Retirement Planner

Can you afford to wait?

When considering saving for retirement you may have thought about how much income you will need. However, have you given any thought to whether the payments you propose to make to your plan will be sufficient to help you achieve your desired retirement income?

Why not try using our Retirement Planner? This has been designed to allow you to view the projected retirement income based on your proposed payments, to your pension plan, against the desired income you would like to receive at retirement.

Will the payments I make achieve my desired retirement income?

Our Retirement Planner will show you any potential shortfall between your projected retirement income and your desired income and the payment required to cover this shortfall (if applicable).

What happens if a shortfall is identified?

You can then choose to view the affects on your desired pension income by increasing/decreasing the payments you propose to make or by altering the age at which you wish to retire.

What are you waiting for?

To view your pension projections, please complete the details below and click to proceed. Initially, the target retirement income field will default to 75% of your annual salary; however, you will be able to alter the target income field, initial payment levels, retirement age by overtyping the amounts or by using the sliders to increase or decrease the amounts.

The retirement age field will also default to a retirement age of 65, which will allow you the option of including/excluding the Basic State Pension from your projections. As 65 is the earliest age from which you can choose to take your Basic State Pension, if you select an earlier retirement age you will not have the option to include this benefit in your projections.

Important information and assumptions are detailed below this screen and the Retirement Planner screen. Please use the scroll bar at the side of the screen to view this information.

Important information

These figures are only illustrative.
Your needs will be confirmed before a recommendation can be made.
A Key Features Document, together with a projection which is personal to your circumstances, will be provided if a recommendation for an investment product is made. You should read this before buying a product, in order to be aware of the risks and commitment involved.
This illustration shows, in today's prices, the pension that might be payable when you retire. This means that we have allowed for future inflation to give you an indication of how much you would be able to buy with your pension if it were payable today.

Tax

The maximum permitted payment you can make to a pension plan which is eligible for tax relief is the greater of 100% of your relevant UK earnings (annual salary) or £3,600 each year. Relevant earnings are the taxable annual income and any bonuses, commission or benefits in kind that you receive from employment or self employment. These limits are set by HM Revenue & Customs and apply to the total payments made by you and any third party to all your pension arrangements. Further payments can be made to a pension plan above these limits however these will not be eligible for tax relief. These limits do not apply to payments made by your employer.

There is also an Annual Allowance for tax relief on payments that you, your employer and any third party can make to all pension arrangements. The Annual Allowance for the tax year 2009/2010 is set at £245,000 and will be increased each year by the Government. Payments above the Annual Allowance will be subject to a 40% tax charge.

There is also a Lifetime Allowance on the total pension funds that can be used to provide benefits to you. The Lifetime Allowance for the tax year 2009/2010 is set at £1.75 million and will be increased each year by the Government. Payments from a fund(s) in excess of the Lifetime Allowance may be subject to a tax charge.

The minimum amount you can pay will be determined by the type of pension contract you have and your employer, while the maximum you can pay is set by HM Revenue & Customs. Certain types of company pension plan have rules on the age which you wish to retire - please speak to your employer if you require further information.

Tax rules and legislation may change. The value of tax relief may change and will depend on your financial circumstances. The information we have given is based on our understanding of law and HM Revenue & Customs practice at today's date.

Assumptions

The illustrations assume an annual growth rate of 7% and an annual management charge of 1%. The growth rate suitable for your choice of funds may be lower than the rate used in this illustration. If a lower growth rate was used, the amounts would be lower than those shown here.
When determining the values in today's terms, inflation in the Retail Prices Index is 2.5% each year.
Your payments into this plan are based on a percentage of salary and are assumed to increase each year in line with the Retail Prices Index (2.5% each year)
Your first pension payment will be paid on your birthday during the year of retirement and will be paid every month from this date until you die.
Your pension will alter in line with the Retail Prices Index each year from the time you start taking it.
When you retire you'll be married to someone three years younger than you (if you are male) or to someone three years older than you (if you are female).
Your spouse will get half your pension after you die.
We have assumed a single person's allowance for the Basic State Pension. This will differ when you retire depending on your personal circumstances.

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This website is intended for the information of residents of the United Kingdom. Standard Life Assurance Limited (SC286833), Standard Life Bank plc*, (SC173685), Standard Life Client Management Limited (SC193444) and Standard Life Savings Limited (SC180203) are all registered in Scotland at Standard Life House, 30 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2DH. Standard Life Investments Limited (SC123321) and Standard Life Investments (Mutual Funds) Limited (SC123322) are both registered in Scotland at 1 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LL. All companies authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (* except for Standard Life Bank plc's "Buy to Let" mortgages).