For people who are curious.
I built this tool to help me understand if I will have enough in retirement. Try it for yourself. more...
Free resources worth your time
No affiliation. No referral fees. Just the ones we've found genuinely useful.
There's a remarkable amount of genuinely useful, free financial education out there. People like Pete Matthew have been helping UK savers understand their money for decades — through podcasts, YouTube, and plain-spoken writing. A few hours with the right resources can make this planner — and your own finances — significantly less daunting.
Knowledge is the starting point. This planner is one tool. Neither replaces good judgement, but both can help build it.
Looking for the blog? Click here.
Two decades of plain-English guidance on pensions, ISAs, and investing. The best place to start if you're new to any of this. Pete has a rare ability to make complex topics feel completely manageable — without dumbing them down.
meaningfulmoney.tvThe UK's free, impartial money guidance service. Pension tracing, retirement planning tools, and jargon-free explainers. Particularly useful for understanding State Pension entitlement and tracking down old workplace pensions.
moneyhelper.org.ukLong-running UK investing blog covering passive investing, drawdown strategy, and the maths behind retirement. Deeply researched, occasionally nerdy in the best possible way. If you want to understand why things work the way they do, start here.
monevator.comUK personal finance covering pensions, ISAs, and building wealth for retirement. Practical and well-researched — one of the strongest UK voices on financial planning for ordinary savers.
damientalksmoney.comFinancial planning and investing explained clearly for UK savers. Covers pension drawdown, investment strategy, and financial independence. Particularly strong on the retirement transition and sustainable income planning.
YouTube — James ShackUK financial independence and early retirement planning. Covers pension access strategies, tax-efficient drawdown, and building sustainable income. Practical guidance aimed at people actively planning their exit from work.
YouTube — Chris BourneResearch-led content on pension investing, drawdown strategy, and asset allocation — run by Ramin Nakisa, a former quantitative analyst. One of the most technically rigorous free resources available to UK savers.
pensioncraft.comThe internet's most respected community for long-term, evidence-based investing. Named after Vanguard founder John Bogle. Threads cover index investing, asset allocation, drawdown, and international tax — with a dedicated UK board.
bogleheads.orgA large, active community covering all aspects of UK personal finance — ISAs, pensions, tax, property, and more. The wiki is an excellent structured starting point. Good for getting practical answers to specific questions from people who have been there.
reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinanceNot a book about numbers — a book about behaviour. How our experiences, emotions, and biases shape every financial decision we make. Short chapters, timeless ideas. One of the most widely recommended personal finance books of the last decade.
Available on AmazonA practical guide to sorting your finances and building for retirement. Covers the full journey — from getting out of debt to investing for the long term. Available in print and as an audiobook.
Available on AmazonA counterintuitive case for spending your money purposefully rather than accumulating indefinitely. Argues for optimising life experiences over net worth — particularly relevant for anyone thinking hard about what retirement is actually for.
Available on AmazonThe definitive plain-English guide to passive, low-cost investing. Covers asset allocation, index funds, tax-efficient accounts, and staying the course through market volatility. US-focused in places, but the core principles apply directly to UK investors.
Available on AmazonWho is this plan for?
Choose whether this is a single-person or couple plan. Couple plans model both users' pots, tax, and income separately.
Target retirement income
How much do you want to receive each month in retirement, after tax, in today's money?
User account selection
Check each box for all account types relevant to this plan. Unchecking a tab hides it without deleting its data.
Key assumptions
Core parameters that affect the entire projection.
Projection assumptions applied to all accounts of each type across the plan. Not investment recommendations.
Dynamic spending
Model a gradual reduction in spending as you age — research suggests expenditure typically declines in later retirement.
Spending bands
Override the monthly income target for specific age ranges — e.g. a higher amount at 65 for travel, then a lower amount from 85. Amounts in today's money; inflation applied automatically. The base target above applies where no band is active.
Drawdown order
When guaranteed income falls short of your target, which pots are drawn from first? Guaranteed income always runs first. This setting is saved with each scenario.
User profiles
Select a user from the sidebar to view and edit their profile. User 1 is the primary user; User 2 is for partner or couple planning.
Tell us about yourself
We use these details to calculate your age at retirement, project your finances over time, and determine National Insurance eligibility.
State Pension
The full new State Pension for 2025/26 is £1,046/month (£12,547/year pre-tax). Your actual entitlement depends on your National Insurance record — check your forecast on gov.uk.
Defined Benefit pensions
Final salary or career average pensions with guaranteed annual income. Includes option to take tax-free cash at start.
No DB pensions added yet. Click + Add DB pension to begin.
Annuities
Purchased annuities providing guaranteed taxable income for life. Typically bought with DC pension funds. Income is taxed as earned income.
Annuity income and purchase costs shown are illustrative only. Actual rates depend on your age, health, the provider, and market conditions at the time of purchase. Always obtain a written quotation from an FCA-authorised provider before making any decisions.
No annuities added yet. Click + Add annuity to begin.
Defined Contribution pensions
Workplace pensions, SIPPs, and personal pensions with pot values. Tax-free cash rules and growth projections applied.
DC pension growth rate — one rate applied to all DC pensions for this plan. This is a projection assumption, not an investment recommendation. FAD/UFPLS strategy is set separately for each user below.
Unused annual allowance from prior years (you were a scheme member but did not use the full £60,000). Oldest year consumed first. Leave at £0 if not applicable.
No DC pensions added yet. Click + Add DC pension to begin.
Savings accounts
General savings and ISAs. Add multiple accounts — each tracked separately with its own balance, growth rate, and contribution schedule.
