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May 2025 update

   Finance update After three months of negative returns, my figures have bounced back in style! I've tracked my pots for just over a decade now and May was the biggest jump I've seen. It almost justifies chucking everything I did into the markets for the past 3 months both via my pension at the end of the tax year as well as into my ISA at the start of this tax year! Overall networth is now £1.2m Breakdown for May: ISA  up £12k Pension  up £16k GIA /easy access savings up £4k Crypto  up £15k House price  up £5k Total : up £61.6k Another good chunk into my ISA in May, which means it is now full for the year,  the quickest I've ever done it! My priorities are now filling Premium Bonds, pound cost averaging into Crypto, and also contributing a few hundred a month into my kids JISAs. 2025/26 tax year: Total change over the past couple of months is now +£36k.  Non-Finance update Unpaid Parental Leave No weeks off during May. The big 6 weeks off comes ...
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'Lumpy' Pension Calculator

Here's a calculator I made a while back, mainly out of frustration that the vast vast majority of online pension calculators made some huge assumptions. Namely, that you will carry on working until at least your private pension age, and that your contributions will be exactly the same each year, or at least that they will increase with inflation.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iltETWM5FcgGA_TIOTcurNqdBoqAkh4y/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113724788594386554052&rtpof=true&sd=true

So, here it is, the 'lumpy' Pension Calculator. Which lets you input a custom amount each year, to see what effect 'front loading' your pension will have. Spoiler alert...it's pretty good!!

How to use:

  1. Click on the link and download a copy for yourself (that way it avoid people inputting amounts into the online template!)
  2. Input your age, current pension pot and what returns you think you'll get on average
  3. Have a mess around with some annual pension contributions in Column B. Maybe deposit more earlier on, and then dial it back to the company match
  4. Column A will highlight when you have reached age 57. This is the current private pension age and will apply to most people, although always worth checking to make sure!!!
Note: The 'salary' box is just there for reference, it doesn't change any of the calculations



Any questions just let me know!

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