Am I Too Late? Lifestyle Calculator

Why the jump from Minimum to Moderate is so big: the State Pension covers about 90% of the Minimum standard but only 38% of Moderate. Everything above Minimum you fund yourself, so the shortfall goes from about £1,350 a year to about £20,150 — and the pot rises with it.

These figures assume a full new State Pension (£12,548 a year, which needs 35 qualifying years). Plenty of people will get less — time out of work, low earnings or years abroad can all leave gaps. If yours will be lower, add roughly £20–£25 of pot for every £1 a year you are short. Check yours at gov.uk/check-state-pension. They also assume you stop work at State Pension age. Retiring earlier means funding those years entirely yourself, so add roughly £12,500 for each year early if you are on your own, or £25,000 for a couple.

The tier figures above show how big a pot you would need — not whether you are on track to reach one. That depends on your age, what you have already saved and what you add each month, none of which this calculator models. The Monte Carlo simulator in the Late Starter’s Money Toolkit runs thousands of scenarios to show a range of outcomes rather than a single figure. (Paid tool.)

Based on the current Retirement Living Standards (Pensions UK): £13,900 / £32,700 / £45,400 a year for one person, £22,500 / £45,400 / £62,700 for two. Earlier podcast episodes used the standards in force at the time, so those figures differ. Figures checked July 2026.