Am I on track for retirement UK?

The only comparison that answers it

On track means one thing: expected income at the age you stop work is at least what you spend. Not a peer average. Not a provider's "you could have" chart.

• Spending target. Pensions UK 2026 Retirement Living Standards: £13,900 minimum, £32,700 moderate, £45,400 comfortable, for one person. A couple at moderate is £45,400. These are net income figures and they exclude rent and mortgage. They assume the home is owned outright.
• State Pension floor. Full new State Pension in 2026/27 is £241.30 a week, £12,547.60 a year, from your State Pension age. You need 35 qualifying years for the full amount. Check the forecast. Do not assume it.
• The gap, before tax. £32,700 minus £12,547.60 is £20,152.40. At 25 times, that is about £504,000. In 2026/27 the personal allowance is £12,570, so a full State Pension uses almost all of it. Pension withdrawals that fill the gap are taxed as income. The £504,000 figure does not gross that tax up. It is a sketch, not the pot you need.

A worked example, not a slogan

Someone aged 42 with £80,000 across old pots, paying in £400 a month with the employer, is not behind or fine until you run it. A moderate single-person target of £32,700 minus a full State Pension of £12,547.60 leaves £20,152 a year. At 25 times, before tax on the withdrawals, that is about £504,000. Whether £400 a month closes it depends on the return and the fees. At 5% a year before inflation and fees, 25 years is in range. At a lower return it is not. Tax on the withdrawals makes the pot larger still.

That is why the first step is a three-number check, not a 40-page plan. Age, pot, monthly contribution. Then you know which sentence is true.

What the free check does not include

The quiz ignores ISAs, a defined benefit pension, a partner's income, and your real National Insurance record. If any of those are material, the quiz is the start, not the verdict.

• Private pension access is 55 now, rising to 57 from 6 April 2028. Stopping work before that needs an ISA bridge.
• State Pension age is 66, rising to 67 between April 2026 and March 2028. Anyone born from 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977 reaches it at 67. A rise to 68 is legislated for 2044 to 2046 and is under review. Check your date on GOV.UK.
• A defined benefit pension (NHS, teachers, local government) is income, not a pot. Do not drop it into a pot calculator.

Next, if the quiz says there is a gap

1. Get the State Pension forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension. Ten minutes. It replaces the guess.
2. Run how much do I need to retire from your own spending, not a national average.
3. If the gap is the question, use will my pension be enough.
4. If you want the date, not just the pot, use the when can I retire calculator.

Delphina turns those separate checks into one picture: where you stand, and the one or two actions that matter this month. It does not connect to your bank. It does not give regulated advice.