How much should I have in pension by 30, 40, 50?

From conversations I have weekly with mid-career candidates: most UK professionals significantly underestimate how much pension they need by what age. The aspirational rule of thumb circulating in financial-planning circles is 1× salary by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 10× by 65. Hitting these means you can retire at state pension age with roughly 70% of pre-retirement income — the threshold most retirement-planning frameworks consider 'comfortable'.

The reality vs the target. UK averages run well below these figures. The median UK employee at 30 has roughly £15,000-25,000 in pension, often less than half their annual salary. By 40 it's typically 1-2× salary, not 3×. The gap accumulates because most people start workplace pension at the legal minimum (8% combined) when 12-15% combined is what the targets are calibrated for.

How to hit the target if you're behind. The single highest-leverage move is increasing your pension contribution rate, particularly if you're under 40 and have decades of compounding ahead. Going from 8% combined to 15% combined (you contribute 9-12%, employer 3-6%) doubles your final pension at the same investment performance. The next-highest lever is choosing growth-weighted funds rather than the conservative default, particularly when you're 30+ years from retirement.

Salary sacrifice as the obvious move. Sacrifice gross salary into pension before tax. You save income tax (20-45%) + employee NI (8% or 2%). For a higher-rate taxpayer, every £5,000 sacrificed saves about £2,100/year in tax. Combined with employer match and investment growth, the effective return on every pound sacrificed in your 30s is genuinely 200-400% by retirement.

What to do at each life stage. 20s: contribute the legal minimum at least, ideally 5-7% from your side. Default fund is fine. The compounding advantage of starting young is the biggest financial win available. 30s: bump to 10-12% combined including employer match. Consider salary sacrifice if your employer offers it. Switch from default to growth-weighted fund if you're not in one. 40s: aim for 15%+ combined. This is the catch-up decade for most people who started low. 50s: aim for 18-20%+ combined. You can use the carry-forward rule to put extra in pension using unused allowance from prior years if your salary spikes.

When to use a SIPP. A Self-Invested Personal Pension lets you contribute on top of your workplace pension and invest in a wider range of funds. Worth opening if you're paying higher-rate tax (the relief is meaningful) or if your workplace fund choice is poor. Vanguard, AJ Bell, and Hargreaves Lansdown are the dominant UK SIPP providers; fees vary substantially. Don't open one if you're going to neglect it — a managed default workplace pension beats a self-managed SIPP that you don't actually rebalance.