When could I retire? The retirement picture

The retirement picture · illustrative, in today's money

When could the maths reach £24,000 a year?

Your whole picture — pension, investments, accessible cash, what you add monthly — projected forward at assumptions you control. Everything below is in today's money, so the number means what it means now, with no mental deflating.

Your money now

Pensions

Investments (S&S ISA)

Accessible cash

Going in monthly

You + employer, all pots

Your age

yrs

The retirement you're pricing

Growth rate — yearly, before inflation

We assume 2% inflation, so a 5% growth rate is about 3% in today's money — which keeps every answer meaning what it means now. All five outcomes are always shown.

State Pension

Include the full new State Pension — about £12,548/yr from 67This is a bracketed illustrative figure. Your real entitlement depends on your National Insurance record — the gov.uk forecast is the truth, and it's free. Check your forecast.

On these assumptions, the maths reaches your target

around 2060 — you'd be 74 at 5% growth (about 3% after inflation)

Across all five growth rates: somewhere between 66 and 91. The date is a picture, not a promise — it moves as your real numbers do.

3%age 91 · 2077

4%age 80 · 2066

5%age 74 · 2060

6%age 69 · 2055

7%age 66 · 2052

The working: £24,000 a year minus about £12,548 State Pension leaves £11,452 a year for your pots to carry. The 25× rule of thumb prices that at 25 times — a target of about £286,300 in today's money. Your £30,000 of pensions and investments, plus £300 a month (assumed to rise with inflation), reaches it at the rates above. Change any number and the date follows.

The bridge, honestly: Private pensions unlock at 57 for most people. The years before that have to be carried by money you can actually reach — your accessible cash and ISA. That's the number early retirement really depends on, and almost nobody shows it. Right now that's £18,000 — about 0.8 years at £24,000.

For the decision itself, a regulated financial adviser can help.

An illustration at the assumptions shown, in today's money — not a forecast, a promise or a personal recommendation. Assumptions stated: 2% inflation; contributions rising with inflation; fees not modelled (a typical 0.5–1% of fees would land you between two growth chips — worth knowing). The 25× figure is a rule of thumb for picturing scale, not a plan; real retirement income depends on how money is taken, markets, tax and rules that change. The State Pension figure is the full 2026/27 amount, bracketed until you check your own forecast on gov.uk. For the decision itself, a regulated financial adviser can help. HMRC and your providers decide the final figures.