No savings accounts yet. Click + Add savings account to begin.
Supports General Savings and ISAs. Tax-free pension lump sums can be auto-deposited here.
General Investment Accounts
To capture account balances subject to taxation on interest earned, use a savings account. More complex tax modelling (e.g. capital gains, dividend tax) is currently beyond the scope of this planner.
Buy-to-let property income
Rental income from UK residential investment properties. Mortgage interest relief applied as a 20% tax credit (Section 24) regardless of marginal rate.
No properties added yet. Click + Add property to begin.
Work income
Part-time work, consulting, or phased retirement during your retirement years. Income is entered net of tax.
No work income added yet. Click + Add work income to begin.
Windfalls
One-off lump sums — inheritance, redundancy, bonus, etc. Bonuses are taxed via PAYE; all others land in savings tax-free.
No windfalls yet. Click + Add windfall to begin.
Bed & ISA
Each tax year, dispose of GIA holdings and immediately repurchase inside an ISA (up to the £20,000 annual limit). Crystallises gains — CGT applies on disposal — but shelters future growth from tax.
This feature depends on GIA modelling, which is not yet available. ISA surplus sweep is controlled directly from the ISA account card in the Savings tab.
Tell us about yourself
Basic details for User 2 — used to calculate current age, retirement timing, and projection horizon.
State Pension
The full new State Pension for 2025/26 is £1,046/month (£12,547/year pre-tax). Actual entitlement depends on User 2's National Insurance record — check forecast on gov.uk.
Defined Benefit pensions
Final salary or career average pensions with guaranteed annual income. Includes option to take tax-free cash at start.
No DB pensions added yet. Click + Add DB pension to begin.
Annuities
Purchased annuities providing guaranteed taxable income for life. Typically bought with DC pension funds. Income is taxed as earned income.
Annuity income and purchase costs shown are illustrative only. Actual rates depend on your age, health, the provider, and market conditions at the time of purchase. Always obtain a written quotation from an FCA-authorised provider before making any decisions.
No annuities added yet. Click + Add annuity to begin.
Defined Contribution pensions
Workplace pensions, SIPPs, and personal pensions with pot values. Tax-free cash rules and growth projections applied.
Drawdown strategy and unused annual allowance for User 2's DC pensions. Growth rate is set in User 1's DC panel and applies to the whole plan.
Unused annual allowance from prior years. Oldest year consumed first. Leave at £0 if not applicable.
No DC pensions added yet. Click + Add DC pension to begin.
Savings accounts
General savings and ISAs. Add multiple accounts — each tracked separately with its own balance, growth rate, and contribution schedule.
No savings accounts yet. Click + Add savings account to begin.
Supports General Savings and ISAs. Tax-free pension lump sums can be auto-deposited here.
General Investment Accounts
To capture account balances subject to taxation on interest earned, use a savings account. More complex tax modelling (e.g. capital gains, dividend tax) is currently beyond the scope of this planner.
Buy-to-let property income
Rental income from UK residential investment properties. Mortgage interest relief applied as a 20% tax credit (Section 24) regardless of marginal rate.
No properties added yet. Click + Add property to begin.
Work income
Part-time work, consulting, or phased retirement income. Income is entered net of tax.
No work income added yet. Click + Add work income to begin.
Windfalls
One-off lump sums — inheritance, redundancy, bonus, etc. Bonuses are taxed via PAYE; all others land in savings tax-free.
No windfalls yet. Click + Add windfall to begin.
Bed & ISA
Each tax year, dispose of User 2's GIA holdings and immediately repurchase inside their ISA (up to the £20,000 annual limit). Crystallises gains — CGT applies on disposal — but shelters future growth from tax.
This feature depends on GIA modelling, which is not yet available. ISA surplus sweep is controlled directly from the ISA account card in the Savings tab.
Run a projection to see your plan summary.
Run 1,000 scenarios with randomly varied growth rates. Volatility is set in Plan Settings → Key Assumptions.
Run Monte Carlo to see analysis.
Per-account balance reconciliation — opening, contributions, growth, withdrawals, closing.
Run a projection to see income detail.
Retirement Goals
Pensions
Defined Contribution (DC) Pensions
Defined Benefit (DB) Pensions
State Pension
Other Income
Assumptions
Developer mode
Captures per-month cashflow trace and surfaces projection engine outputs — PAYE tracker with NI, pot snapshots, and monthly detail. Enable, then run Calculate Plan to populate tables below.
Annual projection
Month-by-month simulation output. Click any year row to expand monthly detail.
Run a projection to see the annual table.
Tax year & allowances
England & Wales income tax bands
Leave Upper blank for the top band (no ceiling). Rate as a percentage — e.g. 20 for 20%.
| Band | Lower (£) | Upper (£) | Rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | |||
| Basic rate | |||
| Higher rate | |||
| Additional rate |
Scotland income tax bands
7 bands. Leave Upper blank for the top band (no ceiling).
| Band | Lower (£) | Upper (£) | Rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | |||
| Starter rate | |||
| Basic rate | |||
| Intermediate rate | |||
| Higher rate | |||
| Advanced rate | |||
| Top rate |
National Insurance
UK-wide. Leave Upper blank for the top band.
| Band | Lower (£) | Upper (£) | Rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below PT | |||
| Main rate | |||
| Above UEL |
Personal Savings Allowance
Capital Gains Tax
Dividend tax
Tax payments
Annual tax flow across all income sources — guaranteed income (PAYE) and DC pension draws. Accumulation years show pre-retirement income tax where applicable.
Run a projection to see tax flow detail.
Annual Cashflow Statement
Run a projection to see cash flow.