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Income based goal calculator

Work out the pot you need to fund a future income, and how much you need to put away each month to build it.

1Your income goal
£
years
Years from now. Set to 0 if you want the income straight away.
years
How long the money has to keep paying out. 30 years is the usual starting point for retirement.
2Where you are now
£
Pensions, ISAs and other investments earmarked for this goal. Leave blank if you are starting from scratch.
3Assumptions
%
Before charges
%
Long run
%
Platform, funds, advice
£
In today's money.
Advanced settings

Taking the income at the start of each year rather than the end means the first payment never gets a year of growth, which raises the pot needed by roughly 3 to 4 per cent.

Enter an income first. The report opens in a print window: choose "Save as PDF" as the destination.

Education only. This is not personal financial advice or a recommendation. The model assumes the same return every single year, so it tells you nothing about sequence risk, the danger of poor returns landing in the years just before or just after the income starts. Monthly saving is assumed to be invested at the end of each month. Tax relief, tax on withdrawals and state pensions are ignored. Capital is at risk when you invest.

Your results
Enter an income to see your plan.
You need to save each month
£…
 

What your income really means

Today's money
£…
Cash in the future
£…

The pot you need when the income starts
In today's money
£…
 
In future cash
£…
What your statement will actually show
How you get there
Your current savings grow to
£…
 
Total you pay in
£…
In cash, over the saving years
Starting withdrawal rate
…
Real return after charges
…
Total income drawn
£…
In today's money
Pot left at the end
£…
In today's money

What happens to the pot

Building it up, then drawing the income, year by year

Today's money Cash terms

How much does the return assumption matter?

The same goal, with a different expected return.

Expected return Monthly saving Pot needed (today's money)
Today's money vs future money: prices rise over time, so a pound in 20 years buys less than a pound today. Figures in today's money have that stripped out, so you can judge them against what things cost now. Figures in future cash are what will actually land in your account. The multiple is the pot divided by the income, both in today's money. The familiar 25 times rule is the special case where the income rises with inflation, the pot keeps its buying power and the real return after charges is 4 per cent a year.