Pension & Financial Freedom Calculator
Project your ISA and SIPP savings across three real-return scenarios and see your financial independence date — free, no sign-up.
Starting amount
Monthly contribution
Totals are used as entered; account-level limits may apply — switch to account breakdown to check.
Your age today & at retirement
Expected annual return
Nominal, before inflation.
Expected inflation
Advanced settings
UK ISA allowance: £20,000/yr, all ISA types combined.
≈ £1,693/mo illustrative retirement withdrawal · funds last beyond age 90
Assumptions & sources
- Conservative real return:3.5%(editorial planning scenario, not a forecast)
- Base real return:5.0%(editorial planning scenario, not a forecast)
- Optimistic real return:6.5%(editorial planning scenario, not a forecast)
- Annual fee (subtracted from each scenario):0.50%
- Withdrawal rate:4.0%
- Contribution timing:Year-end(contributions land once per year and stop at your chosen retirement age)
- Inflation (documentation only):2.5%(not applied a second time — every figure above is already in today's money; this rate only shows nominal ≈ real + inflation)
- Editorial long-run assumption — effective 12 Jul 2026 · verified 12 Jul 2026
- ISA annual allowance (all ISA types combined) — effective 6 Apr 2025 · verified 12 Jul 2026
Best matches for your retirement plan
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Methodology
Every figure on this page is in today’s purchasing power. Growth uses three real (already inflation-adjusted) return scenarios — conservative, base and optimistic — so nothing is inflated a second time. Your annual fee is subtracted from each scenario exactly once.
The three scenarios are editorial planning ranges, not forecasts or regulatory figures. We derive them by triangulating the published nominal return ranges of diversified portfolios from three research providers — the Vanguard Capital Markets Model, the BlackRock Capital Market Assumptions and the J.P. Morgan Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions — then subtracting a documented 2.5% inflation assumption and rounding to three deliberately wide scenarios (nominal ≈ real + inflation). We do not claim probabilities for any scenario, and we review this methodology at least annually against fresh publications from the same three providers.
You enter a nominal return and expected inflation; we subtract inflation to project in today’s purchasing power (real return ≈ nominal − inflation). Conservative and optimistic scenarios are a ±1.5 percentage point editorial range around your own real-return figure, not a second set of inputs.
Your ISA and SIPP balances shelter growth from UK tax the same way the accounts themselves do — the engine does not model CGT or dividend tax separately for the ISA/SIPP portion. The current ISA allowance is £20,000 per tax year, across all ISA types combined — used only as an informational context chip in the Contributions step, never as an automatic clamp on your simple-mode total.
Any expected State Pension or other retirement benefit comes entirely from your own official estimate — see “How is my State Pension calculated?” below — and counts only from the age you say it starts.
Not financial advice. This tool is for education and planning only. It does not know your full financial picture, tax situation or risk tolerance — consult an FCA-regulated financial adviser before acting on retirement decisions. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in future.
Worked example
A 30-year-old planning to retire at 65 with £20,000 in ISA and SIPP savings and £5,000 in a taxable account, contributing £400/month at a 0.5% annual fee, targeting £4,000/month in today’s money at a 4.0% withdrawal rate — these are the same numbers already filled in above, shown as the “Example result” until you change anything.
Your official State Pension forecast
Wealth Horizon never estimates entitlement or benefit amounts automatically. Get your own personalised forecast from GOV.UK’s “Check your State Pension forecast” service and enter the monthly amount and starting age in the Assumptions step — the projection counts it only from that age onward.
FAQ
Is this financial advice?
No. Wealth Horizon is an educational planning tool, not personalised financial or tax advice. It illustrates three scenarios from the numbers you enter — talk to an FCA-regulated financial adviser before making retirement decisions.
Why is everything shown in today's money instead of nominal pounds?
All figures use real (inflation-adjusted) returns, so a result of "£3,000/month" means £3,000 of today's purchasing power — not a bigger nominal number that buys less in the future. This avoids the illusion of growth from inflation alone.
What happens if I enter an ISA contribution above the annual allowance?
In simple mode, your total is used exactly as entered and never clamped — you'll see an informational note that account-level limits may apply. In account breakdown mode, the ISA allowance is applied only when you've also entered that account's year-to-date contribution, and the clamp is always shown with the amount applied.
How is my State Pension calculated?
It isn't — Wealth Horizon never estimates your State Pension entitlement. Get your own forecast from GOV.UK's "Check your State Pension forecast" service and enter the monthly amount and the age it starts; the calculator counts it only from that age onward.
What does "financial independence" mean here?
The financial independence (FI) date is the first projected year in which your illustrative withdrawal plus any benefit you've entered would cover your target monthly income, for the scenario shown. If that never happens by your chosen retirement age, we say so instead of showing a date.
Can I change the withdrawal rate?
Yes — the withdrawal rate is adjustable from 2.5% to 5.0% (default 4.0%) in the Assumptions step, and every result recalculates immediately using the rate you choose.
Why do you subtract inflation?
You enter a nominal return and expected inflation; we subtract inflation to project in today's purchasing power (real return ≈ nominal − inflation). A 9% nominal return during 4% inflation buys the same as a 5% real return during 0% inflation — showing the real number avoids the illusion of growth from inflation alone.
Related tools
- Money Leak Scanner UK — find more money to put toward these contributions.
- ISA Tax Savings Calculator — model just your ISA’s tax-free growth.
- Personal Finance guides — broader UK saving and investing coverage.