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Retirement

Pension calculator (UK)

Estimate a defined-contribution pension pot and income, or a final-salary pension from years of service.

Type of pension
£
years
years
£
% of pay
% of pay
% a year
% a year
% a year
% a year

About the pension calculator (uk)

Estimate a defined-contribution pension pot and income, or a final-salary pension from years of service.

Part of SmartCalcy’s retirement tools. It runs in your browser with no account, uses your own currency and units (change them at the top of the page), and gives estimates for information only, so check official guidance before you rely on a result.

How to use the pension calculator (uk)

What it calculates and when to use it

Estimates a UK workplace pension: either the pot you could build up with employee and employer contributions, or the annual pension from a final-salary scheme.

How to use it, step by step

  1. Choose a pot you build up or a final-salary scheme.
  2. For a pot, enter your salary, age, retirement age, current pot, contributions, growth, charges, pay rises and inflation.
  3. For final salary, enter your salary, years in the scheme and the accrual rate.

What each input means

  • You pay in and employer pays in – Percentages of pay. UK auto-enrolment minimum is 8% in total.
  • Charges – Yearly fund and platform charges, taken from growth.
  • Accrual rate – The fraction of salary earned as pension for each year of service.

How to read the results

  • Pot at retirement – Projected pot and its value in today’s money.
  • Tax-free lump sum – Up to 25% of the pot.
  • Pension per year – For final salary: salary × years ÷ accrual denominator.

The formula

Pot: each year balance = balance × (1 + growth − charges) + contributions × (1 + (growth − charges) ÷ 2). Final salary pension = final salary × years of service ÷ accrual denominator.

A worked example

A 40,000 salary at age 35, retiring at 67, 5% employee plus 3% employer, 20,000 pot, 5% growth less 0.5% charges and 2.5% pay rises. The pot is about 390,386, or 177,146 in today’s money, with a tax-free lump sum up to 97,596.

Assumptions and limits

  • Constant returns and pay rises.
  • Tax relief and any salary sacrifice are not modelled; contributions are taken as stated.
  • The 25% tax-free limit is capped at 268,275 for most people.

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting that pension income is taxable.
  • Ignoring charges, which compound over decades.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum contribution?

Under UK auto-enrolment the total minimum is 8% of qualifying earnings, including at least 3% from the employer.

What changes from April 2027?

The government has announced that most unused pension funds will count towards the estate for inheritance tax from 6 April 2027. Check GOV.UK for the latest.

Dated rules: UK tax year 2026 to 2027 (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), from GOV.UK. Rates and thresholds change each year, so check GOV.UK before relying on a figure.

Related tools

UK State Pension calculatorRetirement calculatorTake-home pay calculatorAnnuity payout calculator

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Pot at retirement
£390,386
£177,146 in today’s money

Details

Paid in over the years
£174,081
Tax-free lump sum, up to 25%
£97,596
Remaining pot
£292,789
Income at 4% from the remaining pot
£11,712a year, before tax
Same, in today’s money
£5,314
The tax-free lump sum is normally up to 25% of the pot, capped at £268,275 for most people. Contributions get tax relief, and from April 2027 unused pensions are planned to fall into inheritance tax. Check GOV.UK for the current rules.