Early Retirement Calculator

The minimum recommended income in retirement is £9,609 a year so if you retire at 55 you'll need at least £105,699 to last until your state pension kicks in at 66.

But that's based on the current state pension age and some of us won't receive our state pension until we're 68.

It's also assumes you'll be comfortable living on the minimum amount recommended for retirement, but if you're hoping to enjoy a comfortable retirement experts estimate you'll need between £15,000 to £40,000 a year.

So you could need anywhere between £165,000 and £520,000 to retire at 55, and that only gets you to state retirement age.

You'll still need to budget to top up your state pension once you get to state pension age.

*all of these assumptions are based on you depleting your pension pot and don't allow for you to pass wealth on.

Read our Full article here: How much do I need to retire at 55

You could just about retire at 55 with £300k in the UK, as this might reasonably give you £9-12K income a year sticking to the recommended 3-4% a year safe withdrawal rate. However that barely covers minimum income standards in the UK, much less provides for a comfortable retirement.

If you are considering retirement at 55 with 300K in your pension pot there are 4 important questions worth asking yourself.

1. How much money do you need each year?
2. Do you have any other income?
3. What are your retirement lifestyle goals?
4. How long do you need 300K to last?

Read the full article here Can I retire at 55 with £300K

You can retire at 55 with £400k in the UK, as this might reasonably give you £12-16K income a year sticking to the recommended 3-4% a year safe withdrawal rate.

However that barely covers minimum income standards in the UK for a single person and is less than the £18K a couple will need for a basic retirement according to industry estimates.

If you can live on 12K-£16K per year. Great. But if your income needs are greater you might struggle. For instance, if you plan to take 50K per year your pension pot will be gone in around 8 years. So you need to do your homework before you make a decision.

Read the full article

Industry estimates reckon you’ll need anywhere between £10,000-£30,000 per year for a single person in retirement and at least £17,000-£40,000 a year for a couple in retirement.

But these figures are estimates based on averages. 

A better way of working out how much you need to retire is to look at home much you're currently spending per year and use Target Replacement Rate to work out how much you'll need in retirement to sustain your existing standard of living. 

Target replacement rate states you'll need anywhere between 50-80% of your pre-retirement income to mainstain a similar standard of living in retirement

Of course, if you plan on living a completely different lifestyle in retirement then you'll need a more bespoke appoach to working out how much you'll need to retire. 

Try our retirement cost calculator for couples, or our singles retirement cost calculator.

Read more in our full guide to How much you need to retire

The increased choice and flexibility for accessing your pension in the UK has brought with it added responsibility and risk. Many people are now also questioning whether they need a financial adviser for their pension. A study of those with pensions in flexi-access drawdown, carried out by insurance giant Zurich, found that​​​​​​​ a large percentage were unprepared and uneducated about the risks they were taking on. Despite that many were choosing to go it alone without consulting a financial adviser. 

You don’t need a financial advisor for the state pension or guaranteed pensions. But if your pension is based on investment performance it would be a wise move. Zurich estimates that almost 41% of those in drawdown without advice will run out of money in retirement

That’s not to say that you absolutely need a financial adviser but the evidence published by Royal London in 2019  suggests that you’ll be wealthier in the long-term if you have one.

Financial advisers don’t have a crystal ball when it comes to investing, but they have been trained to take into account all of the moving parts that make long-term financial planning so complex.

Need more reasons to work with a financial advisor? Read the full article here

Retirement isn't a one-size fits all affair anymore, there are lots of choices about how you can spend your golden years.

There are 5 types of retirement you could consider:

• Early retirement
• Mini retirements
• Semi-retirement
• Phased retirement
• Traditional retirement

You can find out more about the different types of retirement in our full article here

In a word, No. unless in extremely rare circumstances.

Pensions are designed to help you save for old age and offer generous tax incentives to do so. 

But because 'delayed gratification' isn't high on the list of natural human strengths the government make it extremely difficult (and highly unattractive) to access pensions before you reach 55. 

Most 'pension liberation' services are a scam that could see your entire pension pot in the hands of criminals.

If you want to retire before 55, you'll need to make alternative plans to fund your retirement until you can legally access your pension.

Accessing your Pension for Early Retirement

Pensions are the most tax efficient way of saving in the UK, especially if you’re a higher rate taxpayer, so it’s best practice to save into a pension first before exploring other options like ISAs.

However, It is important to know that if you are investing in a pension, you will not be able to access it until you are 55.

If you plan to retire before 55 then you should speak to a financial adviser to create a plan that will still provide tax-efficient savings and also allow you to reach your financial goals.