Our new, online retirement budgeting calculator is now available on the member websites at railwayspensions.co.uk and btppensions.co.uk. It will help your members plan more effectively for the future.

Using this tool they can easily work out how much money they’ll need for their retirement, based on how they’d like to live.

Members of the RPS or BTPFSF can use it to find out if their current level of pension benefits and/or savings will be enough, or whether they might need to make adjustments. 

The new retirement budgeting calculator is easy to use, it’s quick to give results and it’s been developed to help members plan earlier and more efficiently for an enjoyable life in retirement. 

Members can use this new tool together with their latest benefit statement, which they can find once they’ve logged in to, or created, a myRPS or myFund account.

Or even simpler, if they’re active DB (Defined Benefit) or IWDC (Industry-Wide Defined Contribution) members,  they can use it with their online pension planner or retirement modeller.

This way, they will immediately see if their pension savings are on track to give them the lifestyle they want after they stop working, or whether they may need to do more.

How do members use the retirement budgeting calculator?

Members log into their online account and they will find the retirement budgeting calculator in the “Planning for the future” section. It is also accessible pre-login, within the resources section of the website. 

Step 1 Say who and where 

Members select whether they are planning for a single person or a couple and where they live.

Step 2 Lifestyle 

They select the type of lifestyle they are aiming for when they retire: 
• minimum – likely to cover all their needs with some left over for fun
• moderate – likely to allow more flexibility and financial security 
• comfortable – likely to offer more financial freedom and some luxuries.

Step 3 Personal choices 

Members can view and edit their individual costs. They click the categories if they know they’ll want to spend more or less than the amount allocated to each. Changing these details will automatically affect the overall cost, so they get an individually designed financial model for themselves.
Item costs are based on the selections in Step 1. For instance a single person living in London would show a different value for transport or leisure to someone from elsewhere in the UK.

Step 4 Estimated lifestyle costs

The last step adds up the cost of all personal choices and gives members an estimate of the annual income they might need to enjoy the lifestyle they want, along with information on their options and further advice.

They can then compare this figure to the pension amount they’re estimated to receive and find out if they’re on track with their savings. 

Members can go back and use the *retirement budgeting calculator as many times as they wish, amending their living choices as they go. We hope they find it’s a helpful tool in planning for their future.

* The Retirement Budgeting Calculator uses PLSA retirement living standards (recognised as the benchmark within the pension industry) to determine the required income for your lifestyle.