Lifestyle Calculator

Lifestyle calculator

Most of us don’t actually imagine having a Ferrari or a second home on the Costa del Sol when we retire. It’s more likely that, in life after work, we’ll want to continue the lifestyle we’ve enjoyed while working.

If retirement is still a long way off, picturing what kind of lifestyle you’d like might be hard. But having a rough idea will help you work out if you’re saving enough for the future.

Our lifestyle calculator is a quick and easy tool to help you work out how much income you might need, to enjoy the lifestyle you hope for.

Step 1: Who are you planning for?

Who will you be living with?

Living with a partner can work out a lot less per person than living alone. The costs used in this calculator reflect that, so think about what your situation might be when you come to retire, and choose one of the options below.

Where will you live?

Living costs in London and the south east are considerably higher than the rest of the UK and you should plan for that. Choose from the options where you think you will live.

Step 2: What standard of living do you hope for?

To keep things simple, the Retirement Living Standards are levels – minimum, moderate and comfortable – which give you a sense of what different standards of living could cost you in life after work. They have been designed as a guide to help you set a target to aim for. The figures for these standards were last updated in February 2024.

MINIMUM

Covers all your needs, with some left over for fun

15700 14400 24500 22400

A ‘minimum’ lifestyle covers all your needs, with some left over for fun and social occasions. You could holiday in the UK, eat out about once a month and do some affordable leisure activities about twice a week.

MODERATE

More financial security and flexibility

32800 31300 44900 43100

A ‘moderate’ lifestyle provides more financial security and more flexibility. You could have one foreign holiday a year and eat out a few times a month. You’d have the opportunity to do more of the things you want to do.

COMFORTABLE

More financial freedom and some luxuries

45000 43100 61200 59000

A 'comfortable' lifestyle allows you to be more spontaneous with your money. You could have a subscription to a streaming service, regular beauty treatments and two foreign holidays a year.

Step 3: Personalise your wants & needs

MODERATE

Roughly speaking, a will need about a year to achieve a moderate standard of living at retirement.

This figure is based on a ‘basket’ of common goods and services shown below.Using it as a starting point, if you think you would spend more, or less, simply change the weekly amounts to create a personal target.

The breakdown of figures for a single person may differ to the averaged total for the 'moderate' and 'comfortable' standards as they are based on a single female. The expected costs for single females are higher than the aggregated costs for males and females.

MY BASKET

NOTE: The amounts in the orange blocks are the annual cost of each category. To change the amounts to suit your needs, edit the weekly breakdowns and the calculator will work out the annual costs and update the overall total.

HOUSE

View the weekly breakdown to edit the costs

Household goods

Energy

Water Rates

Other housing costs

Household services

Council Tax

Household insurances

FOOD & DRINK

View the weekly breakdown to edit the costs

Alcohol and Tobacco - per week

Food - a weekly shop

CLOTHING & PERSONAL

View the weekly breakdown to edit the costs

Personal goods and services

Clothing

HELPING OTHERS

View the weekly breakdown to edit the costs

Charity Contributions

TRANSPORT

View the weekly breakdown to edit the costs

Motoring

Other Travel Costs

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE

View the weekly breakdown to edit the costs

Holidays and leisure

OTHER

For things we won't have included

0.00

You may need to add other costs depending on your personal circumstances, such as mortgage, rent, social care costs and any tax on pension income.

Additional Costs:
NOTE: Please enter an annual total

RESET BASKET

Next steps...

MODERATE

Here’s a summary of what you chose

Based on a basket of common goods and services, for a hoping to achieve a standard of living at retirement, you will need about a year.

This is a rough guide to help give you a target to aim for.

Your personal target to aim for is:

Your personal target to aim for is:

0

By changing the amounts in the basket of goods and services, you have created a personal target to aim for based on your individual wants and needs. This doesn’t mean it can’t change in the future, but knowing now how much you might need later is a great step towards being able to work out if your current level of saving will be enough.

Using your target, here’s some other things to think about next:

Could you save more?

Remember, you could have 30-40 years of retirement to fund, so will your current level of saving be enough to meet your target? If it looks like you might have a shortfall, think about whether you could afford to save more by paying Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) or buying Added Years. Learn more about boosting your benefits as an ESPS member, or this page on boosting your benefits via AVCs if you're an UPP member. Contributing a little more now can make a real difference in the long term.

Check your State Pension

Private and State Pensions, combined with other savings, could go a long way towards making up the costs for many people. You can find out how much you're estimated to get from the State Pension.

Get further guidance

MoneyHelper is a government service offering free guidance on financial matters, including pensions. You can find guides on the website and talk to the team via web chat.