mySal Retirement

Retirement and pension planning, in plain numbers

Retirement planning gets treated as a mystery, and it really isn't one. It comes down to four things: how much goes in, how long it grows, what it costs you, and how you draw it out. This section walks through each of them with your own figures, connects every relevant mySal calculator, and tells you plainly where the estimates end and real advice begins.

Check your retirement readiness Project your pension pot

The four things that decide your retirement

Everything else is detail hanging off these.

1

How much goes in

Your own contributions plus anything your employer adds. Employer matching is the single highest-return thing most people can do with a pound — it is free money you cannot get anywhere else.

2

How long it grows

Money invested at 25 has forty years to compound; money invested at 55 has ten. Time does more of the work than clever investment picking ever will.

3

What it costs you

Charges, fees and tax quietly compound too. A 1% annual charge instead of 0.3% can take a meaningful slice out of a lifetime pot, so it is worth knowing what you pay.

4

How you draw it

The pot is not the point — the income is. Drawing too fast risks running out; drawing too slowly means living smaller than you needed to. This is where planning pays for itself.

What to do, decade by decade

You cannot do everything at once — and you don't need to. Find your decade and do those things.

  1. 20s

    Start small, but start

    • Join the workplace pension and contribute at least enough to get the full employer match.
    • Pick a low-cost global fund rather than agonising over choices — consistency beats optimisation here.
    • Set the contribution as a percentage, so it rises automatically every time your pay does.
    • Build a small cash buffer first so you never have to stop contributing in a bad month.
  2. 30s

    Make raises do the work

    • Split every pay rise: some to life, some straight to the pension. You never miss what never arrives.
    • Track down old pensions from previous jobs — small forgotten pots are extremely common.
    • Check the charges on each pot; consolidating high-cost ones can save years of growth.
    • Balance mortgage overpayments against pension contributions using the actual numbers, not instinct.
  3. 40s

    Get honest about the number

    • Work out the annual income you actually want, then work backwards to the pot it needs.
    • Use higher-rate tax relief while you have it — this is often the cheapest decade to contribute in.
    • Review your state pension record for gaps; missing years reduce a guaranteed income for life.
    • Write down the plan, including the retirement age. Vague plans quietly slip.
  4. 50s

    Reduce surprises

    • Run the projection every year rather than every decade — corrections are cheap while you still earn.
    • Decide your intended withdrawal approach, so you are not choosing under pressure later.
    • Think about gradually reducing risk, without going so defensive that a thirty-year retirement loses to inflation.
    • Model an early finish. Ill health and redundancy end more careers than people expect.
  5. 60s and beyond

    Turn the pot into a wage

    • Sequence your income: which pot first, which tax allowance, which year.
    • Keep one to two years of spending in cash so you never sell investments in a falling market.
    • Claim state entitlements at the age that suits your plan — deferring can pay more per year.
    • Revisit annually. Retirement spending is rarely flat: it is usually busy, then quieter, then care-heavy.

Your retirement toolkit

Every mySal calculator that touches retirement, grouped by what you're trying to work out.

Know where you stand

Start here — measure the pot and the target.

Build the pot

Contributions, tax relief and growth over time.

Protect the plan

Inflation, shocks and an early finish.

Spend it well

Turning the pot into income you can live on.

Retirement guides

Written for people who want the reasoning, not just the rule of thumb.

How much do you actually need to retire?

A method for turning the vague worry of "is it enough?" into one number you can plan against, using your own spending rather than a magazine figure.

6 min read

Pension basics, explained without the jargon

What a pension actually is, why it beats an ordinary savings account for retirement money, and the handful of terms worth understanding.

5 min read

Pension tax relief: what it's really worth

Why £100 in your pension often costs you far less than £100 of take-home pay, and how to see the real cost before you commit.

5 min read

Drawdown or annuity? How to turn a pot into income

The decision that decides whether a pot lasts, framed as a trade between flexibility and certainty — plus the middle path most people end up on.

6 min read

Retiring abroad: what changes and what follows you

Cost of living, tax residence, healthcare and currency — the four things that decide whether moving abroad in retirement helps or hurts.

5 min read

State pensions and wrappers by country

The guaranteed floor underneath your own savings. Approximate 2025/26 figures for orientation — always confirm the current rate with the official government source.

