What is the Rent vs Buy in Retirement Calculator?
The Rent vs Buy in Retirement Calculator compares two retirement housing strategies: staying in your home or selling, renting and investing the released equity. It shows which path leaves you with higher net worth over time and whether each option remains financially sustainable to your chosen end age.
How the Calculator Works?
This calculator models both paths year by year in real terms, meaning all figures are adjusted for inflation and shown in today’s money.
For the Own scenario, it includes property growth and annual housing costs such as council tax, insurance, maintenance and optional major works. The home remains part of your net worth.
For the Rent scenario, it assumes the property is sold, selling costs are deducted and the released equity is invested. Rent replaces ownership costs and increases each year according to your rent growth assumption.
Each year the model:
- Adds guaranteed income such as State Pension and DB pensions
- Calculates total spending including housing
- Withdraws any shortfall from investable assets
- Applies real investment growth to the remaining portfolio
- Applies property growth in the ownership path
At the end of the projection, it compares:
- Final net worth
- Sustainability to your end age
- The difference between paths
If the difference is significant, the calculator highlights why assumptions matter and explains the drivers of divergence.
Step One: Enter Assets and Property Details
Add your current pots, home value, housing costs and expected property growth.
Step Two: Define Spending, Rent and Returns
Enter your retirement spending, rent level and growth, investment returns and income sources.
Step Three: Compare Outcomes
Review sustainability, net worth differences and the year-by-year comparison table to see which path performs better.
Disclaimer: This calculator provides illustrative projections only and does not constitute financial or housing advice. Property markets, rental inflation and investment returns vary. Decisions about housing in retirement involve financial, emotional and lifestyle considerations.
What does retirement mean to you?
Traditional retirement is broken. Understand how our calculator enables you to live a better life now vs later.
Retire from corporate work?
Use the tool to utilise how you can step away from the corporate world and live life on your own terms.
Work less, live more
See how part-time or project-based work can bridge your income gap while giving you more time for life.
Freedom through planning
Understand how your savings, spending and investments can work together to buy back your time.
Test-drive retirement early
Model scenarios that let you experience elements of retirement before fully stepping away.
What is the Rent vs Buy in Retirement Calculator?
It is a UK-focused planning tool that compares staying in your home versus selling and renting, showing the long-term financial impact of each retirement housing strategy.
Does this assume I downsize?
No. It compares staying in your current home versus selling and renting. Downsizing would require separate modelling.
Are the figures inflation-adjusted?
Yes. All projections are shown in real terms to reflect spending power.
What costs are included in ownership?
Council tax, insurance, maintenance and optional major works are included. You can adjust all assumptions.
How is rent treated?
Rent is treated as an annual cost that grows each year at your chosen rent growth rate.
What happens to the equity if I rent?
Net proceeds from selling your home are invested and grow at your chosen investment return.
Why can the difference be large?
Because compounding investment returns on released equity can materially change outcomes over long periods, especially if property growth is modest or rent inflation is controlled.
Why don’t more people sell and rent?
Financial outcomes are only one factor. Security of tenure, emotional attachment, flexibility and legacy considerations also influence decisions.
Is one option always better?
No. Results depend heavily on assumptions about rent growth, property growth, maintenance costs and investment returns.
Can I export the results?
Yes. You can download a CSV file after entering your email address.
Is my data stored?
All calculations run in your browser. No personal financial data is stored on a server.