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https://www.kandoo.co.uk/calculators/pension-calculator

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Pension calculator

Project a pension pot and estimated monthly retirement income using a 4% drawdown assumption.

Current age

Retirement age

Current pension pot

Personal monthly contribution

Employer monthly contribution

Annual growth rate

Annual fee

Estimate only. Pension investments can rise and fall, tax rules can change and retirement income depends on the choices available at retirement.

Projected pension pot

£0

Total contributions£0
Estimated investment gain/loss after fees£0
Estimated monthly income£0

What your result means

Explore a possible future pension pot using a starting balance, monthly contributions, growth and a fee assumption. The result is a scenario, not a forecast of retirement income.

Compare scenarios by changing one input at a time. The glossary explains the technical words used on this page.

Projected pension pot: The opening pot plus future contributions and modelled investment gain or loss after the entered fee adjustment. It is a future cash amount, not adjusted for inflation.
Total contributions: The opening pension pot plus future personal and employer contributions. This is the comparison baseline, not a record of lifetime contributions: the opening pot can already include investment gains or losses.
Estimated investment gain/loss after fees: Projected pot minus the opening pot and future contributions. A negative value shows that the projected pot is below that baseline after the modelled fee adjustment.
Estimated monthly income: Exactly 4% of the projected pot divided by 12, before tax. It is not an annuity quote or a tested sustainable withdrawal amount.

Investment gain/loss after fees can be positive, zero or negative. Fees can reduce the pot below the opening balance plus contributions even when the growth input is 0%. The separate 4% income illustration does not show how long the pension might last.

Methodology: how the calculation works

This is a constant-growth projection for a defined contribution pension. The calculation adds the amounts entered; it does not automatically calculate tax relief or employer matching.

Subtract current age from retirement age and multiply by 12 for the projection period. Use whole-number ages with retirement later than the current age.
Subtract the annual fee percentage from annual growth in percentage points. Convert the resulting annual growth into an equivalent monthly rate.
Each month, apply growth to the existing balance and then add the personal and employer contribution. Contributions stay fixed.
Subtract the starting pot and future contributions from the projected pot to find the investment gain or loss after fees. Keep negative values as losses. Separately multiply the projected pot by 0.04 and divide by 12 for the income illustration.

See the calculation formula

r = (1 + g − f)^1/12 − 1
Next pot = current pot × (1 + r) + personal + employer
Gain/loss after fees = final pot − opening pot − future contributions
Monthly income illustration = final pot × 0.04 ÷ 12

g and f are annual growth and fee percentages divided by 100. The monthly rate r compounds back to that net annual assumption. The model limits an extreme net annual loss to −99%; such inputs are not sensible forecasts. The 4% figure is a fixed shortcut, not a recommendation.

The assumptions behind your estimate

Growth and fees remain constant across the projection. Actual investments can rise and fall, including periods of loss.
Both monthly contribution inputs should represent the amounts actually added to the pension. No automatic tax-relief top-up or contribution escalation is applied.
The fee is modelled as a subtraction from the annual growth rate, not a full simulation of a provider’s charging schedule.
No inflation adjustment, State Pension, tax-free cash withdrawal, retirement tax or drawdown sustainability model is included. Cash values are rounded to whole pounds.

Two simple worked examples

Both examples run from age 35 to 68 with a £25,000 opening pot, 5% annual growth and a 0.75% annual fee. The employer adds £150 monthly; only the personal contribution changes.

Worked example

£250 personal contribution

Age 35 to 68 · £25,000 opening pot · £250 personal + £150 employer monthly · 5% growth · 0.75% fee

£438,257

illustrative future pension pot

Total contributions: £183,400
Estimated investment gain/loss after fees: £254,857
Estimated monthly income: £1,461

Worked example

£350 personal contribution

Age 35 to 68 · £25,000 opening pot · £350 personal + £150 employer monthly · 5% growth · 0.75% fee

£523,138

illustrative future pension pot

Total contributions: £223,000
Estimated investment gain/loss after fees: £300,138
Estimated monthly income: £1,744

A closer look: contributions, lower growth and losses

These scenarios use the same ages and opening pot. The final row uses 0% annual growth with a 0.75% fee, illustrating that fees can produce an investment loss even when the growth input is not negative.

On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every figure.

Pension: illustrative scenarios
Scenario	Inputs and assumptions	Projected pension pot	Total contributions	Estimated investment gain/loss after fees	Estimated monthly income
A · Starting point	Age 35 to 68 · £25,000 opening pot · £250 personal + £150 employer monthly · 5% growth · 0.75% fee	£438,257	£183,400	£254,857	£1,461
B · £350 personal monthly	Age 35 to 68 · £25,000 opening pot · £350 personal + £150 employer monthly · 5% growth · 0.75% fee	£523,138	£223,000	£300,138	£1,744
C · 3% growth	Age 35 to 68 · £25,000 opening pot · £250 personal + £150 employer monthly · 3% growth · 0.75% fee	£285,719	£183,400	£102,319	£952
D · 0% growth, 0.75% fee	Age 35 to 68 · £25,000 opening pot · £250 personal + £150 employer monthly · 0% growth · 0.75% fee	£159,802	£183,400	-£23,598	£533

B includes more of your own money as well as growth on earlier contributions. C shows the effect of lower growth. In D, fees reduce the projected pot below the opening pot plus future contributions, so the gain/loss figure is negative. The monthly-income column remains a fixed 4% shortcut—not evidence that the amount can safely be withdrawn for life.

Examples use the stated assumptions and the calculator’s rounding. They are illustrations, not product offers, personalised recommendations or guarantees.