United Kingdom

Full state amount
around £230 a week (roughly £11,970 a year) at the full new State Pension rate
What qualifies you
35 qualifying National Insurance years for the full amount; at least 10 to get anything
Age you can claim
66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, with 68 legislated for later
Main private wrappers
Workplace pension, SIPP, and ISAs for tax-free flexible savings alongside
Tax when you draw it
Usually 25% of the pot tax free, the rest taxed as income when drawn

Ireland

Full state amount
around €289 a week (roughly €15,000 a year) at the full contributory rate
What qualifies you
PRSI contribution record; the total contributions approach rewards a longer record
Age you can claim
66, with the option to defer to 70 for a higher weekly payment
Main private wrappers
Occupational scheme, PRSA, and personal pensions with age-banded relief limits
Tax when you draw it
Tax-free lump sum up to a lifetime limit; the balance taxed as income

United States

Full state amount
Social Security averaging roughly $1,900–$2,000 a month for a retired worker
What qualifies you
40 credits (about 10 years of work), with the benefit based on your 35 highest years
Age you can claim
Reduced from 62, full retirement age 67 for those born 1960 or later, maximum at 70
Main private wrappers
401(k), 403(b), Traditional IRA and Roth IRA, each with its own limits
Tax when you draw it
Traditional accounts taxed on withdrawal; Roth withdrawals generally tax free in retirement

Turning a pot into income

The pot is not the goal. The monthly income it produces, for as long as you need it, is.

Drawdown

You keep the pot invested and take income from it, usually a set percentage or a set amount each year.

Works well because

  • + Flexible — change the amount as life changes
  • + Anything left can pass on
  • + Keeps growth potential

Watch out for

  • – You carry the market risk
  • – Runs out if you draw too fast
  • – Needs reviewing every single year

Annuity

You exchange some or all of the pot for a guaranteed income, usually for life.

Works well because

  • + Income you cannot outlive
  • + No market worry
  • + Simple once bought

Watch out for

  • – Usually irreversible
  • – Rates depend on when you buy
  • – Less or nothing left to pass on

A mix of both

Cover the essentials — housing, food, bills — with guaranteed income, and keep the rest invested for the flexible spending.

Works well because

  • + Floor under the essentials
  • + Flexibility on top
  • + Less pressure in bad markets

Watch out for

  • – More moving parts
  • – Needs a big enough pot to split
  • – Two sets of charges to watch

Cash buffer plus phased selling

Hold one to two years of spending in cash, refilled in good years, so you never sell investments while they are down.

Works well because

  • + Protects against a bad first few years
  • + Removes panic decisions
  • + Works alongside drawdown

Watch out for

  • – Cash loses to inflation
  • – Requires discipline to refill
  • – Slightly lower long-run growth

The often-quoted 4% rule came from US historical data for a 30-year retirement. Treat it as a starting sanity check, not a promise — a longer retirement, higher charges or a bad first decade of returns all argue for drawing less.

Pension words, translated

Defined contribution
A pot of money built from contributions and investment growth. What you get depends on the pot.
Defined benefit
A promised income based on salary and years of service. Increasingly rare, and usually valuable.
Employer match
Money your employer adds when you contribute. The closest thing to a guaranteed return you will ever see.
Tax relief
The tax you would have paid on the money going into a pension, added back into your pot.
Drawdown
Taking income from an invested pot rather than exchanging it for a guaranteed payment.
Annuity
A guaranteed income bought with pension money, usually paid for life.
Sequence risk
The danger of poor returns in the first years of retirement, when withdrawals do the most damage.
Replacement rate
Retirement income as a percentage of your working income. Many people aim for roughly two thirds.
Real return
Growth after inflation. The only return that tells you about future spending power.
Consolidation
Combining old pension pots into one, usually to cut charges and admin. Check for lost benefits first.

Common retirement questions

When should I start planning for retirement?

The contributions you make in your twenties and thirties do the most work because they compound the longest. But the most valuable planning decade is usually your forties, when you still have time to change course and enough income to act on it.

How much of my salary should go into a pension?

A common rule of thumb is 12–15% of gross pay including any employer contribution. The non-negotiable minimum is whatever unlocks your full employer match, because that is money you are otherwise declining.

Is the state pension enough to live on?

For most people, no. It is designed as a floor rather than a full income, so it works best as the guaranteed base underneath your own savings.

What if I have started late?

Late plans rely on different levers: higher contributions while you still earn, working slightly longer, lowering the target spend, and cutting charges. Combined, these move the outcome far more than people expect.

Does mySal give financial advice?

No. mySal gives you clear numbers, honest assumptions and plain-English explanations so you can make your own decisions or have a far better conversation with a regulated adviser.

mySal gives estimates and education, not regulated financial advice. Figures are approximate and change with government rates. For decisions about transferring a pension, buying an annuity or large contributions, speak to a regulated adviser.

Where to next?

Check your retirement readiness

Your pot, your target income and the gap — in one screen.

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