Pension on a £28,000 salary — around the UK median.
What pension can you build on a £28,000 salary? See realistic UK retirement projections, tax breakdown, and contribution scenarios.
£28,000 is approximately the UK median full-time gross salary across all age groups. At this band you're paying around £3,086 in income tax and £1,234 in employee NI annually. The myth that most damages pension outcomes for median earners is 'auto-enrolment is enough'. The truth is that 8% of band earnings (around £1,740/year on £28k) compounded for 40 years produces a retirement pot of around £160,000 — which sounds like a lot but only generates around £6,400/year of safe drawdown income. Combined with the full state pension that's £18,000/year before tax, well below the PLSA 'minimum' retirement standard. The fix is straightforward: ratchet your contribution rate up by 1% every time you get a pay rise. Most people won't notice the difference month-to-month and the long-term impact is transformative.