Project your pot, tax-free lump sum and retirement income, with employer contributions and the State Pension. 2026/27 figures (full new State Pension £241.30 a week). Projections are estimates, not a forecast — growth is an assumption you set, and money you put in is at risk.
Three growth paths for the same contributions. Real returns arrive unevenly — a bad decade early or late changes the outcome a lot, so treat the middle line as an illustration, not a promise.
| Growth | Pot | Paid in | Growth added |
|---|
The same money in, three different markets. Contributions and the starting pot are identical in every row — only the growth rate changes.
State Pension age is 66 now and rises to 67 between 2026 and 2028; yours depends on your date of birth. The State Pension is not automatic — you claim it. Check your exact age and your own forecast on GOV.UK: State Pension age · State Pension forecast. The income figures on this page assume the full rate; fewer qualifying years means less.
| Pot income at 4% | — |
| State Pension (full rate) | — |
| Total | — |
Project your UK pension pot to retirement: what you pay in, what your employer adds, the tax-free lump sum, and the income the pot plus the State Pension could pay.
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Project your pension pot to retirement: what you pay in, what your employer adds, the tax-free lump sum, the income the pot could pay, and the State Pension on top — with the 2026/27 State Pension and auto-enrolment figures.
From age 30 on a £45,000 salary, paying in 5% yourself with 3% from your employer — £3,600 a year — on top of a £15,000 pot, at 5% growth after fees, retiring at 67: the pot reaches £465,393. You and your employer pay in £133,200 over the 37 years, the £15,000 was already there, and growth adds the other £317,193. The tax-free lump sum would be £116,348, and a 4% income from the pot is £18,616 a year — £31,163 a year with the full State Pension on top.
Contributions are added monthly and the pot grows monthly at the monthly equivalent of your growth assumption, so the projection is smooth. The tax-free lump sum is 25% of the projected pot, capped at the Lump Sum Allowance of £268,275. The 4% income is the drawdown rule of thumb applied to the pot; the State Pension is added at the full 2026/27 rate of £241.30 a week (£12,548 a year), which needs 35 qualifying National Insurance years. “Today’s money” mode deflates the pot by 2.5% a year of assumed inflation so you can judge it in terms of what it might buy.
£241.30 a week — £12,548 a year — for the full new State Pension, uprated 4.8% in April 2026. You need 35 qualifying National Insurance years for the full amount and at least 10 years to get anything at all; fewer years means a proportional amount.
Usually up to 25% of each pension, tax-free — but the total across all your pensions is capped by the Lump Sum Allowance of £268,275. The calculator applies that cap: on very large pots the lump sum shown stops at £268,275 and any more would be taxed as income.
If you earn over £10,000 a year and are aged 22 to State Pension age, you are auto-enrolled. The legal minimum is 8% of qualifying earnings — the slice of pay between £6,240 and £50,270 in 2026/27 — with at least 3% from your employer. Those thresholds were frozen again for 2026/27. Many employers calculate on full salary or pay more than the minimum, which is why this calculator works in percentages of your whole salary.
Up to the annual allowance of £60,000 a year across all your pensions, and no more than 100% of your earnings, with tax relief at your income tax rate (20%, 40% or 45%). Very high earners get a tapered allowance. The calculator flags it if your yearly contributions pass £60,000.
Because it compounds for decades and your employer and the tax relief may add to it. At 5% growth, an extra £900 a year from age 30 becomes roughly £93,500 by 67 — and at basic-rate tax relief, that £900 gross costs about £720 of take-home pay. Use the Try +2% button on the calculator to see it on your own numbers.
No — the projection runs entirely in your browser.
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