Self-Drive pension calculator
See how much your pension could be worth, based on a representative example and a few assumptions.
What could your pension be worth?
If you’re aged 45 years old and transfer in pensions worth £100,000 and make monthly payments of £500, at age 65 after a period of 20 years you will have made contributions worth a total of £220,000 and basic rate tax relief1 will add £30,000. So, that will be a total of £250,000 invested into your pension.
Below we show you what your pension pot could be worth in each of our four investment approaches, until you start to take your pension. For each approach we show you a range of estimates, for different market scenarios. They’re inflation adjusted and based on some assumptions.
Careful Defensive
For people looking to minimise and defend against ups and downs in their pension in the lead up to and through retirement, and are okay with limited potential for growth.
Investment mix
| Market Scenario | Low | Medium | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projected pension value | £249,000 | £390,000 | £613,000 |
| 25% tax free lump sum | £62,200 | £97,500 | £153,000 |
| Before-tax annual income | £10,300 | £17,400 | £28,900 |
Cautious Growth
For people looking to take a slower, cautious approach to growing their pension in the longer term – and looking to reduce ups and downs along the way.
Investment mix
| Market Scenario | Low | Medium | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projected pension value | £258,000 | £443,000 | £772,000 |
| 25% tax free lump sum | £64,500 | £110,000 | £193,000 |
| Before-tax annual income | £10,800 | £19,900 | £36,600 |
Balanced Growth
For people who prefer to take a balanced approach to growing their pension in the long term – and are comfortable with more ups and downs than with our Cautious Growth approach.
Investment mix
| Market Scenario | Low | Medium | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projected pension value | £244,000 | £510,000 | £1,090,000 |
| 25% tax free lump sum | £61,100 | £127,000 | £272,000 |
| Before-tax annual income | £10,200 | £22,600 | £53,000 |
Adventurous Growth
For people looking for higher potential to grow their pension in the long term – and willing to accept more ups and downs than with our Balanced Growth approach.
Investment mix
| Market Scenario | Low | Medium | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projected pension value | £205,000 | £556,000 | £1,540,000 |
| 25% tax free lump sum | £51,300 | £139,000 | £386,000 |
| Before-tax annual income | £8,660 | £24,800 | £73,900 |
Projection generated November 2025
More about our assumptions
What you’ll pay in
We assume you’ll keep making the same monthly payments until you start to enjoy the benefits of your pension.
Tax relief on your payments
We assume that basic rate tax relief will be added to your pension for all regular and one-off payments you make up to the age of 75. If you have told us that you want to make payments after age 75 then we haven’t added tax relief to those.
We assume the rate of tax relief will stay at the same level as it is today.
You may be able to claim more tax relief but it won’t be automatically added to your pension.
To keep things simple, we don’t limit the payments you’ll make (or tax relief you’ll receive) for HMRC Annual Allowance limits. But it’s really important you know that limits might apply and these could change in the future. To check details go to gov.uk.
Imagining the future
We consider past performance when estimating possible outcomes for your pension based on how much you invest, for how long and how the market might perform. However, past performance isn’t a reliable guide to future performance – investments can go up or down.
To work out this estimate we do lots of calculations behind the scenes. To keep it reasonable, we ignore both the highest and lowest 5% of results when we show you the estimated value range.
Considering inflation
We show what your pension pot and annual income might be worth in today’s money, after allowing for inflation. We consider lots of possibilities for inflation, rather than a single fixed % because the rate of inflation can rise and fall over time. Inflation reduces the value of what you can buy in the future as well as the value of your savings.
Deducting our charges
We have two charges, totalling up to 0.75% each year: an Account Charge (for managing your account) of 0.30% and an Annual Management Charge (for managing your investments) of 0.40% or 0.45%, depending on the fund(s) your pension invests in. Your estimate includes the relevant charges for your pension fund choice, and we’ve assumed they’ll stay the same for the time you’re investing with us.
When you access your pension benefits
At the moment, you can choose to take pension benefits from age 55. From April 2028 this will rise to 57.
We assume you’ll take 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free cash sum and use the rest to provide an annual income.
Although we don’t show it, there is a limit on the amount of tax-free cash you can take across all your pensions. It’s normally £268, 275 but this limit may change in future and may be different, depending on your personal circumstances.
For your estimated annual income we assume that you buy a guaranteed income for life (also called an annuity) which will provide you with a steady income for the rest of your life (or will pay out for five years if less). There’s no income payable to your spouse or civil partner if you die (except in the first five years).
We assume that your income remains at the same, fixed level for the rest of your life – that means it’d buy less over time if prices rise.
We show you the income before tax, but you should bear in mind that any income would be potentially subject to income tax.
You should be aware that other options are available when accessing income from your pension.
If you are unsure about options, limits and tax implications of accessing your pension you should consider taking financial advice.
What are the tax benefits of a pension?
A pension is a tax-efficient way to save for your retirement.
You can benefit from tax relief on your personal payments into your pension, up to your allowed limit.
Pension investments are free from income tax and capital gains tax, so you won’t pay tax on any dividends from shares and you won’t pay capital gains tax on any profits made from the investments within your pension.
Just so you know, when it’s time to take money from your pension, there is a limit on the total amount of tax-free cash you can take across all you pensions. It’s normally £268,275.
For more info, have a look at gov.uk.
Rounding things off
Finally, we round our estimates down a bit, just to make the numbers a bit easier to read — remember they’re only a guide.
So that’s how we work out your estimate.
Remember, these are only indications. What you get back will depend on how the funds perform, if you make changes to the length of time you’re investing, and if you change the amount you put in.
- You get tax relief on the money you and others pay in, up to age 75. You don’t get tax relief on employer contributions. Tax is credited at 20% which we reclaim from HMRC and add to your pension. Tax above the basic rate can be reclaimed via your tax return or by contacting HMRC. ↩︎
Remember, our estimates about your future returns aren’t guaranteed. These forecasts are not a reliable indicator of future performance but we hope they help. The value of investments can go up and down, so you may get back less money than you put in. Tax depends on your individual circumstances and the regulations may change in the future.
Want someone else to drive?
Check out our steered-for-you Navigator pension calculator. It’s like sat nav for your retirement journey.
Apply for Self-Drive pension
If you know enough about Self-drive and just want to get going, select an option