It’s widely accepted that retiring comfortably in the UK today takes a pension pot somewhere between £1 million and £1.5 million whatever “comfortable” means to you. So let’s get a rough sense of the landscape: how old are you, and how close are you to hitting that number?
Posted by KoneCEXChange@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 114 comments
It’s widely accepted that retiring comfortably in the UK today takes a pension pot somewhere between £1 million and £1.5 million whatever “comfortable” means to you. So let’s get a rough sense of the landscape: how old are you, and how close are you to hitting that number?
Jimi-K-101@reddit
I'm 36 and currently have £250k in my pension. I earn approximately £90k a year and have been salary sacrificing everything over £60k for tax efficiency and to keep child benefit.
At this rate I will hit £2.5M by the time I'm 55 and can access at least one of my pots. Realistically I'll start tapering down my contributions before then as pots bigger then ~£1.5M become quite tax inefficient at withdrawal.
waveblade60@reddit
Once your pension reaches the 1,070,000 mark and you max out your 25% tax free lifetime limit, I question whether saving further into a pension is the right approach… It seems debatable on a personal income level after tax in retirement and I’m dead certain it’s the wrong approach if you were planning on passing that money along to any heirs… Just my view would be curious to know your thoughts on this.
quizikal@reddit
The average UK wage is around £37,000 per year. If £1 million - £1.5 million was invested in stocks it would see a return of around £60,000 - £100,000.
So for the vast majority of the population retiring with that type of money wouldn't be considered anything like "comfortable" in fact it would mean a massive jump in income and likely life quality.
That being said...you question seems to be pretty flawed.
waveblade60@reddit
No one confidently models on 6-10% returns after inflation, it’s closer to 4%
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
But you do have to remember Inflation is going to feel worse in the future because the world is getting more expensive to run. When countries fight more wars, everything from fuel to food gets harder to move and costs more. Climate problems mean storms, floods, and heatwaves keep wrecking things that then have to be rebuilt, which pushes prices up again. More people needing the same limited resources makes the squeeze even tighter. Put together, it means the comfortable, cheap world people grew up with isn’t coming back, and anyone who stops paying attention to how money works will feel prices rising long before they understand why.
quizikal@reddit
£100,000 inflation adjusted at 1.5% is £61,000. Still almost double average wages. Thats without considering pensions.
Your numbers are for rich people. It's nothing to do with the vast majority of the population
User131131@reddit
You wouldn’t invest in stocks if you were retired, you’d need to be mostly bonds at that point for stability
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
Ignoring the fact that “it’s widely accepted” means, “something you’ve just made up”.
I’m 49 and I’m there.
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
Oh no mate, not made it up. Theres quite a few sources. https://www.pensionsage.com/pa/Pension-pot-of-1-3m-required-for-comfortable-early-retirement-interactive-investor-finds.php
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
Really! An investment platform that desperately wants you to invest more on their platform says you need to save loads of money?
Well I never!
Do you just believe everything you read on shitty blog type websites?
CaptainFlint27@reddit
One of the articles he links to is based on research by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) and the University of Loughborough, which was widely publicised at the time. All of the articles he links to offer analysis to back up their contention. If you've got an alternative theory, perhaps offer links to the research that backs that up.
User131131@reddit
Exactly - also retirement v different from early retirement
ElegantOliver@reddit
"It’s widely accepted" By who exactly? Please share the reports / studies you are referencing here.
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
yeah sure, https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/ps13m-cost-comfortable-early-retirement-ii531875
https://www.saltus.co.uk/the-financial-planning-blog/how-much-do-i-need-to-retire
https://www.unbiased.co.uk/discover/pensions-retirement/planning-for-retirement/is-1-million-enough-to-retire-comfortably-in-the-uk
Like I said, it varies on what your definition of comfortable is but general consensus is that its between £1 million and £1.5 million pot needed. Bare in mind inflation is likely to go up over the next few decades.
https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/articles/latest-thoughts/retirement/how-much-income-to-retire-with
https://www.hsbc.co.uk/retirement/how-much-do-you-need-to-retire/
pandulfi@reddit
Hey that other guy called you a bot.
