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    Pension Calculator

    Project your retirement pot with employee and employer contributions, salary growth, and compounding returns.

    Pot at retirement
    £737,227
    Total contributions
    £209,523
    Investment growth
    £527,704
    Projected pot over time
    AgeYearContributionsGrowthBalance
    312027£3,600£1,008£19,608
    322028£3,672£1,287£24,567
    332029£3,745£1,586£29,898
    342030£3,820£1,909£35,627
    352031£3,897£2,255£41,779
    362032£3,975£2,626£48,379
    372033£4,054£3,024£55,458
    382034£4,135£3,452£63,045
    392035£4,218£3,909£71,172
    402036£4,302£4,399£79,874
    412037£4,388£4,924£89,186
    422038£4,476£5,485£99,148
    432039£4,566£6,086£109,799
    442040£4,657£6,728£121,184
    452041£4,750£7,414£133,347
    462042£4,845£8,146£146,339
    472043£4,942£8,929£160,209
    482044£5,041£9,764£175,014
    492045£5,142£10,655£190,811
    502046£5,245£11,606£207,661
    512047£5,349£12,620£225,631
    522048£5,456£13,702£244,789
    532049£5,566£14,854£265,208
    542050£5,677£16,083£286,968
    552051£5,790£17,392£310,150
    562052£5,906£18,786£334,843
    572053£6,024£20,271£361,138
    582054£6,145£21,853£389,136
    592055£6,268£23,536£418,940
    602056£6,393£25,328£450,661
    612057£6,521£27,235£484,417
    622058£6,651£29,265£520,333
    632059£6,784£31,424£558,541
    642060£6,920£33,720£599,181
    652061£7,058£36,163£642,402
    662062£7,200£38,760£688,361
    672063£7,344£41,522£737,227

    How to Use This Calculator

    Enter your current age and expected retirement age, the current value of your pension pot, your annual salary, and the contribution percentages for both you and your employer. The calculator projects your pension pot year by year, showing the impact of compound investment growth and rising salary over time.

    The area chart shows how your pot grows over time — notice how growth accelerates in later years as compounding takes effect. The year-by-year table lets you see exactly what's happening at each age. All figures are illustrative projections assuming constant growth and salary increase rates.

    Common Use Cases

    • Retirement planning: Estimate whether you're on track for a comfortable retirement
    • Contribution decisions: See how increasing your contribution by 1–2% affects your final pot
    • Employer matching: Understand the real value of employer contributions over a full career
    • Early retirement scenarios: Explore how retiring at 60 vs 67 affects the final pot size
    • Career change planning: Model the impact of a salary change on long-term pension growth
    • Starting late: Find out how much extra to contribute to catch up if starting a pension later in life

    Tips & Assumptions

    Growth rate: A 6% annual growth rate is commonly used as a mid-range assumption for a diversified pension fund. Conservative planners often use 4–5%; optimistic projections use 7–8%. Try different values to see a range of outcomes.

    These are projections, not guarantees: Investment returns fluctuate year to year. Real pension pots will grow unevenly. This calculator assumes constant annual growth for simplicity.

    Tax relief not included: In the UK, pension contributions receive tax relief at your marginal rate. A basic-rate taxpayer contributing £100 effectively only pays £80, as HMRC tops up the rest. Your real pension pot will likely be larger than shown here.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    A common rule of thumb is to save half your age as a percentage of your salary — so if you start at 30, save 15% total (employee + employer). The UK minimum auto-enrolment is 8% total (5% employee + 3% employer), but most financial advisers recommend 12–15% for a comfortable retirement.

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