UK retirement planner

See the buying power of your retirement money.

This version separates three things clearly: what you have today, what your account could show in the future, and what that future amount may actually be worth after inflation erodes buying power.

Default values on this page use broad UK-average figures and national planning placeholders so nobody should infer anything personal from the starting numbers.

Primary view: future buying power

£0

per day from retirement pot

Your inputs

Use date of birth for the most accurate State Pension age. Default figures below are broad UK averages and not personal balances.

Current age Date of birth (optional) Retirement age 67

4050607075

Pension pot

ISA shares

Other cash savings

Future lump sum

Add a one-off amount later and choose where it lands.

Lump sum

Lump sum date

Allocate to ISA shares 100%

0%25%50%75%100%

100% shares

0% cash

No future lump sum is included.

Pension mix

Your pension return is blended from long-run UK equity and bond assumptions.

Equities in pension 60%

60% equity

40% bonds

Derived return 3.7%

Include State Pension

Add it only from State Pension age onward.

Annual State Pension estimate (editable)

Default uses the current full new State Pension annualised. Other starting values use broad UK-average placeholders.

Inflation, returns and display settings

Equity real return

Bond real return

Cash real return

Withdrawal rule

Inflation lens

Future pounds are raw cash amounts later. Future buying power shows what those amounts may really feel like after inflation.

Inflation assumption 2.0%

0%1.5%3%4.5%6%

At retirement age 67
£0
per day from your retirement pot
Monthly£0
Yearly£0
Other view£0

From State Pension age onward
£0
per day including State Pension
Monthly£0
Yearly£0
Other view£0

State Pension age 0 —

Years to retirement 0.0 from today

Bridge to State Pension 0.0 years between retirement and State Pension

Inflation-only buying power of today’s pot £0 what today’s starting pot may feel like by retirement if inflation erodes it

Projected future account balance £0 raw future cash amount

Projected future buying power £0 what that future balance may be worth in today’s pounds

Projected pot breakdown

Each balance compounds separately to retirement, including any lump sum that arrives before retirement.

Pension pot£0

ISA shares£0

Cash savings£0

Assumptions used in this run

Plain-English explanation of exactly what the calculator is doing.

Research sources and assumptions

The sources used for the built-in defaults and legal logic.

1) UK State Pension age rules

Used to estimate State Pension age from date of birth based on current law.

2) State Pension amount

GOV.UK — New State Pension: what you'll get

The default annual State Pension amount is editable because personal entitlement depends on NI record.

3) Long-run UK real return assumptions

Defaults are real returns: equities 5.3%, bonds 1.4%, and cash 0.9%.

4) Inflation framing

Bank of England — Inflation and the 2% target

The calculator separates future account balance from future buying power. Future buying power discounts future cash amounts back into today’s pounds using your inflation assumption.

5) 4% withdrawal rule

Used as a planning rule-of-thumb only, not as a guarantee.

6) Lump sum treatment

No external research is needed for the compounding mechanics. A future lump sum is only grown from its chosen future date to retirement, not from today. If it is dated after retirement it is excluded from the retirement pot.