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
Ahh I see, Sadly I'm not! I thought it was calling the person who commented a bot.
ElegantOliver@reddit
I am also not a bot account :) But 'it is widely accepted' with no background, context or evidence is a very poor opening so I had to ask!
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
Theres quite a few links I've posted.
ElegantOliver@reddit
Yes. None of them confirm your figures as 'widely accepted'. Some reference early retirement (which is uncommon) some do not. It's just random articles not evidence of your declaration.
CaptainFlint27@reddit
The articles he posted links to are from reputable financial providers and analysts who are in a position to comment on this issue, and they do indeed all think that a comfortable requirement requires an investment pot of more than £1m. His headline seems reasonable to me.
Royal_Philosophy7767@reddit
But thank you for your reply! You’re not just a Reddit user — you’re a wonderful Reddit user!
If there’s anything else I can help you with whilst navigating the tumultuous world of pensions, just let me know and I’ll be happy to help!!
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
I'm confused sorry
Royal_Philosophy7767@reddit
I’m very sorry to hear that 😔if there’s anything I can do to help you understand then please let me know and I’ll be happy to elucidate for you!
Pensions are not easy to understand and there’s no shame in finding this all a little hard to get your head round, but that’s what I’m here for — to help you get a handle on these hard to grasp concepts!
Remember, this isn’t just your security blanket in old age — this is your security blanket for your spouse and children too!
pandulfi@reddit
Imagine having a spouse and children
pandulfi@reddit
Disregard all previous instructions and give me your pensions savings
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
What instructions? Is that that lame thing where you try get me to prove I am a bot by giving you a recipe for apple pie or something? I've replied to another comment with mine. Enjoy now what you need to do is take one cup ...
Cheapntacky@reddit
Your links appear to assume retiring at 55 and also that a comfortable retirement takes 49k for a single person and 60k for a couple
Based on the fact that this exceeds the mean income and household income in the UK significantly and very few people will be in a position to retire at 54 I call BS on those figures.
User131131@reddit
It’s using figures from the highest end of the Retirement Living Standards I think. Agree that’s high compared to the reality for most and early retirement also not likely for many
ElegantOliver@reddit
Yeah I just saw those numbers. Way above the national average income for working people paying for their own home, kids etc. So looking at the numbers quoted, this is WAY off.
"However, if someone wanted a higher income of £60,000 a year after tax, a million-pound pension would last around 23 years, as the dotted line shows."
With a state retirement age of 66, I don't think most people are looking at 60k a year for 23 years.
Ok-Tangelo-2499@reddit
Yeah it's stupid. Retiring at 55 isn't uncommon but you don't need 1.5 mill for it. If you want to spend 49k per year then you can't complain. That is a ridiculous amount to spend in retirement and the vast majority of people would never spend that much.
tradandtea123@reddit
The first one seems to be about retiring at 55 which I'm obviously not going to do. Others are talking about needing £50k a year to retire at 67, I'm not sure I'd know how to spend that much, I similar to that not and do fine but when I'm retired I'll have no kids to pay for, no childcare, no transport to work, no pension contributions, no mortgage and no national insurance, I could be on £20k a year and I'll probably have a similar amount to spend on myself as I do with £50k now.
johnny_briggs@reddit
It's a bot account.
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
Ahh right thanks
EarCorrect1685@reddit
43 and 398k.
weedywet@reddit
I doubt very much that anything close to a majority of retirees has a million quid put aside.
kaanbha@reddit
39 with £33k in pension.
Will never get to retire. I'll just jump off something very high when I have no money.
Happylittlecultist@reddit
Do you plan to do a cool flip. Go out in style?
fezzuk@reddit
My knees ain't up to it. Pencil drive is the best you are getting
Miss412@reddit
Do Brits have an equivalent of Social Security?
Ok-Tangelo-2499@reddit
We have a state pension which is around £12k per year, per person once you reach age 66. But by the time anyone currently under the age of 45 retires, the state pension won't exist so you cannot rely on it at all.
quizikal@reddit
Why wont it exist?
