For a 40-hour week in the UK, the minimum wage (National Living Wage for 21+ years) from April 2025 is £12.21/hour, equating to approximately £25,397 annually, but this varies by age: £10.00/hour (18-20) or £7.55/hour (under 18/apprentice) apply for younger workers or apprentices. These rates are for 2025/2026, with a higher rate of £12.71/hour planned for April 2026.
In the UK, average is 25-32k. 35k would be above average , and anything above 40k is very good.
So if you're 21 or over and working 35 hours, the minimum wage you should currently get is £22,222+ a year (increasing to £23,132+ a year from 1 April 2026). The new rates are applied to your first full pay cycle after 1 April. The national minimum wage ISN'T optional.
If you consider that people earning £2,500 to £3,000 gross per month (which equates to a gross salary of around £30k to £36k per annum) are thought to be getting a decent wage, it's not bad.
In this light, the answer to the question is 50K, a good salary in the UK is yes. Still, it doesn't leave much over for investing, especially if you're asking what is a good pension pot to achieve a comfortable or luxurious retirement lifestyle.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the median annual wage across all full-time occupations in 2024 was £37,430 [1]. For a person living in the North East, where the median wage is £32,960, earning above the national average may be considered very good.
There is no specific number of hours that makes someone full or part-time, but a full-time worker will usually work 35 hours or more a week. Part-time workers should get the same treatment for: pay rates (including sick pay, maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay) pension opportunities and benefits.
It depends on lifestyle and personal preferences. However, to be comfortable you can expect to spend £1,500-£2,000 per month of your net income. This figure includes basic costs such as rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, and council tax.
A working week does not include: time you spend on call away from the workplace. breaks when no work is done, for example lunch breaks. travelling outside of normal working hours.
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If you make £12. 50 per hour, your salary per year is £26,000.
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The UK median income for full-time workers is around £34,000 per year. Middle-class salaries typically range above this figure, with earnings between £26,000 and £45,000 for individuals.
You can live on $1,000 a month by making a bare-bones budget, prioritizing your necessary expenses, and cutting costs wherever you can. You should also want to build an emergency fund, so you are prepared for unexpected bills.
A single person needs to earn £30,500 a year to reach a minimum acceptable standard of living in 2025. A couple with 2 children needs to earn £74,000 a year between them. April 2025 saw an inflation-based increase in benefits of 1.7%, pegged to the CPI rate in September 2024. By April 2025, CPI was 3.5%.
Most Brits say you now need around £2,000 a month after tax just to live a reasonable lifestyle in the UK.
A single person needs to earn £29,500 a year to reach a minimum acceptable standard of living in 2023. A couple with two children need to earn £50,000 between them.
The average cost of living in London for couples ranges from £2,500 to £3,000 per month. This includes groceries, rent, utilities, dining out, etc.
In 2025/26, to be among the top 1% of UK earners, an annual income of at least £201,000 before taxes is required (based on HMRC tax year 2022-23 data, published March 2025). This elite group of approximately 340,000 individuals earns 13.3% of the UK's total income and pays 28.2% of all income tax.
On a £70,000 salary, your take home pay will be £51,157.40 after tax and National Insurance. This equates to £4,263.12 per month and £983.80 per week. If you work 5 days per week, this is £196.76 per day, or £24.59 per hour at 40 hours per week.