How Much Pension Should You Have by Age?

How Much Pension Should You Have by Age?

I prefer to use the word "income" rather than pension when looking at later life planning. How much you need depends on too many things: when you want to retire, what income you need, whether you have a partner, whether you own your home, whether or not you have other income streams, and a dozen other variables.

But rough benchmarks are useful to see if you are in the right ballpark or if something needs to change.

The rule of thumb: salary multiples

Fidelity UK publishes a simple set of targets based on multiples of your annual salary:

Pension rule of thumb by age:

• By 30: 1× your salary saved
• By 40: 2× your salary saved
• By 50: 4× your salary saved
• By 60: 6× your salary saved

On a £35,000 salary, that is £35,000 at 30, £70,000 at 40, £140,000 at 50, and £210,000 at 60.

These are UK-specific and lower than the US Fidelity benchmarks (which go up to 10× by retirement) because the State Pension reduces the private saving you need. They are guidelines, not gospel. If you have a defined benefit pension from a previous employer, the promised income does not show up as a "pot" but still counts towards your retirement.

Scottish Widows' 2025 Retirement Report (surveying over 5,000 adults) found that 38% of UK workers are not on track for even a minimum lifestyle in retirement. The projected average retirement income was £17,200 a year. That is below the PLSA minimum standard of £13,400 once you account for housing costs.

What people actually have

Here is the reality check. The ONS Wealth and Assets Survey (covering 2020 to 2022, published January 2025) gives us the most comprehensive picture of pension wealth by age. These include both defined benefit and defined contribution values, and only cover people who have some pension wealth.

The gender gap is stark. Men aged 45 to 54 had median pension wealth of £108,100 versus £57,900 for women. The DWP's Gender Pensions Gap report (July 2025) found that women aged 55 to 59 have £81,000 compared with £156,000 for men, a gap of 48%. Career breaks, part-time work, and the fact that women are more likely to be in lower-paid roles all feed into this.

Compare any of these figures to the PLSA's moderate retirement target (a pot of £330,000 to £490,000 for a single person) and the shortfall is obvious. See How Much Pension Do You Need to Retire for the full breakdown.

Why starting earlier changes everything

This is the part that makes the biggest difference and the part most people discover too late. The impact of starting even a decade earlier is not a bit more money. It is a completely different outcome.

Take someone putting away £200 a month at 5% annual growth, to age 67:

The cost of waiting:

• Start at 25, contribute £200/month: ≈ £342,000 at 67 (you put in £100,800)
• Start at 35, contribute £200/month: ≈ £189,000 at 67 (you put in £76,800)
• Start at 45, contribute £200/month: ≈ £96,000 at 67 (you put in £52,800)

Starting at 25 instead of 35 means putting in £24,000 more but ending up with £153,000 more. The extra money is almost all growth, not extra contributions. The investment does more heavy lifting than you do.

Mark, who has spent 15 years watching institutional pension fund money compound, puts it simply: the single biggest determinant of your pot size is not how much you contribute, or how cleverly it is invested. It is how long it has been growing. Time is the one thing you cannot buy back.

These figures assume 5% growth before charges. In practice, fund and platform fees (typically 0.5% to 1.0% a year) will reduce the outcome. The point still holds: starting earlier matters more than almost anything else.

What to do wherever you are now

Most people reading this will feel behind. That is normal. The median figures tell us that is the typical position for most of the UK.

In your 20s or 30s: You have the biggest advantage of all: time. Even small increases now will compound dramatically. If you are auto-enrolled at the 8% minimum and can push it to 12% or 15%, the difference at retirement is enormous. If your employer matches extra contributions, take every penny of that. It is the closest thing to free money you will find. See What Is Pension Tax Relief for how the government tops up your contributions too.

In your 40s: This is the decade when the gap becomes visible and the urgency increases. Track down any old pensions from previous jobs (the Pension Dashboard can help). Consider whether consolidation makes sense. Review your investment allocation: if you are 20+ years from retirement, you can afford more growth than a cautious default fund. And properly estimate what you actually need. See How Much Pension Do You Need to Retire.

In your 50s and 60s: The compound growth window is shorter, so raw contribution increases matter more. The annual allowance is £60,000 a year, and you can carry forward up to three years of unused allowance. That allows for significant catch-up. At higher marginal tax rates, the tax relief makes this particularly efficient. Check your State Pension forecast too: if you have fewer than 35 qualifying years, buying voluntary NI contributions is often excellent value (see Can You Retire at 60 for the maths on that).

At any age: It does not all have to come from one pot. Most people actually fund retirement through a mix of State Pension, private pensions, ISAs, property, part-time work, and eventually downsizing. The benchmarks here are useful guides, not the whole picture.

A word on "average"

Be careful with pension pot statistics. They are pulled around by a small number of very large pots at the top and a large number of very small pots at the bottom. The median (the midpoint) is more useful than the mean for understanding where a typical person stands. The ONS figures above are medians.

These figures are also now three to five years old (the reference period is April 2020 to March 2022). ONS accreditation of the Wealth and Assets Survey was suspended for quality reasons, and a methodology change means the numbers are not directly comparable with earlier rounds. Updated data is provisionally expected in 2026.

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This article provides general pension benchmarks by age. It is not personal financial advice. Your required pot depends on your circumstances, including housing costs, other income sources, and your partner's position. For tailored guidance, speak to a regulated financial adviser.

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Frequently asked questions

How much pension should I have at 30?

Fidelity UK suggests around 1× your annual salary saved by 30. The ONS median pension wealth for 25-to-34-year-olds is £18,800. If you started contributing at 22 through auto-enrolment at minimum rates, you would typically have £10,000 to £20,000 depending on salary and growth.

How much pension should I have at 40?

Fidelity UK suggests around 2× your annual salary by 40. The ONS median for 35-to-44-year-olds is £39,500. On a £35,000 salary, the target would be £70,000. Many people fall short, particularly after career breaks or frequent job changes.

How much pension should I have at 50?

Fidelity UK suggests around 4× your annual salary by 50. The ONS median for 45-to-54-year-olds is £80,000. This is the decade where the gap between where people are and where they need to be becomes most visible.

What is the average pension pot by age in the UK?

ONS data (2020-2022) shows medians of £5,500 (16-24), £18,800 (25-34), £39,500 (35-44), £80,000 (45-54), £137,800 (55-64), and £145,900 (65-74). These include defined benefit values. DC-only pots are typically much smaller.

How much difference does starting early make to your pension?

Contributing £200 per month at 5% growth from age 25 produces roughly £342,000 by 67. Starting at 35 produces £189,000. Starting at 45 produces £96,000. A decade of delay roughly halves the outcome despite only modestly lower total contributions.