How do you work out how much cash you'll need for retirement?

[Fordian]

Are there any spreadsheets or lists?

DH and I have never not had DC at home (Sept this year will be the first time they're both away!) so living costs are a tad tricky to work out!

Has anyone done it who has any words of advice?

It's certainly not easy, because the other thing you really need to know is how long you are going to live for and your state of health.

We have gone though this relatively recently. Based on our usual spending, we worked out our minimum baseline spend, to cover food, utilities, local tax etc. That's what it cost for us just to exist.

We are looking to fund this spending in a way that will not run out, so ideally a final salary pension or annuity.

The rest of the pension pot will be kept available to dip into for extras, such holidays, presents etc. At some point, the extras are likely to become additional support then care etc.

We know that it makes sense to give away what you can while we are alive, in order to avoid IHT. It would be good to know how long we expect to live, in order to know how much we need but ....

www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/pensions/pension-calculator/

You can use a pension calculator to work out how much you need to pay in.

Consider things like
Will you have a mortgage or rent
Would you like to retire early or go part time
What are your general monthly costs
Are you fit and healthy etc