On what minimum guaranteed annual income would you retire tomorrow on?

[Flangle]

And how old are you and do you have housing costs and dependent children?
Assuming annual sum has inflation built in?

My figure right now would have to be pretty high, lots of mortgage left and early teen DC, I’m late a 40s sandwich filling and therefore dreaming of quitting work.

Once mortgage paid off I’d not hesitate on 20k. Maybe lower, would need to do some sums, but for the purpose of this tough and ready question 20k sounds about right. Obviously more comfortable once state pension age kicks in.

You want more in pension than you're earning?! I think most of us are trying to be realistic with our numbers.

@Somersetbaker No intention of going to a city. Older people I know don’t do this. We like what we like. Dm drove until after 90. We are perfectly ok thanks and love our cars.

I don’t have a particularly high monthly income, around £1600k made up of two work pensions and my state pension. This just about covers my day to day expenses ( I live alone so need to cover my household bills from just my income) and some annual costs but not home improvements, cars, holidays etc.

My retirement plan was to drawdown from some savings accounts I built up when working to boost my monthly income, ISAs and an untouched pension scheme made up of additional years I bought in my teachers pension and a divorce settlement - to get a clean break my ex gave me £20% of his pension at time of divorce.

I have an annual meeting with a financial advisor to discuss my plans for the year ahead and he advises me which fund to access, usually the one earning the least interest at the time. So last year I had a new drive and in 2026 I need to replace my bathroom which was a very cheap installation 15 years ago and also to buy a free standing pergola type shelter for my patio.

I have an untouched pension which is affected by changes to the inheritance tax rules made at a recent budget so I need to consider carefully this year which fund to access.

I also inherited a decent amount when my mother died, I had not factored any inheritance into my future financial planning as I thought most of her money would be used for care home fees but sadly mum died not long after moving into a care home with dementia. I’m using this inheritance to gift my three adult children and grand child a substantial ( well substantial to me!) amount each birthday and Christmas under the inheritance rules for gifts from excess income.

I think I’m well provided for and it’s great that I can gift my children £20k per year between them without impacting on my lifestyle and not breaking any inheritance rules but it’s an unusual way of doing things. My children are well aware that if I need more money one year, they will not be gifted as much, I’ve warned then not to rely on my generosity.

My life style ( and spending) has been restricted in recent years due to arthritis in both knees but I’ve just had knee replacement surgery ( and will be having surgery on my second leg in May 2026) so I might start spending more on holidays!

Unfortunately you don't get more time - you just chose to do different things with the time you have left. Dh is 62 - he fears retirement will lead to premature brain rot but he loves his high paid mentally stimulating job. He'll want to spend every spare minute travelling. I'm nearly 55 I'll still retire before him - my job isn't nearly as stimulating as his. We'll need funds to finance dh's wanderlust - I enjoy travelling but not as much as him. He'd do it on a shoestring - I need a bit of comfort. I reckon we'll need plenty of cash in the early years and hopefully if our health allows we'll continue to spend the kid's inheritance on travel rather than old age care.

I have no dependent children, mortgage free, downsized recently so living costs reduced. DH retired on ill health and I’m part time. Our income is around £30k and will remain so after I fully retire and DHs state pension starts. We have decent savings, and still manage to save out of our income.
We run 2 new cars but don’t spend a fortune on holidays anymore. Life is good!

You know this isn’t real, right?

@IhateslugsI think this is a really nice and sensible way to distribute inheritance - you get the joy of seeing your loved ones happiness and hopefully immediately benefitting whilst reducing your IHT liability. Lucky family