How Much Will My Pension Be Worth?
Short answer: £300 a month into a pension for 30 years at 5% growth after fees builds a pot of about £244,600, worth about £116,600 in today's money at 2.5% inflation. Start with £20,000 already saved and the same plan reaches about £331,000. The tables below cover £100 to £1,000 a month over 10 to 40 years.
How a pension pot grows
A defined contribution pension (most workplace pensions and all personal pensions and SIPPs) is a pot of investments. Each month your contribution, your employer's contribution and any tax relief go in, and the whole pot grows or falls with the investments. The projections here assume a steady growth rate after fees, which real markets never give, so treat them as a guide rather than a promise.
Monthly growth = (1 + yearly growth)^(1/12) - 1
Today's money = future pot ÷ (1 + inflation)^years
"Today's money" matters. A pot of £245,000 in 30 years will not buy what £245,000 buys now. Dividing by inflation shows what the pot is worth in current prices, which is the fairer figure to plan with.
Pension pot by monthly contribution and years (5% growth)
Starting from an empty pot, with 5% a year growth after fees. The second figure in each cell is the pot in today's money at 2.5% inflation.
| Paid in a month | 10 years | 20 years | 30 years | 40 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £100 | £15,436 (£12,059) | £40,580 (£24,765) | £81,538 (£38,872) | £148,252 (£55,214) |
| £200 | £30,873 (£24,118) | £81,161 (£49,530) | £163,075 (£77,745) | £296,505 (£110,428) |
| £300 | £46,309 (£36,176) | £121,741 (£74,295) | £244,613 (£116,617) | £444,757 (£165,641) |
| £500 | £77,182 (£60,294) | £202,902 (£123,825) | £407,688 (£194,362) | £741,262 (£276,069) |
| £750 | £115,772 (£90,441) | £304,353 (£185,738) | £611,532 (£291,543) | £1,111,893 (£414,103) |
| £1,000 | £154,363 (£120,588) | £405,804 (£247,651) | £815,376 (£388,724) | £1,482,525 (£552,138) |
Time does most of the work. £300 a month for 40 years puts in £144,000 and grows to about £444,800, while the same £300 for 20 years puts in £72,000 and reaches about £121,700.
The earlier you start, the bigger the pot
£300 a month from an empty pot until age 67, at 5% growth. "Income" is 4% a year drawn from the pot, in today's money (a common rule of thumb, not a guaranteed income).
| Start age | Years | Total paid in | Pot at 67 | Today's money | 4% income a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 45 | £162,000 | £587,980 | £193,548 | £7,742 |
| 25 | 42 | £151,200 | £497,893 | £176,495 | £7,060 |
| 30 | 37 | £133,200 | £374,172 | £150,068 | £6,003 |
| 35 | 32 | £115,200 | £277,233 | £125,800 | £5,032 |
| 40 | 27 | £97,200 | £201,279 | £103,337 | £4,133 |
| 45 | 22 | £79,200 | £141,767 | £82,348 | £3,294 |
| 50 | 17 | £61,200 | £95,138 | £62,524 | £2,501 |
| 55 | 12 | £43,200 | £58,603 | £43,575 | £1,743 |
How the growth rate changes the answer
A £20,000 pot plus £300 a month for 30 years. You pay in £128,000 whatever the growth rate.
| Growth after fees | Pot at retirement | Today's money | 4% income a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | £222,159 | £105,913 | £4,237 |
| 4% | £270,449 | £128,935 | £5,157 |
| 5% | £331,052 | £157,826 | £6,313 |
| 6% | £407,224 | £194,141 | £7,766 |
| 7% | £503,081 | £239,840 | £9,594 |
Each extra 1% of growth adds tens of thousands of pounds over 30 years. Fees work the other way: a fund charging 1% more a year has the same effect as dropping a row in this table.
Worked example: a 35 year old with £30,000 saved
A pot of £30,000, £450 a month going in (employee, employer and tax relief together) and 32 years to go at 5% growth. The pot reaches about £558,800. Total paid in is £202,800. In today's money that is about £253,600, so drawing 4% a year would give about £10,100 a year. The 25% tax-free lump sum on the projected pot would be about £139,700.
Raising the monthly amount by £100 to £550 lifts the pot to about £651,200 (£295,500 in today's money), or about £11,800 a year at 4%. An extra £38,400 paid in over 32 years adds about £92,400 to the pot.
What the rules say (checked on GOV.UK)
- Auto-enrolment minimum: 8% of qualifying earnings in total, at least 3% from your employer and 5% from you (your 5% includes tax relief). Qualifying earnings are pay between £6,240 and £50,270 a year.
- Tax-free cash: you can usually take up to 25% of a pension as a tax-free lump sum, up to a maximum of £268,275 unless you have a protected allowance. The rest is taxed as income when you draw it.
- State Pension: the full new State Pension is £241.30 a week, £12,547.60 a year. You usually need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance for the full amount. Get your own forecast and State Pension age on GOV.UK.
Tips to grow your pot
- Take the full employer match. If your employer pays more when you do, not taking it turns down free money.
- Increase contributions with pay rises. Adding 1% when your salary goes up is hard to notice in your take home pay. The take home pay calculator shows the effect of pension contributions on your monthly pay.
- Check your fund's charges. A lower fee is a guaranteed improvement in growth after fees.
- Find old pots. If you have changed jobs, you may have small pensions you have forgotten about. The free Pension Tracing Service on GOV.UK can help.
- Compare with saving outside a pension. The compound interest calculator and our guide how much will my savings grow use the same compounding maths for ISAs and savings accounts.
Try the pension calculator (uk)
Enter your own numbers below, or open the full pension calculator (uk) with the formula and more examples.
This guide is general information with example numbers, not financial, tax or building advice. Your costs and results will differ. Terms
Frequently asked questions
How much will my pension be worth if I pay £300 a month?
Over 30 years at 5% growth after fees, about £244,600 from an empty pot, or about £116,600 in today's money at 2.5% inflation.
How much will £500 a month in a pension be worth in 20 years?
About £202,900 at 5% growth, which is about £123,800 in today's money.
What is a good pension pot to retire on?
It depends on the income you want. As a rule of thumb, drawing 4% a year from a pot worth £250,000 in today's money gives about £10,000 a year, on top of the full State Pension of £12,547.60 a year in 2026/27.
What is the minimum workplace pension contribution?
8% of qualifying earnings in total: at least 3% from your employer and 5% from you, including tax relief.