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Retirement Projection
Project a pension or 401k pot at your chosen retirement age.
100% FreeRuns instantlyNo watermark
- 1Enter detailsAdd the numbers for your scenario.
- 2CalculateVootkit updates the result instantly.
- 3ReviewCheck totals, notes and breakdowns.
Private by designProcessed on your device where possible.
Works on any deviceDesktop, tablet and mobile browsers.
No installationOpen the page and start working.
Always free coreUse the free plan for everyday tasks.
How to use Retirement Projection
Vootkit updates the result instantly.
02Check totals, notes and breakdowns.
03Copy the answer into your workflow.
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Your work is processed locally in your browser where possible and is never added to a Vootkit upload library.
Learn more about privacyThe number that decides a retirement is not the pot. It is the gap between the age you start and the age you stop, because that gap sits in an exponent while everything else is a plain multiplier.
What Retirement Projection does
Projects the pot at your retirement age from what you have saved, what you add monthly and the return you assume, then converts it into a yearly income using a withdrawal rate.
The withdrawal rate is the part people skip. A pot is not an income — 4% of £600,000 is £24,000 a year, and whether that is enough is a completely different question from whether £600,000 sounds like a lot.
What the projection assumes
| Growth | Compounded monthly on the balance, including new contributions |
|---|---|
| Return | Constant — real markets are not, see the note below |
| Withdrawal rate | 4% is the common starting point, from the Trinity study on US data |
| Inflation | Not modelled — the pot is in today’s pounds or dollars, not future ones |
| Contributions | Flat monthly amount, not increasing with salary |
| Tax and fees | Excluded — platform charges of 0.5% a year are a real drag over decades |
Detailed steps
- Enter your age now and the age you plan to stop.
- Add what is already saved and what you put in each month.
- Use a return you would defend — 5-7% is the usual range for a diversified portfolio before fees, not the 12% a bull market makes feel normal.
- Read the yearly income, not the pot. That is the number you actually live on.
Worth knowing
Run it twice, changing only the retirement age by five years. On a mid-career profile that single change moves the pot more than doubling your monthly contribution does, because the extra years compound on the whole balance rather than adding to the edge of it. If the projection disappoints, working slightly longer is usually the cheapest lever available — and the one most people consider last.
Frequently Asked Questions
What return should I assume?
Something you would still defend after a bad year. Long-run equity returns have historically run around 7% nominal before fees, and a mixed portfolio less. Assuming 10% because recent years delivered it produces a projection that looks reassuring and plans for a world that has not existed for long.
Why does the pot look so large compared to the income?
Because a sustainable withdrawal is a small slice of the total. At 4%, every £1,000 of yearly income needs £25,000 of pot. That ratio is the single most useful thing to internalise about retirement saving, and it is why the pot figures involved feel unreasonable at first.
Is this in today’s money or future money?
Today’s. Inflation is not modelled, so treat the result as buying power at current prices. If you would rather think in future pounds, subtract your inflation assumption from the return — a 7% return with 3% inflation behaves like 4% in real terms.
Does it account for the state pension or employer contributions?
No. Add employer contributions into your monthly figure if you want them included, since they compound identically. State or social security income is separate and arrives on its own schedule, so it is usually clearer to work out the private pot first and treat public provision as a floor underneath it.
Is Retirement Projection free?
Yes. The Vootkit free plan includes 5 tool runs a day. Upgrade to Vootkit Pro for unlimited daily use, an ad-free workspace and saved workflows.
Are my files uploaded?
No. Retirement Projection runs entirely in your browser — your file is processed on your own device and never sent to a server. There is nothing for us to store or delete.
Do I need to install anything?
No. Retirement Projection works in any modern browser on desktop, tablet or phone. Open the page and start.
How often can I use it? Is there a daily limit?
On the free plan you get 5 tool runs a day. When you reach the limit you'll see a prompt to upgrade, and it resets the next day. Vootkit Pro removes the cap entirely for unlimited daily use.
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This tool processes everything locally in your browser. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it will still work.