A good retirement income is one that comfortably funds the life you want. The widely used PLSA benchmarks put a moderate lifestyle at around £31,300 a year for one person and £43,100 for a couple, with comfortable higher still. Your own figure depends on housing, health and plans.
The short answer
- The PLSA “moderate” standard, ~£31,300 single, ~£43,100 couple, is a solid definition of a good income.
- A “comfortable” lifestyle runs to ~£43,100 single and ~£59,000 for a couple.
- These figures assume a mortgage-free home; rent or a mortgage pushes the target higher.
A “good” retirement income is not a single national figure: it is the number that lets you stop working without worrying about money. That said, there are respected benchmarks that turn a vague feeling into a concrete target, and they are a sensible place to start before you personalise them to your own life.
The benchmarks most planners use
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) publishes the Retirement Living Standards, which describe what different income levels actually buy in practice rather than as abstract percentages. They are the reference point behind most UK retirement planning, and our guide to your retirement income options shows how to fund each tier. The figures below assume you own your home outright, rent or a mortgage sits on top.
PLSA Retirement Living Standards (per year, mortgage-free)
| Standard | Single person | Couple | What it broadly covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | ~£14,400 | ~£22,400 | Essentials, no car, a UK break |
| Moderate | ~£31,300 | ~£43,100 | A car, a couple of holidays, more flexibility |
| Comfortable | ~£43,100 | ~£59,000 | Regular holidays abroad, a newer car, luxuries |
Two things stand out. First, a couple needs far less than two singles combined, running one household is cheaper per person, which is why shared retirement planning is so powerful. Second, the jump from minimum to moderate is where most people want to be: it is the difference between covering the bills and genuinely enjoying your time. A common working definition of a “good” income, therefore, is comfortably clearing the moderate standard, with a comfortable income as the aspiration for those who can fund it.
It is also worth remembering that these are net-of-tax spending figures: the amount you actually have to live on. To generate £31,300 to spend, you may need to draw a little more from taxable pensions to cover any income tax, though a well-structured mix of State Pension, tax-free cash and ISA withdrawals can keep that leakage small. And because the standards are refreshed each year for inflation, the pound figures drift upward over time; the lifestyle each tier describes is the durable part.
Why your own number will differ
Benchmarks are averages, and no one is average. The single biggest variable is housing: a paid-off home can knock £8,000–£12,000 a year off what you need, while rent or a remaining mortgage pushes the target up sharply. Health, family support, where you live and how you like to spend your time all move the figure. Working out your personal number is the heart of our guide to how much you need to retire.
Location matters more than people expect. The cost of running a home and a car in a rural part of Devon or Cornwall differs markedly from central London, and someone planning to travel widely in early retirement will spend very differently from someone whose pleasures are closer to home. Later-life care is the other great unknown: it does not affect everyone, but where it is needed it can dwarf ordinary spending, which is why a good plan looks at the whole arc of retirement rather than a single average year.
- 1
Map your essential spending
Housing, food, utilities, insurance and transport: the costs that continue whatever happens. This is your income floor.
- 2
Add the life you actually want
Holidays, hobbies, gifts to family, running a car, meals out. This is what separates “surviving” from a good retirement.
- 3
Factor in how it changes with age
Spending is often higher in the active early years, dips in the middle, then can rise again if care is needed later.
- 4
Subtract guaranteed income
Deduct your State Pension and any final-salary pension; what remains is the gap your savings and drawdown must fill.
Turning a target income into a pot
Once you have a target, you can size the savings behind it. The full new State Pension, around £12,000 a year, is the dependable foundation; a couple with two full entitlements start from roughly £24,000 before touching private savings. To bridge the gap to a moderate or comfortable income, a rough planning rule is that a £100,000 pot supports something like £4,000–£5,000 of sustainable annual income, so a moderate lifestyle usually implies a meaningful private pension alongside the State Pension. You can browse the wider field of retirement planning to see how drawdown, annuities and part-time work combine.
A quick worked example makes it concrete. A single person aiming for the moderate £31,300 who already receives £12,000 of State Pension needs their savings to produce around £19,300 a year. At a cautious 4%–5% sustainable withdrawal rate, that points to a pot of roughly £390,000–£480,000, a large sum, but one built steadily over a working life with employer contributions and tax relief along the way. A couple sharing two State Pensions face a smaller private-savings gap, which is one reason planning together is so effective.
None of this is a promise: investment returns vary, inflation erodes fixed incomes and everyone’s tax position differs. The value of a clear income target is that it turns retirement from a vague worry into a plan you can measure progress against, adjusting contributions and retirement dates as you go rather than hoping the numbers work out.
It is about your life, not a league table
A “good” income is the one that funds your plans and lets you sleep at night, not the highest number you can chase. Someone content at £25,000 in a paid-off home may be better off than someone stretched at £45,000 with a mortgage. Investments can fall as well as rise; this is information, not personal advice.
In summary
- The PLSA “moderate” standard, ~£31,300 single, ~£43,100 couple, is a solid definition of a good income.
- A “comfortable” lifestyle runs to ~£43,100 single and ~£59,000 for a couple.
- These figures assume a mortgage-free home; rent or a mortgage pushes the target higher.
- The full State Pension (~£12,000) is the foundation; private savings fill the rest.
- Your real number is personal, map your spending before trusting any benchmark.
Sources and further reading
- Taking your pension MoneyHelper
- The new State Pension GOV.UK
- Check your State Pension forecast GOV.UK
Read the full guide
For the complete picture, see our in-depth guide: Your Retirement Income Options Explained.
Speak to a vetted retirement planning specialist
This is free information, not personal advice. When you’re ready, we’ll match you with an independently vetted, FCA-regulated specialist, free, and with no obligation.
