{"id":67878,"date":"2025-05-02T08:08:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T08:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/67878\/"},"modified":"2025-05-02T08:08:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T08:08:12","slug":"how-much-you-should-have-in-your-pension-pot-at-every-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/67878\/","title":{"rendered":"How much you should have in your pension pot at every age"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\tNew figures reveal the targets you should be hitting from your twenties to fifties if you want a comfortable retirement. Here’s how much you will need to have saved\u00a0\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

Retirement might feel like a distant concern when in the thick of working life, but how much you save \u2013 and when you start \u2013 can make all the difference between scraping by and living comfortably in your later years.<\/p>\n

The amount you will need in your pension pot<\/a> depends on many factors including your housing situation, whether you\u2019ll have dependents, your health and life expectancy, and, crucially, whether you\u2019ll still be paying rent or a mortgage in retirement.<\/p>\n

For younger generations, in particular, the financial outlook is shifting.<\/p>\n

Fewer people own their homes outright by retirement age, and long mortgage terms \u2013 sometimes stretching into a borrower\u2019s seventies \u2013 mean that the old assumption of being housing-cost free in later life no longer holds for many.<\/p>\n

Rising life expectancy also means savings may need to last<\/a> for 20 to 30 years or more.<\/p>\n

At the same time, relying solely on the state pension \u2013 which for the full new rate currently provides \u00a311,973 per year \u2013 is unlikely to deliver anything close to a \u201ccomfortable\u201d lifestyle, particularly if it is subject to future reforms such as means testing.<\/p>\n

All of this makes personal pension saving<\/a> more important than ever. But how much should you have tucked away by the time you\u2019re 30, 40, or 50?<\/p>\n

Here, The i Paper breaks down the figures, provided by wealth management firm Quilter, and speaks to experts about what you should aim for at each stage of life \u2013 and what to do if you\u2019re not quite there yet.<\/p>\n

All assumptions for how much are needed at each age are based on individuals who have an average\u00a0of five per cent annual growth on a moderate pension portfolio with\u00a0an annual salary of \u00a340,000 contributions with five per cent employee and three per cent employer contributions increasing with inflation. It also assumes people are retiring at 65.<\/p>\n

In your twenties: it\u2019s all about starting early<\/p>\n

The good news is, if you\u2019re 20 and expect to get the full state pension, you technically don\u2019t need anything in your pension pot yet to reach the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association\u2019s (PLSA) minimum lifestyle target, which Quilter used to crunch the numbers.<\/p>\n

However, the minimum target is \u00a314,400 a year for a single person, which would not offer enough for those looking to have a more comfortable retirement. <\/p>\n

For a moderate lifestyle with the state pension<\/a>, you\u2019ll need around \u00a317,400 saved \u2013 and without the state pension, that figure jumps to \u00a374,000, according to the figures.<\/p>\n

For those eyeing a comfortable retirement, you\u2019ll need \u00a3102,000 with the state pension or \u00a3167,000 without.<\/p>\n

This means people looking for a more pleasant retirement may wish to start their pension pot in their twenties, tucking away what they can. This could vary depending on how much they are earning or how much they can afford to put aside.<\/p>\n

Ian Futcher, financial planner at Quilter, said the early period of working is crucial: \u201cWhile these figures are only a guide it is worth noting that you need to build up a relatively significant pension pot just to achieve a moderate lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting young is key as pension pots have a compounding effect that helps money grow much more the longer it is in the pot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Smith, financial planning partner at Evelyn Partners, added a word of warning for the next generation, saying: \u201cFor those who are aged 20 or 30, it would be prudent to plan for retirement assuming that they will receive either no state pension, or a reduced state pension.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is highly likely that some form of means testing will be introduced within the next few decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

In your thirties: building consistency<\/p>\n

By 30, you should ideally have \u00a314,000 saved to meet the minimum standard without the state pension.<\/p>\n

However, only \u00a3100 is needed if you expect to receive it. Throughout the figures will show the sharp difference the state pension makes in how much people should save dependent on whether they expect to receive it or not. <\/p>\n

To maintain a moderate lifestyle, you\u2019ll need \u00a362,500 with the state pension or \u00a3134,000 without. For a comfortable retirement, that rises to \u00a3165,600 with the state pension and \u00a3242,000 without.<\/p>\n

This is where people often begin to worry they\u2019ve fallen behind \u2013 but Craig Rickman, personal finance editor of interactive investor (ii) said there\u2019s still time to course correct.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIf your pension savings are a bit light by the time you hit your thirties or forties, try not to panic.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore immediate financial goals such as buying a home<\/a>, getting married and starting a family may naturally take priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he said now is the time to get serious. He added: \u201cA really good starting point is to think about the things you\u2019d like to do in retirement and calculate how much your desired lifestyle will cost every year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen head online and find a pension calculator to estimate what action is needed to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

His key tips are:<\/p>\n