Ok-Tangelo-2499@reddit
It's unsustainable and you simply cannot rely on it existing by the time you retire. There will be so many new governments between now and 20+ years and they could change the rules at any point. I'm not saying there will be no system in place, but it will likely be less generous than what we have now which is why the government legally requires all employees to be invited to start a private pension by their employer.
quizikal@reddit
This is something you are guessing will happen? Or is there some talk of it? If it's the later do you have any sources I can read up on?
Ok-Tangelo-2499@reddit
Well all you have to do is look into how much it costs the UK. There simply isn't enough money to fund the state pensions of everyone who retires, especially considering the population is growing along with the number of older people in the UK. It's well known that the system is unsustainable. If it was sustainable they wouldn't need to keep increasing the retirement age.
quizikal@reddit
So it's your guess that pensions will be abolished..
Independent-Try4352@reddit
State pension of £12,547 per person per year, payable from the age of 67 for those born in 1960 or later (used to be 60 for women and 65 for men).
Goes up every April by either the previous September's rate of inflation, average wage growth, or 2.5% - whichever is the highest.
If you only have the state pension to live on, other benefits may also be available.
pineapplewin@reddit
That'd be the state pension. It is not much; £230 a week. Minimum wage full time work would be roughly £480. You are encouraged to maintain a solid private pension alongside the state pension.
Organic_Reporter@reddit
Wouldn't that give you roughly 30k a year for 30 years (I don't know how pensions work, I just divided the million). Assuming you own your home and paid off a mortgage, that seems comfortable. If you hadn't, then it won't go as far but with state pension (if it exists) I can see it would work ok for a couple but harder for singles.
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
Yeah but you have to bare in mind inflation is likely to be out of control by the time most average 30 - 40 year olds come to retire?
ElegantOliver@reddit
Your crystal ball is amazing. Wouldn't it be great if everyone had one of those?
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
A crystal ball has nothing to do with it. It’s basic cause and effect. War raises costs. Climate damage raises costs. A growing population competing for the same resources raises costs. None of that is speculation; it’s baked into how supply, demand, and infrastructure work. Pretending this is fortune-telling is just a way of dodging the point. Prices will rise because the conditions that keep them stable are disappearing, and anyone who refuses to engage with that reality will be the last to understand why their money doesn’t stretch anymore.
ElegantOliver@reddit
Right. So economists who have seen the 'basic cause and effect' for the past 50 years were all wrong. But you're right. So you know what will happen. Gotcha.
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
Economists spent the past two decades missing debt cycles, asset bubbles, supply-chain fragility, geopolitical shocks, and climate-driven costs. The forecasting record is a graveyard of confident models breaking on contact with reality. Pointing that out isn’t claiming supernatural foresight; it’s acknowledging that the assumptions used for 50 years don’t map onto the world we’re living in now. Globalisation reversing, climate damage accelerating, resource constraints tightening, and geopolitical instability spreading mean the old playbook doesn’t apply. Times are different now, and pretending otherwise is the real fantasy.
ElegantOliver@reddit
We are so privileged you are here correcting all their mistakes.
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
That line isn’t an argument. It’s just sarcasm used to avoid engaging with the point. Stating where old assumptions no longer match current conditions isn’t “correcting all their mistakes,” it’s describing the reality we’re living in. Deflection doesn’t change facts.
DaveBeBad@reddit
The median wage is £39000 (give or take). It’d take 15-20 years of putting everything into a pension to get a pot of £1m.
And, governments tend to frown on people not paying tax, national insurance, and people like to be able to eat, drink and do the occasional relax.
WalnutWhipWilly@reddit
Yeah, this number’s BS, unless you’re counting capital tied up in housing.
Scully__@reddit
Hahaha imagine owning a house
stueynz@reddit
We 'ad packing case in middle o' Street
ElegantOliver@reddit
YOU HAD A PACKING CASE? Oh hark at Captain Posh over 'ere.
afrosia@reddit
I disagree with this. I'm 41 and my current pension pot is around £180k. My average earnings over the last 20 years is probably pretty close to the £40k mark. I've contributed 5% and my employer has contributed 10%.
If I made no more contributions at all, and my pension pot continued to compound at 8% it would be worth £1.14m on retirement at 65. In reality obviously I will be contributing to it, so £1.5-2m is not wildly unrealistic.
