Working out how much money you’ll need for retirement can be tricky. It can help to think about how you might want to live when you retire. Pensions UK has developed a set of Retirement Living Standards to help you imagine the retirement you want and work out how much it will cost.
What are the standards?
The three Retirement Living Standards are based on independent research by Loughborough University, with different annual estimated costs for one-person and two-person households:
- A minimum standard covers all your needs with some left over for fun.
- A moderate standard means you are more financially secure and flexible.
- A comfortable standard gives you financial freedom and some luxuries.
These are estimated costs, not income. They show the potential cost of different lifestyles. To work out the amount of income you might need you will also need to consider income tax and any rent or mortgage costs you expect to have in retirement. These figures were last updated in June 2026.
ONE PERSON
45k
COMFORTABLE
33k
MODERATE
14k
MINIMUM
TWO PERSON
63k
COMFORTABLE
45k
MODERATE
23k
MINIMUM
Getting the retirement lifestyle you want
Understanding how much money you need is the first step towards getting the retirement lifestyle you want.
You can then work out how much you are likely to have if you continue saving at your current rate. Your retirement income may come from lots of different places, including your LifeSight account, your State Pension, any retirement savings you have with other employers, your property or even inheritance.
To estimate your retirement income, take a look at your most recent pension statement to see what benefits you will receive from VGPS on retirement. You can access your statement via your online ePA account.
For more information about your State Pension entitlement visit the Government’s Your Pension website.
If you need to trace a pension from an old workplace you can use the Government’s Pension Tracing Service.