Want to know more?
Let’s have a chat
Last reviewed: August 2026
Most people do not avoid financial planning because they cannot afford it. They avoid it because money is a subject they were never taught, and doing nothing feels safer than making a decision that might be wrong.
The trouble is that doing nothing is itself a decision, and it is usually the expensive one.
Almost everyone asks the same first question: how much will I actually need?
The most useful benchmark in the UK comes from the Retirement Living Standards, published by Pensions UK with Loughborough University. They set out what three different standards of living genuinely cost, based on research into what retired people actually spend.
For a single person, as at the June 2026 update:
| Minimum Basic needs covered, a week’s holiday in the UK, no car | £14,400 a year |
| Moderate More security and flexibility, a small car, a two-week holiday in Europe | £31,300 a year |
| Comfortable More freedom, a newer car, long-haul travel, home improvements | £45,400 a year |
For a couple, a comfortable standard is around £62,700 a year. All figures are after tax and assume no mortgage or rent.
The full new State Pension is £12,548 a year in 2026/27. That covers most of the minimum standard on its own, and for a couple two full State Pensions go a long way towards it.
Everything above minimum has to come from somewhere else, workplace pensions, private pensions, ISAs, property or continuing to work. The gap between £12,548 and the life you actually want is the number worth knowing, and most people have never worked it out.
These are national averages and your own figure may be higher or lower. Someone still paying rent or a mortgage in retirement needs considerably more; someone with modest tastes and no housing costs may need less.
Products come at the end of it. The work is answering four questions:
The value is in seeing the answer written down. Most people are either saving more than their goals require, or considerably less, and both are worth knowing about now rather than later.
A plan also tells you what happens if things go wrong, if you are ill, if markets fall the year you retire, if you live to 95. Knowing the answer in advance is worth more than most people expect, and it is the part clients tell us they value most.
If you would like to know your own number, a first conversation is exactly the place to start. It is free, there is no obligation, and if it turns out you are on track we will tell you so.
You may also find our guide to retirement options useful.
Retirement Living Standards figures are published by Pensions UK and were last updated in June 2026. This article is for general information and does not constitute personal advice. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to change in future.
The first conversation is free and there is no obligation. Book with whichever adviser is closest to you, or whoever suits. We work with clients across the UK.
Lee Barton (Leicester) | Ian Laker (Tamworth) | Chris Wood (Coventry)
Bosworth Wealth Management is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA firm reference number 805232.
Our advisers are based in Leicester, Tamworth, Coventry and King’s Lynn, and we work with clients across the UK.
The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to change in future.