Can I retire at 57? A UK worked example you can change

From 6 April 2028 the earliest age most people can take money from a workplace or personal pension rises from 55 to 57, unless their scheme gives them a protected pension age. At 57 the state pension is still about ten years away.

The calculator is a worked example: someone aged 52 retiring at 57, with £405,000 in a workplace pension, an ISA and cash today. From 94, your income falls short of the £22,000 a year you want.

Ten years before the state pension

The state pension starts at 67 for anyone born between 6 March 1961 and 5 April 1977. Retiring at 57 means paying your own way for about ten years. In this example those 10 years are paid from: Workplace pension £314,380 (totals in today's money).

How long different pots last from 57

Each row: £28,000 a year take-home in today's money, 80% of the pot in a pension and 20% in an ISA, 5% growth a year before fees, 2.5% inflation, and the full state pension from 67.

Pots at 57	Steady growth: money	Lasts to 95 in
£300,000	falls short from 69	fewer than 1 out of 100 market tests
£500,000	falls short from 85	27 out of 100 market tests
£800,000	lasts to 95	79 out of 100 market tests

The last column tests each pot 500 times, each with a different random mix of good and bad years in the markets (a Monte Carlo simulation), and shows how often the money lasts to 95.

What the stress tests show

A 25% market fall in the first year of retirement means the money falls short from 88. With growth 2 points lower every year it falls short from 78. In 45 out of 100 market tests it lasts to 95.

Before you choose a date

• Not sure what you'll need? You can work out what you'll spend, from real UK costs, and bring the total into the calculator.
• Stopping work at 57 can leave gaps in your National Insurance record. You need 35 qualifying years for the full new state pension.
• Try the calculator with your own figures.