Budget Planner Tool.
The Budget Planner is a quick and easy tool that helps you to think through how much you might need in retirement. It will help you to work out if you can afford to retire at your chosen date or if you need to take action, such as delaying your retirement or changing your overall saving plan to increase your future income.
The Planner uses average amounts for each household based on national statistics for over 65s in the UK to help you get started. You can change these numbers to include how much you expect to get from your pension savings and use them to think through and add in how much you will need to live off. The planner will automatically work out the total income you’ll need to meet these costs and lets you compare this to the income you think you'll have.
Remember, you can find out how much income you might get from your M&S pension by logging into The M&S Pension Scheme Portal. You can also get a forecast for your State Pension by visiting GOV.UK.
Let's get started!
The figures already included are the current full amount of the new State Pension for an individual and the average total amount needed for each household (up to two people) based on national statistics for over 65s in the UK.
Change these figures to meet your personal circumstances and find out what you or your household will need in retirement. Remember that income tax and National Insurance contributions are likely to be applied to any income you receive in the future.
These figures are in today's prices and pension estimates often include assumptions about the future, the amounts at your retirement date may be higher or lower depending on what actually happens (such as inflation) in the future.
Please note that these income amounts are likely to be before tax. You’re currently allowed to earn £12,500 before any tax is applied. So, if your income from your pensions (state and workplace/private), savings and other income is likely to be over £12,500 you may want to consider the tax implications. You can find out more about income tax here or you may wish to seek financial advice.
Just click on the "Detailed Breakdown" button below for each section and enter the amounts relevant to you.
Get a pension estimate from the M&S Pension Scheme Portal. Personalise your State Pension amount by getting a forecast either just for you or the total amount as a couple and remove it if you’re retiring before State Pension age.
If you joined the Scheme before 31 December 1995 and plan to retire early, bear in mind that a deduction will be made as you approach age 65. Find out more about the State pension deduction.
Other Income
Enter the total amount from other sources (like savings, investments or rental income).
My income from other pensions
Use the Retirement Illustrator on the M&S Pension Scheme Portal to get an estimate for your M&S pension. For income from any pension savings you may have in a defined contribution arrangement, look at your latest benefit statement or get a retirement estimate from your provider.
My State Pension
We've included the full annual amount of the new State Pension for a single person.
Next steps
If you find that you might not have enough income at your chosen retirement date, you should think about:
- Getting independent financial advice to help you better understand your financial circumstances.
- Finding free advice and guides to help improve your finances through MoneyHelper.
- Logging back into the M&S Pension Scheme Portal and using the Retirement Illustrator to explore whether retiring later will help increase your future income.
- Looking at the Retirement Living Standards website to get a better idea of what the cost of retirement might look like for different standards of living.
- Reviewing your current finances and seeing if you could increase your saving plans to boost your future income.