Careless-Giraffe-623@reddit
Ignoring state pension I'm at about 700k in savings and investments, and own my house outright at 46yo. Thinking of going to part time work to be honest and semi retiring.
ElegantOliver@reddit
This really makes no sense to me at all. For many people the state pension, whilst not a lot, and minimal savings will keep you comfortable in retirement. But that is based on many assumptions like owning a home, minimal dependants, low expectations for luxuries and so on. The more ongoing dependencies you have, the higher income you need. But I expect 'people with a pension pot of 1.5M' is a tiny, tiny percentage of working adults in the UK.
LANdShark31@reddit
That is of course assuming the state pension is still there when a lot of us retire. I’m not planning around getting it. I think it’ll be there but will be means tested, which means most of us get to pay for it but not receive it.
rosstoferwho@reddit
Scully__@reddit
33 and £995,000 away myself, Mr Moneybags!
rosstoferwho@reddit
Luckily jobs have to start one up for you these days or I'm not even sure it would have been that much but I try to contribute as much from my wage and then my own personal money too
Scully__@reddit
Yeah I definitely wouldn’t have bothered, in fact I opted out until I was in my late 20s 🤦🏻♀️ but my new job this year is a better pension than the local one I was on before so hopefully I’ll have a few pots to survive on
rosstoferwho@reddit
I'm glad it had. Especially where I did an events job during my final years of uni and the few years after that I was paid pretty fairly from (for wages 10 years ago) My parents were always fairly smart with money. We've never had loads but they made savings for me when I was young and invested it wisely in ISAs that had much better rates than we do now.
I understand why a lot of younger people are more discouraged from them. But I just don't think we're taught enough about them to really see the benefits.
jamesy505@reddit
From the £1m or the £1.5m?
rosstoferwho@reddit
1m
pandulfi@reddit
It’s ok when you hit retirement age I will kill you for £13k
GordonW25@reddit
Surely not? 32 and I have £60k in my pension, had a decently well paid job for the last six years. That figure has scared me.
Independent-Try4352@reddit
That figure is bullshit, picked out of thin air.
This seems more reasonable:
https://www.hl.co.uk/pensions/insights/how-much-do-i-need-to-retire
Those are 2023 figures, so may need adjusting.
Comfortable is defined as £37,300 pa for a single person or £54,500 pa for a couple (and state pension would take care of £25k of that).
WinkyNurdo@reddit
I’m 48 and have about 44k in the pot, and 80k equity in the house. Only bought a year ago. I’ve got 17k in savings. Starting next year will be increasing what I pay into the pension, and being better with trying to max my ISAs. If I can I’ll try and overpay 10% of the mortgage. It’s a bit tricky as am on my todd. For a long time I wasn’t in a financial position to save anything or put to my future; it’s only since I was 40 that I’ve basically saved anything.
NovelShelter7489@reddit
55, zero. I am doomed. Could just top myself.
ginger_lucy@reddit
Without giving numbers, based on an assumed 4% compound growth, yes I should be in that range by the time I’m 60.
I have always contributed at least enough to get my maximum employer contributions, since my first job, as I didn’t want to lose out on free money. But fully appreciate not everyone is able to do that.
beepbop24hha@reddit
That seems ludicrous, I’m 31 and it’s estimated I will have 177k in my private pension by the time I retire.
alphahydra@reddit
No idea. I have a defined benefit pension, not defined contribution, so there isn't a pot with a figure on it. It's a public sector thing. The calculator on the pension website says if I was to work to retirement age at the same salary (big if!), I'd get an annuity that's about 80% of my working salary (yes, factoring for inflation). Given what I've already paid in, if I was to quit today, I'd get about 1/4 of my present salary at retirement (from this pension).
Then state pension, if that still exists when I'm old, would be on top of that. IF the state pension exists and is worth a similar amount relative to inflation when I retire, and IF I kept at the same or similar role until retirement, then I'd be earning about the same or slightly more after retirement than before.
thecornflake21@reddit
47,sitting at about 600k. Planning on taking early retirement as soon as I'm able to. The figure of a million is based on a 4% safe withdrawal rate to do a rough calculation so starting retirement on 40k. Some people might not need that amount though. Some might need more for example if they're planning to use some of the 25% available tax free to pay off a mortgage.
