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💰 Retirement Income Planner
Defined contribution pot, final salary pension, or both — calculate your total retirement income
Guidance only - not financial advice. Results are estimates. Lenders may calculate differently. Do not base any financial decision on these figures - for illustration only. Always seek advice from a qualified FCA-authorised financial adviser.
What type of pension do you have?
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Defined Contribution
Pension pot / SIPP / workplace DC
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Final Salary (DB)
NHS, teachers, civil service, armed forces
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I have both
DB scheme plus a DC pot or SIPP
💼 Defined Contribution Pension Pot
A defined contribution pension (also called a money purchase pension) is one where you and/or your employer pay in, it's invested, and the final pot size depends on contributions and investment growth. Workplace auto-enrolment pensions, SIPPs and personal pensions are all DC.
Use the Pension Pot Calculator if unsure
£
4% is the traditional sustainable rate. Conservative: 3%
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Leave blank to use the % drawdown rate above
£
How your pot continues to grow. Cautious: 3–4%
%
🏛️ Final Salary / Defined Benefit Pension
📖 How a DB pension works — and what you actually receive
A defined benefit pension pays you a guaranteed income for life. The annual pension is calculated as: Years of service × Accrual rate × Pensionable pay
⚠️ NHS 1995 section: Automatic lump sum of 3× your annual pension paid at retirement — separate from your pension income. NPA is 60.
✅ NHS 2008 / 2015 sections: No automatic lump sum — but you can commute pension for one at 12:1 factor. NPA is 65 (2008) or State Pension Age (2015).
Civil Service Classic (pre-2002): Automatic lump sum of 3× annual pension. NPA 60.
Civil Service Alpha / Nuvos: No automatic lump sum. NPA = State Pension Age. CARE 2.32% accrual.
yrs
From your annual benefit statement or pension forecast
£
yrs
Your salary used to calculate the pension
£
Check your scheme booklet
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💰 Automatic Lump Sum — this scheme pays one automatically
⏰ Early Retirement — Age & Reduction Calculator
Enter your planned retirement age — we will compare to your Normal Pension Age
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Auto-filled based on scheme — edit if your NPA differs
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Pension value at each retirement age
💸 Optional: Commute pension for a lump sum?
You can give up part of your annual pension to receive a one-off tax-free lump sum. Each £1/year of pension you surrender gives you a fixed lump sum (the commutation factor). This is in addition to any automatic lump sum above.
NHS = 12:1. LGPS = varies 16–20:1. Civil service = 12:1. Check your scheme.
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Check your scheme rules
CPI has averaged 2–3% in recent years
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📖 What CPI/RPI linking actually means — read this
When your pension rises by CPI or RPI, it sounds like a pay rise — but it is not. Inflation is silently eroding the real purchasing power of your pension every year. The CPI or RPI increase is the scheme's attempt to offset that erosion — to stop your pension losing value in real terms.
If inflation is 3% and your pension rises by 3%, your spending power stays roughly the same. It does not actually increase. RPI is typically 0.5–1% higher than CPI because it includes housing costs and uses a different formula — an RPI-linked pension is therefore more valuable than a CPI-linked one.
A pension with no increase loses real value every year. At 3% inflation, a £20,000 pension that never increases is worth only £14,832 in today's money after 10 years, and just £11,035 after 20 years.
🔔 DB pension features to check with your scheme
✅ Spouse/dependant pension: typically 50% continues on your death
✅ Inflation protection: most public sector schemes link to CPI (sometimes capped)
✅ Guaranteed for life: unlike DC you cannot outlive a DB pension
✅ Death in service: usually 2–4× salary as lump sum before retirement
🏛️ State Pension & Other Income
Full amount 2025/26 is £11,502. Check your forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension
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Currently 66, rising to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046
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Rental income, part-time work, annuity or any other source
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Average life expectancy at 65 is ~85. Plan to 90+ to be safe.
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For calculating real purchasing power of income. Bank of England target: 2%
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Ready to take the next step?
Plan your retirement income
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A regulated financial adviser can model your exact retirement income using your real figures.
⚠️ Affiliate links — we may earn a commission. Always seek regulated financial advice for retirement planning.
Disclaimer: Projections are illustrative only. DB pension calculations depend on your scheme rules — always check your annual benefit statement. Investment returns and inflation are uncertain. Always seek regulated financial advice for retirement planning.