These examples show what it takes to build a £250,000 pension pot by age 65, assuming: • Long-term investment growth of 8% per year • No inflation applied (headline future value) • Contributions shown are net of tax for a basic-rate taxpayer, with 20% pension tax relief added automatically Starting at age 30, you have 35 years for compounding to work, so a net contribution of around £136 per month is enough to reach £250,000. Starting at age 40, you only have 25 years, so the monthly contributio