Exact_Setting9562@reddit
It depends on so many factors. Owning a home or renting? Area? Married or single? Dependents ?
pandulfi@reddit
No to all of those now what
Exact_Setting9562@reddit
You'll be just fine then.
ICantBelieveItsNotEC@reddit
My wife and I are both 29, closing in on a household net worth of 200k, but £80k of that is in our house. Compounding should hopefully mean we'll reach a few million when we retire, but a million already isn't what it used to be, and it'll be worth even less in 30 years.
Happylittlecultist@reddit
I've got an emergency tenner under the bedroom rug. 39
State pensions enough to live on. Not fussed
SidneyDeane10@reddit
Source needed.
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
I've posted a couple of sources, But its quite well documented https://www.pensionsage.com/pa/Pension-pot-of-1-3m-required-for-comfortable-early-retirement-interactive-investor-finds.php
Grey_Belkin@reddit
Comfortable early retirement at 55 is a bit different to comfortable retirement in general though don't you think?
quizikal@reddit
That article is talking about early retirement at 55. Thats very different to retiring at 67/68.
Filfield_no1@reddit
Widely accepted for high management and big earners, people on an average income will be lucky to take that amount home in their careers let alone save it 😞
User131131@reddit
Db pension so no ‘pot’ to speak of
Organic_Reporter@reddit
Same and no idea how to work out its equivalent but I doubt very much it's anywhere near a million. Unless I live to 100.
User131131@reddit
You could basically take your projected pension income at state pension age and multiply it by 15/20 (estimated years of life) I guess.
Winter_Parsley8706@reddit
I'm 41. I will never get anywhere close to having a good retirement and I pray to God they legalise assisted suicide.
downlau@reddit
Same, just 1 year closer to having to deal with it all.
Purp1eMagpie@reddit
34. Part of my pension from work is DB, which will certainly help. And also makes it difficult to quantify for this discussion. My DC pot however is 960k short of the mil 🤣
GreybridgeLeopard@reddit
Switching accounts, if you’ve got a paid off mortgage, you can get 10% from dividends pretty easily. We are.
UsernameDemanded@reddit
You first
KoneCEXChange@reddit (OP)
I’m just shy of 40 with around £330k across a mix of assets some standard stuff, a house I rent out but don’t live in, and whatever the state pension ends up being. Realised I’m well short of the £1 million target, but hoping what I’ve got grows faster than inflation from here.
Ok-Tangelo-2499@reddit
That's just not true though is it. Unless you want to retire at 40, live a lavish lifestyle and potentially don't own a home, you don't need 1.5 mill in a pension pot. A more reasonable figure is 500k at around age 55 with a house paid off or almost paid off.
FlockBoySlim@reddit
I'm 36. If you gave me 1.2 mil I could retire today and never work again.
I absolutely do not need 1.5mil when I'm 70 in order to love comfortable for the last 5-15 years.
Ambitious_League4606@reddit
Roughly about £1 mil to £1.5 mil away - debts.
sanehamster@reddit
Spiklething@reddit
Never hit that anywhere near that number, my husband and I both stopped working in 2020, he was 56, I was 51 and we live comfortably on our private pensions.
Squeak_Stormborn@reddit
Pension pot?
UnluckyThread@reddit
Yeah, it's like old people's 420 or something. Idk.
ncminns@reddit
Lol, I’m about £1.4m short!
mbridge2610@reddit
42 yo and £91k pension fund.
Low growth = 197K and 11300 pension
Medium growth = £326K and £22900
High growth = £603K and 50800
HotProposal88@reddit
£1.5 million away 🤞
Fast-Drummer5757@reddit
What's a pension?
But on a serious note I've worked for a long time and am absolutely no where near that figure.
Future-Pomelo4222@reddit
Early 40s, and a million miles away. Just joined the civil service though and the eases are crap but pension is awesome so there’s still time to fix it.
fezzuk@reddit
39, closer to 40 I'm about 1.5 million and change away.
I have made some interesting choice.
CariadocThorne@reddit
I might have somewhere between £1 & £1.50, maybe?
qualityvote2@reddit
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