What could a £10,000 pension pot grow to — a foundation worth building on.

£10,000 is a meaningful base — it's at this point that growth on the existing pot starts to make a real contribution to total wealth, alongside ongoing contributions. £10,000 with no further contributions at 5% net growth becomes around £43,000 in 30 years; with £250/month added it becomes around £252,000. The single most useful thing you can do with a £10k pot is consolidate any smaller pots from previous employers into one place — both to reduce admin friction and to qualify for lower fee tiers on some platforms. Run the projection below and adjust the contribution slider to see how a small monthly increase compounds dramatically over a 25-30 year horizon.