Get retirement ready
Let’s work out what income you might need for the lifestyle you’d like to live.
Retirement Living Standards
The Retirement Living Standards from Pensions UK and Loughborough University aim to offer a clear and realistic view of people’s retirement spending in the UK, helping you use your current lifestyle and cost of living as a guide for what you might need in the future.
The figures can be shown using two different options, ‘two person’ household for those living with another person and having a joint expenditure or a ‘one person’ household for those living alone on one income. Within the spending categories, the specific breakdown of costs and how they are shared will vary from household to household.
The figures below show how much someone may spend at retirement across three different living standards. Please remember they are an estimated expenditure, not an income.
Minimum
One Person: £13,400
Two Person: £21,600
A ‘minimum’ lifestyle covers all your needs, with some left over for fun and social occasions.
Moderate
One Person: £31,600
Two Person: £43,900
A ‘moderate’ lifestyle provides more financial security and more flexibility.
Comfortable
One Person: £43,900
Two Person: £60,600
A lifestyle that allows you to be more spontaneous with your money.
How are the retirement living standards calculated?
The Retirement Living Standards, based on independent research by Loughborough University, have been developed to help individuals picture what kind of lifestyle they could have in retirement and the costs involved. The Standards are provided by Pensions UK and Loughborough University. Read more here.
The Standards in more detail
For many people their private and State Pension (full State Pension for 2025/26 is £230.25 a week, £11,973 per year) and other savings could go a long way towards paying these outgoings. This means, two people in receipt of the full State Pension will already have enough to cover the Minimum level costs.
Explore the categories to picture what life in retirement could look like for each of the Standards.
| Minimum | Moderate | Comfortable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate expenditure | £13,400 a year | £31,700 a year | £43,900 a year |
| Standard of living | Covers all your needs, with some left over for fun | More financial security and flexibility | More financial freedom and some luxuries |
| House | DIY £200 a year to maintain condition of your property. | £500 a year to maintain condition of your property, £300 contingency. | £600 a year to maintain condition of your property, £300 contingency. |
| Food | Around £55 a week on groceries, £30 a month on food out of the home, £12 per month on takeaways. | Around £56 a week on groceries, £32 a week on food out of the home, £11 a week on takeaways, £106 a month to take others out for a monthly meal. | Around £75 a week on food, £42 a week on food out of the home, £21 a week on takeaways, £106 a month to take others out for a monthly meal. |
| Transport | No car, free bus pass, £30 per month for two taxi trips, £180 per year to cover 3 rail journeys. | 3-year-old small car, replaced every 7 years, £22 a month on taxis, £104 per year on rail fares. | 3-year-old small car, replaced every 5 years, £22 a month on taxis, £208 per year on rail fares. |
| Holidays & Leisure | A week long UK holiday. TV license and broadband plus a streaming service with ads. £20 per week for activities. | A fortnight 3* all-inclusive holiday in the Med and a long weekend off peak break in the UK. TV license and broadband plus two streaming services. £43 per week for activities. | A fortnight 4* holiday in the Med with around £100 per person spending money and 3 long weekend breaks in the UK with £400 spending money per break. Extensive bundled broadband, streaming and TV entertainment subscription. £54 a week for activities. |
| Clothing & Personal | Up to £450 for clothing and footwear. | Up to £1,548 for clothing and footwear. | Up to £1,548 for clothing and footwear. |
| Helping Others | £20 for each birthday and Xmas present. | £30 for each birthday and Xmas present, £200 a year charity donation, £1,000 for supporting family members e.g. paying for grandchildren activities. | £50 for each birthday and Xmas present, £300 per year charity donation, £1,000 family support. |
| Minimum | Moderate | Comfortable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate expenditure | £21,600 a year | £43,900 a year | £60,600 a year |
| Standard of living | Covers all your needs, with some left over for fun | More financial security and flexibility | More financial freedom and some luxuries |
| House | DIY £200 a year to maintain condition of your property. | £500 a year to maintain condition of your property, £300 contingency. | £600 a year to maintain condition of your property, £300 contingency. |
| Food | Around £109 a week on groceries, £60 a month per household on food out of the home, £24 a month per household on takeaways. | Around £103 a week on groceries, £63 a week per household on food out of the home, £21 a week per household on takeaways, £106 a month to take others out for a monthly meal. | Around £134 a week on food, £85 a week per household on food out of the home, £32 a week per household on takeaways, £105 a month to take others out for a monthly meal. |
| Transport | No car, free bus pass, £30 per month to cover two taxi trips, £180 per year per person to cover 3 rail fares. | 3-year-old small car, replaced every 7 years, £22 a month on taxis per household, £104 a year on rail fares per person. | 3-year-old small car, replaced every 5 years, £22 a month on taxis per household, £208 a year on rail fares per person. |
| Holidays & Leisure | A week long UK holiday. TV license and broadband plus a streaming service with ads. £20 a week per person for activities. | A fortnight 3* all-inclusive holiday in the Med and a long weekend off-peak break in the UK with £321 spending money. TV license and broadband plus two streaming services. £43 a week per person for activities. | A fortnight 4* half board holiday in the Med with around £100 per person per day spending money and 3 long weekend breaks in the UK with £400 spending money per break. Extensive bundled broadband, movie and TV entertainment subscription. £54 a week per person for activities. |
| Clothing & Personal | Up to £450 for clothing and footwear each year per person. | Up to £1,548 for clothing and footwear each year per person. | Up to £1,548 per person for clothing and footwear each year. |
| Helping Others | Twelve gifts of £20 for birthdays and the same amount for 12 Xmas presents. | Twelve gifts of £30 for each birthday and the same amount for 12 Xmas presents, £200 per household a year for charity donations. £1,000 for supporting family members e.g. paying for grandchildren activities, treats, trips etc. | Twelve gifts of £50 for each birthday and the same amount for 12 Xmas presents, £300 per household a year for charity donations. £1,000 for supporting family members e.g. paying for grandchildren activities, treats, trips etc. |
The figures shown are the amounts of annual expenditure required to achieve the living standard (ie they are not gross income figures).
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