How to use Smart Pension's retirement tools

As an example, meet Fred who joined the Smart Pension scheme in 2019

• Age 53
• Status Single
• Planned retirement age 67
• Lives in the East Midlands

Fred has recently received his annual pension statement. He has never really paid much attention to his pension arrangements, but was happy he had one and that his employer was paying into the plan too. Fred admits he always thought this is something you should look at when you are older but he was surprised he will only receive £4,100 per annum from his workplace pension arrangement.

Fred has realised he has 14 years until his planned retirement age of 67, which matches his state retirement age. He has no idea how much he will need when he will retire or how long it should last – but as much as possible would be nice, and preferably more than £4,100 per annum.

Fred wants some help to understand how much he will need to be comfortable, so he uses the Retirement needs calculator. He selects the Moderate standard of living, which indicates that he will need an Annual income of £20,800.  

Fred is in good health and his family have a history of living into their eighties. He uses the Life expectancy calculator, which confirms Fred’s average life expectancy is 84 years.

Fred has realised he has some work to do on his retirement planning. Using the Retirement needs calculator has helped him focus on how much he will need to live comfortably. He decides he will actually need more than the suggested figure of £20,800, and thinks that he will need £25,000 a year for the retirement he has in mind.

Like Fred, you can use the tools to address the difficult but important questions so you can kick-start your retirement planning.

To get started, try our Retirement needs calculator and Life expectancy calculator.

Additional actions:

Check your State Pension forecast – GOV.UK

Bring your pensions together

Increase your pension contributions

Budget Planner | Free online budget planning tool | MoneyHelper