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When Can I Retire Calculator
The earliest age you could retire and still have money at the age you choose, in today’s money and before tax
When Can I Retire Calculator 2026/27
How much is enough, and when could you stop?
Six numbers, plus the growth and inflation rates you choose. It builds your pensions and investments up while you save, then draws them down at the income you want.
Based on tax rates and allowances in England, 2026/27
Many people plan to 95 or beyond, as a margin for living longer than average.
Enter your own rates. Many planners use 3% to 6% a year for a mixed portfolio after charges. These are not forecasts, and returns can be lower. UK inflation has averaged around 2% to 3% a year over the last 30 years. The tool works in today’s money, using growth less inflation.
What the numbers say (before tax, in today’s money)
Enter your ages, what you hold, the income you want and your growth and inflation rates to see the earliest age you could retire.
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Your pot, year by year, in today’s money
Saving Drawing an income Hover over or tap a bar to see its value
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Illustrative only, not financial advice. The calculator is based on tax rates and allowances in England for 2026/27, and shows every figure before tax. It covers your pensions and investments only, and leaves out any other income you may have in retirement. Growth is applied at the same rate every year, so this is a straight line assumption rather than a forecast. Real returns rise and fall, and the order of good and bad years changes the outcome. Every figure is in today’s money, using growth less inflation. Contributions are added each year until the age you stop. Tax on withdrawals is deliberately excluded, and for most people it is the biggest number planning can improve. The results depend entirely on what you enter and your circumstances may differ. Talk your figures through with us, the first conversation is free.
One question, asked five different ways
How much do I need to retire? Can I retire at 55? Is £500,000 enough? What income will £1 million give me? They are the same question. The inputs are always the same too. Your age now, the age you want to stop, what you have, what you add, and what you want to live on.
The calculator above joins the two halves most tools keep apart. First it builds the pot up while you are saving. Then it draws the pot down at the income you want, and shows the age the money runs out. It also searches for the earliest retirement age that keeps the money going to the age you choose. That number is usually the one people are really asking for. If you follow the FIRE approach, financial independence and retiring early, the inputs are the same and so is the test.
The tool looks only at your pensions and investments, and the income you want them to pay. Tax is left out on purpose. How you draw from pensions, ISAs and savings, and in what order, decides what you actually keep. We cover that in how to reduce tax on pension withdrawals. For the drawdown years on their own, use the pension drawdown calculator. For the specific ages people ask about, see retiring at 55 and how much you need to retire at 60.
Frazer James is an independent, FCA-regulated firm of Certified Financial Planners. Advice covers the whole of the market, there is no initial fee, and the first meeting is free.
Saving and spending in one picture
The purple bars show the pot building while you save. The gold bars show it paying out once you stop. Hover over any bar to see the value at that age.
The earliest age is a test, not a promise
The tool tries every retirement age from now to 80 and reports the first one that keeps the money going to the age you choose. Change the income or the monthly amount and watch that age move.
Straight line growth, real life is not
Growth is applied at the same rate every year. Markets do not do that. A poor run of returns in the first years of drawing changes the result more than the average rate does.
Since working together, I feel more organised, more secure and more positive about the future. The advice has been exceptionally valuable, financially, professionally and personally.
Questions people ask about when they can retire
How much do I need to retire in the UK?
It depends on the income you want and the age you stop. A common guide is 25 times the income your pot has to pay each year. If you want £40,000 a year from your pensions and investments, that is about £1,000,000. The calculator above does this properly, year by year, and shows the earliest age your numbers allow.
Can I retire at 55 with £500,000?
Take a £30,000 a year income from 55. If growth is 5% a year after charges and inflation is 2%, a £500,000 pot lasts to about 78. Whether that is enough depends on your spending, your plans and your appetite for risk. Put your own numbers into the calculator and see the age the money runs out.
What growth and inflation rates should I assume?
The calculator leaves both blank, so you choose them. Many planners use 3% to 6% a year for a mixed portfolio after charges. UK inflation has averaged around 2% to 3% a year over the last 30 years. The tool works in today's money, using growth less inflation. Higher growth or lower inflation flatters the result. The calculator applies the same rates every year, which real markets never do. Treat anything above 8% real as a stress test rather than a plan.
What income does the calculator include?
Only the income your pensions and investments pay you. Other income is left out, because amounts and start dates differ so much from person to person. Enter the yearly income you want your pot to provide, and the calculator shows how long it lasts.
Why does the calculator leave out tax?
Because tax depends on choices the tool cannot see. Beyond the 25% tax-free element, pension withdrawals are taxed as income. Drawing the same total from a pension, an ISA and savings in a different order can change the bill by thousands a year. That sequencing is where advice tends to pay for itself, so the tool shows figures before tax and leaves the planning to a conversation.
Reviewed by
BSc, MLIBF, PETR, Chartered ALIBF · Co-Founder and Chartered Associate
Chris has spent over a decade in financial planning and specialises in research and technical analysis. He checks every figure and calculation on this page before it is published.
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