Updated to fiscal year 2026-27
Pension Drawdown Calculator
See how long your pension pot could last in retirement, the safe withdrawal rate (the 4% rule), and how much income tax leaves you to spend.
- Pot balance (today's money)
Drawing £16,000 a year, the pot still has £209,698 left at age 95.
| Year | Age | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 65 | £400,000 |
| 1 | 66 | £396,000 |
| 2 | 67 | £391,880 |
| 3 | 68 | £387,636 |
| 4 | 69 | £383,265 |
| 5 | 70 | £378,763 |
| 6 | 71 | £374,126 |
| 7 | 72 | £369,350 |
| 8 | 73 | £364,431 |
| 9 | 74 | £359,364 |
| 10 | 75 | £354,144 |
| 11 | 76 | £348,769 |
| 12 | 77 | £343,232 |
| 13 | 78 | £337,529 |
| 14 | 79 | £331,655 |
| 15 | 80 | £325,604 |
| 16 | 81 | £319,372 |
| 17 | 82 | £312,954 |
| 18 | 83 | £306,342 |
| 19 | 84 | £299,533 |
| 20 | 85 | £292,519 |
| 21 | 86 | £285,294 |
| 22 | 87 | £277,853 |
| 23 | 88 | £270,188 |
| 24 | 89 | £262,294 |
| 25 | 90 | £254,163 |
| 26 | 91 | £245,788 |
| 27 | 92 | £237,161 |
| 28 | 93 | £228,276 |
| 29 | 94 | £219,125 |
| 30 | 95 | £209,698 |
| Your pension pot | £400,000 |
|---|---|
| Gross withdrawal a year | £16,000 |
| Income tax a year | −£686 |
| Net income a year | £15,314 |
| Sustainable to your target age | |
| Safe withdrawal rate | 5.1% |
| Sustainable gross a year | £20,408 |
| Sustainable net a year | £18,840 |
Information
Once you are drawing on a defined-contribution pension, the question is no longer how big the pot is but how long it lasts, and how much you can safely take without running out. This page runs your pot forward year by year in today's money: each year it grows at your assumed return after inflation and you take your withdrawal, until it either runs out or reaches your target age with money to spare.
The 4% rule, and why the UK number is lower. The 4% rule says draw 4% of the pot in the first year and rise with inflation, and historically the pot lasted 30 years. It comes from US market history; UK and forward-looking work often argues for 3% to 3.5%, because expected returns are lower here and fees and inflation bite. Any single "safe" rate is an illustration, not a promise. The safe-rate figure above solves it exactly for your inputs: the rate that runs the pot to £0 at your target age.
Why tax matters. After your 25% tax-free lump sum, the rest of the pension is taxed as income when you draw it, on top of any other income that year. So the gross you take out of the pot is more than the net you get to spend. This page shows both, and taxes the withdrawal on the same HMRC bands the rest of the site uses. There is no National Insurance on pension income.
Why a steady return overstates safety. Real markets do not return the same amount every year, and the ORDER matters: a run of poor returns early in retirement, while the pot is large and you are drawing from it, can drain it far sooner than the same returns later, even for an identical average. That is sequence-of-returns risk, and it is the single biggest reason a flat-return calculator looks safer than reality. The full simulator runs thousands of market paths and shows the probability your pot survives, not just one steady line, alongside your State Pension and everything else.
What's simplified. The return and the withdrawal are held level in real terms, other income is held flat (it does not start your State Pension at State Pension Age), and the whole withdrawal is taxed as income (the tax-free lump sum is assumed taken separately). Everything is in today's money.
FAQ
- What is the 4% rule, and is it safe?
The 4% rule is a rule of thumb: draw 4% of your pot in the first year, then increase that amount with inflation each year, and historically the pot lasted at least 30 years. It comes from US market history (the 1990s Trinity study); UK and forward-looking analysis often argues for a lower 3% to 3.5%, because expected returns are lower and UK inflation and fees bite. Treat any single "safe" rate as an illustration, not a guarantee: whether your pot actually lasts depends heavily on the order of returns, which no fixed-rate calculator can capture.
- How long will my pension pot last?
That depends on how much you draw, what your pot earns after inflation, and tax. This calculator runs your pot forward in real (today's money) terms: each year it grows at your assumed real return and you take your withdrawal, until it either runs out (the depletion age) or reaches your target age with money to spare. Draw more than the pot earns and it shrinks every year; draw less and it can last indefinitely.
- How much can I safely take?
The calculator solves for it: the sustainable rate is the withdrawal that runs your pot down to exactly £0 at your target age, given your assumed return. Take less and you leave money behind (or the pot never runs out); take more and it runs out sooner. It is the honest answer to "how much can I draw", but remember it assumes a steady return, so build in a margin for bad years.
- How does income tax affect my drawdown?
A lot. Once you have taken your 25% tax-free lump sum, the rest of your pension is taxed as income when you draw it, on top of any other income that year (your State Pension, other pensions, earnings). So the gross you take out of the pot is more than the net you get to spend. This calculator shows both: the gross withdrawal that drains the pot, and the net income after income tax. There is no National Insurance on pension income.
- Why does the order of returns matter so much?
Because you are selling units to fund withdrawals. A run of poor returns early in retirement, while the pot is large and you are drawing from it, can permanently damage it in a way the same returns later would not, even if the average is identical. This is "sequence-of-returns risk", and it is the single biggest reason a fixed-return calculator overstates safety. The full simulator runs thousands of market paths (Monte Carlo cones) and shows the probability your pot survives, not just one steady-return line.
Recent changes
-
The Normal Minimum Pension Age rises from 55 to 57, so drawdown cannot start before 57 for anyone whose 55th birthday falls on or after this date.
-
Pension freedoms introduced flexi-access drawdown, letting people take as much or as little as they like from a defined-contribution pot from age 55, taxed as income (after the 25% tax-free lump sum).
Sources
- Tax when you get a pension (GOV.UK)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (HMRC)
Disclaimer
Not financial advice. This is a projection from a single steady return and level withdrawals; a real retirement faces variable markets, changing tax rules, and spending that shifts over time. The safe rate assumes the return happens exactly as entered. Consult a qualified adviser before making a decision based on these numbers.
