Fidelity UK’s guidelines have no figure for 35: they give 1x salary at 30 and 2x salary at 40, counting savings inside and outside pensions. This page uses a midway marker of 1.5x as a rough yardstick, shows what ONS data says about people in their late 30s and 40s, and works through what a pot can grow to.
A Midway Marker at 35
Fidelity UK’s guidelines are 1x salary at 30, 2x at 40, 4x at 50 and 6x at 60. There is no published guideline for 35, so the table below takes the point halfway between 1x and 2x, which is 1.5x. That is our own interpolation, not a Fidelity target, and like Fidelity’s figures it counts savings outside pensions too.
| Your salary | Midway marker at 35 (1.5x) |
|---|---|
| £25,000 | £37,500 |
| £35,000 | £52,500 |
| £45,000 | £67,500 |
| £55,000 | £82,500 |
| £65,000 | £97,500 |
What ONS Says About People in Their Late 30s and 40s
ONS publishes private pension wealth by age band, not for single ages. The figures below are for Great Britain, April 2018 to March 2020, using ONS’s updated method for valuing defined benefit pensions, and cover only people with some private pension wealth. Pots will have changed since.
| Age group | Median private pension wealth | Mean private pension wealth |
|---|---|---|
| 25 to 34 | £10,500 | £28,200 |
| 35 to 44 | £31,400 | £69,900 |
The mean sits well above the median because a small number of very large pots pull it up. The midway marker counts money outside pensions and the ONS figures are for pensions only, so the two are not like for like. For the wider picture, see the average pension pot UK by age guide.
What Your Current Pot Becomes by 68
A person aged 35 today was born in 1991 or thereabouts, and the State Pension age timetable gives 68 for anyone born on or after 6 April 1978. That leaves about 33 years. The table is our own arithmetic: 5% a year growth, no charges and no inflation, with monthly contributions added at the end of each month.
| Pension at 35 | Growth only (33 years, 5%) | Plus £300 a month | Plus £500 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £125,000 | £420,000 | £616,000 |
| £50,000 | £250,000 | £545,000 | £741,000 |
| £75,000 | £375,000 | £670,000 | £867,000 |
| £100,000 | £500,000 | £795,000 | £992,000 |
Real returns will differ, and the figures are in future money rather than today’s prices. Your existing pot has the longest time to grow it will ever have, which is why even modest extra contributions at this age show up clearly in the table.
The Cost of Waiting
The next table shows the monthly contribution needed to reach £500,000 at 68 starting from nothing, on the same assumptions.
| Starting age | Years to 68 | Monthly contribution needed |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 38 | £378 |
| 35 | 33 | £509 |
| 40 | 28 | £698 |
| 45 | 23 | £983 |
| 50 | 18 | £1,448 |
Waiting from 35 to 40 adds about £189 a month (£698 minus £509), and waiting from 35 to 45 nearly doubles the monthly amount (£983 against £509).
Ways to Close a Gap at 35
- Contribution rate. The auto-enrolment minimum is 8% of qualifying earnings in most schemes (5% from you, 3% from your employer). On a £40,000 salary the qualifying band is £6,240 to £50,270, so 8% comes to about £2,700 a year. Anything above the minimum is your choice.
- Salary sacrifice. If your employer offers it, contributions come out of your pay before tax and National Insurance are worked out. Our salary sacrifice vs direct pension guide shows the arithmetic.
- Carry forward. If you have not used all of your £60,000 annual allowance, GOV.UK says you might be able to carry over any annual allowance you did not use from the previous 3 tax years, which can matter after a bonus or windfall.
- Old workplace pensions. If you have changed jobs, you may have pots with earlier employers. Consolidating old pensions can make them easier to track, but check what you would give up first, such as guaranteed benefits.
- Your fund. Check that your fund’s risk level still fits when you plan to take the money out.
How Your State Pension Fits In
The full new State Pension is £12,548 per year in 2026/27 (£241.30 per week). On an example retirement income target of £30,000 a year, the State Pension covers £12,548 and private pensions would need to provide £17,452 a year. At a 4% withdrawal rate, a common planning assumption and not a guarantee, that income needs a pot of about £436,300 (£17,452 divided by 0.04).
Check your State Pension forecast to see what you are projected to receive and whether buying extra qualifying years would help.
Checklist at 35
- Find and total all pension pots, including old workplace schemes
- Check your State Pension forecast on GOV.UK
- Look at whether your contribution rate can go above the auto-enrolment minimum
- Check whether your employer offers salary sacrifice
- Review your fund choice against your plans
- Look at consolidation if you have several small pots
If you are on track or ahead, see how much pension at 40 for the next benchmark. For the earlier starting position, see how much pension at 30.
For broader planning, the pension planning hub covers the full picture.