchasing power with money today.
Employee cost, employer contributions, investment growth and fees are accumulated across the projection. The lower and higher illustrations change the annual growth assumption by two percentage points; they are scenarios, not confidence limits or best- and worst-case outcomes.
Worked example
For example, someone aged 35 with a £50,000 pension pot and £50,000 salary, contributing 5% with a 3% employer contribution until age 67, would have a projected pot of about £562,793 using 5% annual growth, 2% annual salary growth and a 0.5% annual percentage fee.
With 2% inflation, that is about £298,637 in today’s money. Across this illustration, employee and employer contributions total about £176,908, while modelled investment growth adds about £374,422 and fees deduct about £38,537. Changing any long-term assumption can materially alter the result.
Assumptions and limitations
A projected pot is not guaranteed retirement income
Investment returns can be negative and will not arrive smoothly. Salary, contributions, inflation, charges, tax relief and pension rules can all change. The calculator does not model market volatility, contribution gaps, fund switching, withdrawals before retirement or provider-specific charging structures.
This is a defined-contribution illustration. It excludes defined-benefit pensions, the State Pension and other retirement income, and it does not convert the projected pot into a sustainable income. It also does not assess the Annual Allowance, tapered Annual Allowance, Money Purchase Annual Allowance, carry forward or whether all personal contributions qualify for tax relief.
The optional tax-free-cash figure uses 25% of the projected pot, capped at the current standard Lump Sum Allowance. Your available allowance and the rules in force when you retire may differ, particularly if you have already used part of an allowance or hold protection.
Independent information
Check your statements, charges and pension rules
Compare this illustration with your provider’s latest statement and scheme terms. MoneyHelper explains pension fees and charges and provides an independent retirement-income calculator. GOV.UK sets out the current rules for pension tax relief, the Annual Allowance and tax-free pension amounts.
Related calculators
Compare contribution methods with the Pension Tax Relief Calculator, examine a proposed exchange of pay with the Salary Sacrifice Calculator, or explore fixed-rate growth separately with the Compound Interest Calculator.