UK Pension Calculator
Enter your age, salary, contributions, and employer match to project your retirement pot, estimated monthly income, and how much the State Pension adds. Completely private — nothing leaves your browser.
Your details
Understanding your projection
This calculator uses compound growth applied monthly to your growing contributions. It accounts for salary increases over time (lifting your contributions) and assumes your employer contribution is a percentage of your full salary throughout. Tax relief at basic rate (20%) is added on top of your personal contribution — if you are a higher rate taxpayer contributing via relief at source, claim the extra 20% through self-assessment.
Under auto-enrolment an employer must pay in at least 3% of qualifying earnings. Some employers go further and offer a matching scheme: they pay in more if you pay in more, up to a limit set by the scheme. Employer contributions are part of your pay package, so any match you do not take up is pay you do not receive. For example, if an employer matches up to 5% and an employee contributes 3%, the employer pays 3%, and the other 2% of salary it was willing to pay is never paid. Matching rules differ between schemes, so your scheme booklet or employer can confirm how yours works. This is general information, not a personal recommendation.
Auto-enrolment minimum contributions
| Who pays | Minimum % | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Employee (you) | 5% (inc. tax relief) | Qualifying earnings band |
| Employer | 3% | Qualifying earnings band |
| Total minimum | 8% | Between £6,240–£50,270 (2026/27) |
Qualifying earnings for auto-enrolment are calculated on the band between £6,240 and £50,270 — not your full salary. So 5% of a £40,000 salary under auto-enrolment is calculated on £33,760, not £40,000. Some employers calculate contributions on full salary instead; the scheme rules or your contract show which basis applies.
The State Pension
The full new State Pension is £241.30 per week (2026/27) — approximately £12,548 per year or £1,046 per month. You need 35 qualifying National Insurance years to receive the full amount, and 10 qualifying years minimum to receive anything. Check your NI record and State Pension forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension.
The State Pension age is 66 for people born between 6 October 1954 and 5 April 1960. It is rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028: people born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 reach it at 66 plus one to eleven months, depending on their date of birth, and people born between 6 March 1961 and 5 April 1977 reach it at 67. Under current law it rises to 68 between 2044 and 2046, and GOV.UK says that timetable could change after a future review. The Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) — the earliest you can usually access a workplace or personal pension — rises from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028. The State Pension age timetable on GOV.UK shows the date for each date of birth.
Related calculators
Salary sacrifice — amplify your pension contributions with income-tax and NI relief · FIRE calculator — when your pension+ISA pots can sustain your spending · Compound interest — how small contribution increases grow over decades · ISA vs GIA — the tax case for maxing both wrappers.
Frequently asked questions
The questions readers most commonly ask about this topic. Each answer is reviewed by the Editor against current HMRC, FCA and MoneyHelper guidance.
▸ What pension growth rate should I assume?
There is no correct figure: investment returns are not guaranteed and vary from year to year. Running the projection at a cautious real (after-inflation) return and again at a higher one shows how much the result depends on the assumption.
▸ Does this include the pension annual allowance limit?
No. The calculator does not check contributions against the annual allowance. The standard annual allowance is £60,000 for 2026/27; if your threshold income is over £200,000 and your adjusted income is over £260,000, it tapers down to as little as £10,000 (the Tapered Annual Allowance). Unused allowance from the previous 3 tax years can be carried forward. Contributions above the allowance you have available lead to an Annual Allowance tax charge at your marginal rate. The pension annual allowance calculator checks this.
▸ How is the State Pension included in the projection?
The calculator always adds the full new State Pension, £241.30 a week in 2026/27 (about £1,046 a month), to the monthly income from your pot. It does not check your National Insurance record or your State Pension age: it assumes the full amount is paid from the retirement age you enter, in 2026/27 money. The full amount needs 35 qualifying years, and at least 10 are needed to get any. State Pension age is 66 for people born between 6 October 1954 and 5 April 1960, rising in monthly steps to 67 for people born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961, 67 for people born between 6 March 1961 and 5 April 1977, and rising to 68 between 2044 and 2046 under current law. Your forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension shows your own amount and date.
▸ Can I withdraw 25% tax-free at age 55?
You can access most pension pots from age 55 (rising to 57 from April 2028). The 25% tax-free element is now capped by the Lump Sum Allowance at £268,275 across all pensions — anything above that cap counts as taxable income. The remaining 75% of any pot is taxable at your marginal rate when drawn (income tax bands apply).
▸ What is the difference between net-pay and relief-at-source?
Net-pay arrangements take pension contributions BEFORE income tax, so relief is given at your top rate straight away (20% for a basic-rate taxpayer, 40% for a higher-rate taxpayer). Relief-at-source takes contributions from after-tax pay, then the pension provider claims 20% basic-rate relief and adds it to the pot; higher-rate taxpayers claim the extra relief through their Self Assessment return, or through HMRC's online claim service if they do not file a return. For most taxpayers the total relief ends up broadly the same, but the timing and the way it is claimed differ.
▸ How do pension and ISA contributions compare?
The two work differently. Pension contributions get tax relief at your marginal rate and can attract employer contributions, but the money usually cannot be taken until 55 (57 from 6 April 2028) and is taxed when drawn beyond any tax-free lump sum. ISAs get no tax relief on the way in, but most can be withdrawn at any time tax-free (a Lifetime ISA has a 25% charge on withdrawals before age 60, except to buy a first home or in terminal illness). Comparing both projections shows the trade-off; the calculator covers the pension side.
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