What the estimate does not include

Investment volatility, the order of gains and losses, inflation and whether savings last throughout retirement.
State Pension, salary-related pension benefits, tax relief calculations, contribution limits and provider-specific charges.
Retirement taxation, taking tax-free cash, annuity pricing or a personalised recommendation about investing or withdrawing.

Pension investments can fall as well as rise. A projected value or a 4% illustration is not a guaranteed pension income.

Pension glossary: the words explained

Plain-English definitions of the finance, calculation and technical terms used on this page. Dotted links take you directly to the relevant definition.

Annual / monthly rate: Annual means per year; monthly means per month. A monthly rate is not interchangeable with an annual rate. The methodology explains this tool’s conversion.
Annual pension fee / net growth: A charge expressed per year. Here the fee percentage is subtracted from annual growth in percentage points; net growth means growth after that subtraction.
Annuity: A product bought with pension money to provide income under agreed terms. The calculator does not obtain an annuity quote.
Balance / outstanding balance: The money held in an account, or the amount still owed on a loan, at a given time.
Broker / credit broker / broker fee: A business that introduces customers to finance providers or helps arrange finance, rather than lending the money itself. A broker fee is a charge for that service.
Compounding / compound interest: Adding interest or investment growth to a balance so that it can itself earn interest or growth in later periods.
Contribution / total contributions: Money added to savings or a pension. In this tool total contributions includes the opening balance as well as future payments, not just new money.
Credit / finance / borrowing: Money made available to borrow and repay later, usually with interest or charges.
Defined benefit / salary-related pension: A pension promising benefits under rules often linked to pay and service rather than an individual investment pot. This calculator does not model it.
Drawdown / withdrawal assumption: Taking money from an invested pension. The tool’s 4% assumption simply divides 4% of the projected pot into 12 monthly amounts; it does not test how long the pot lasts.
Employer matching: An employer increasing its pension payment in relation to what an employee contributes, under the scheme’s rules. The calculator does not work this out automatically.
Estimate / illustration / projection: A result based on stated inputs and assumptions, not a promise of what will happen or a provider’s offer.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) / authorised and regulated: The UK financial-services regulator named in the site footer. Authorisation gives a firm permission for specified activities; regulation means it must follow the applicable rules.
Growth / investment return: The change in investment value. It can be positive or negative; a constant growth assumption is not a forecast.
HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs): The UK government department responsible for collecting and administering taxes including VAT and Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Inflation / purchasing power: Inflation is a rise in prices over time. Purchasing power is what money can buy; a future cash amount may buy less than the same amount today.
Investment gain/loss after fees / comparison baseline: The projected pot minus the opening pot and future contributions. Those starting funds and future payments form the comparison baseline. A positive difference is a gain; a negative difference is a loss after the modelled fees. It does not include inflation or income tax.
Lender / provider: The organisation supplying a loan or financial product and setting its terms.
Methodology: The calculation method, steps and assumptions behind an estimate.
Pension pot / defined contribution pension: Retirement savings whose value depends on contributions, investment performance and charges. This is different from a salary-related pension promise.
Percentage point: A difference between two percentages: 5% minus 0.75% is 4.25%, a reduction of 0.75 percentage points.
Personal / employer contribution: Money paid into a pension by the individual or by their employer. The calculator adds the two monthly amounts entered.
Retirement income / before-tax income: Money available during retirement. Before-tax means any tax due has not been deducted. The tool’s income figure is an illustration, not a guaranteed payment.
Rounding / unrounded: Shortening a number for display. An unrounded calculation keeps the more precise value when working out totals.
State Pension: A government retirement payment based on the applicable qualifying rules. It is not included in the projected pension pot or income here.
Sustainable withdrawal: An amount that can be taken while managing the risk of exhausting a pension. This depends on many factors and is not assessed by the fixed 4% shortcut.
Tax / tax treatment: An amount that may be payable to government and the rules deciding how it applies. The applicable rules depend on the transaction and circumstances.
Tax relief: A reduction in tax or a tax-related contribution available when the relevant qualifying rules are met.
Term / repayment period: The length of time over which the calculation runs. For borrowing, it is the planned repayment period, not necessarily the length of an introductory rate deal.
Volatility / sequence of returns: Volatility means investment values move up and down. Sequence of returns is the order in which gains and losses occur, which can matter especially when taking money out.
Withdrawal: Money taken out of savings or investments. This calculator does not model a schedule of withdrawals.

Frequently asked questions

Does it add pension tax relief automatically?

No. It adds exactly the personal and employer amounts entered each month. Check what actually reaches the pension so any tax-relief addition is neither missed nor counted twice.

Is the monthly income guaranteed?

No. It is simply 4% of the projected pot divided by 12 before tax. The tool does not test whether the pot lasts, obtain an annuity quote or recommend a withdrawal strategy.

Is the result in today’s money?

No. It is a future cash figure without inflation adjustment, so its purchasing power could be lower.

Does it include the State Pension?

No. It projects only the starting pot and contributions entered.

Why can investment gain/loss after fees be negative?

The projected pot can be lower than the opening pot plus future contributions when modelled losses or fees outweigh growth. For example, 0% growth with a positive fee produces a negative net growth assumption. A negative result is shown as a loss; it does not mean the pot itself is necessarily negative.

Explore your next step

Use scenarios to identify questions for your pension provider and compare them with your pension statements. Get guidance or advice suited to your circumstances before making retirement decisions.

About this explanation. The methodology describes this calculator. Worked examples were checked against its calculation and an independent calculation. This is general information, not a professional recommendation or formal compliance approval.

Further reading from MoneyHelper and government sources: