Retirement Savings Calculator
Project how your retirement savings pot could grow, see whether you’re on track for your target, and find the monthly contribution needed to close any gap. This is a general savings projection, not a pension forecast.
Projected Savings vs Target
Year-by-Year Projection
How to Use the Retirement Savings Calculator
This Retirement Savings Calculator projects how a general savings or investment pot could grow between now and your target retirement age, and checks that projection against a target amount you set. It is designed for ISAs, general investment accounts, or combined savings pots — not for workplace or personal pensions, which have different rules around tax relief, employer contributions and drawdown.
What This Calculator Does — and Does Not Do
This tool answers one question: based on your current savings, contributions, and assumed growth rate, how much could you have at retirement, and does that meet your target? It deliberately keeps the model simple and transparent.
- Included: compound growth on your current balance, regular monthly contributions, and inflation adjustment to show results in today’s money.
- Not included: pension tax relief, employer pension contributions, the State Pension, annuity or drawdown modelling, or investment charges. If you want a pension-specific projection, use the Pension Calculator instead.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your current age and target retirement age — this sets the number of years your savings have to grow.
- Enter your current retirement savings — the total value of the pot(s) you’re projecting today.
- Enter your monthly contribution — how much you plan to add each month.
- Set an expected annual growth rate — a long-term assumption for investment growth, not a guarantee.
- Set an expected annual inflation rate — used to show your projected pot in today’s purchasing power.
- Enter your target retirement pot — expressed in today’s money, the amount you’re aiming for.
- Click Calculate to see your projection, surplus or shortfall, and the monthly contribution required to close any gap.
Understanding Nominal vs Today’s Money
Your projected pot is shown two ways. The nominal figure is the actual pound amount your pot is projected to reach at retirement, with no adjustment for inflation. The today’s money figure divides that nominal amount by expected inflation over the years, showing what that pot would be worth in terms of what you could buy with it today. Comparing your target against the today’s money figure gives a more meaningful sense of whether you’re on track, since prices are expected to rise between now and retirement.
How the Required Monthly Contribution Is Calculated
If your projected pot falls short of your target, the calculator works out the monthly contribution needed to close that gap by the same retirement age, using the same growth and inflation assumptions. This is solved directly from the future value of an annuity formula, rather than estimated by trial and error, so the figure reflects exactly what’s needed to reach your target — not a rounded approximation.
Choosing a Growth Rate Assumption
There is no single “correct” growth rate to use. Past investment performance varies significantly by asset mix, time period and fees, and is not a reliable guide to future returns. This calculator uses a nominal growth assumption before fees and adjusts the final result separately for inflation. Investment charges are not modelled. Consider testing a few different growth rates to see how sensitive your projection is to this assumption, rather than relying on a single figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a pension calculator?
No. This calculator models a general retirement savings pot, such as an ISA, general investment account, or combined pots outside a pension wrapper. It does not include pension tax relief, employer contributions, the State Pension, or drawdown rules. If you want a pension-specific projection, use the Pension Calculator, which covers those features directly.
What does “today’s money” mean in the results?
“Today’s money” means your projected pot adjusted for expected inflation, so it reflects the purchasing power that amount would have if you received it today rather than at retirement. It’s calculated by dividing your nominal projected pot by the cumulative inflation assumption over the years until retirement.
How is the required monthly contribution calculated?
The calculator solves algebraically for the monthly contribution that would grow your current savings to your target pot by your chosen retirement age, using your assumed growth and inflation rates. It is based on the future value of a regular monthly contribution compounding at your assumed growth rate, not an estimate.
What growth rate should I use?
This is your own assumption to set, and there’s no universally correct figure. Growth rates depend on your investment mix, fees, and time horizon, and past performance does not guarantee future returns. Try a few different rates to see how much your projection changes, rather than relying on a single assumed figure.
Does this account for tax on investment growth?
No. This calculator does not model tax on growth, dividends or withdrawals. Tax treatment depends on which type of account or wrapper you hold your savings in — for example, growth within a Stocks and Shares ISA is generally free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, while a general investment account may be subject to both. Check the tax treatment of your own accounts separately.
Can I use this alongside my pension?
Yes. Many people save toward retirement through a combination of a pension and other savings or investments, such as ISAs. This calculator is designed to sit alongside the Pension Calculator so you can project your general savings pot and your pension separately, since they follow different rules.