Pension drawdown calculator
See how long your pot could support the income you want to take from it. The question was never what the pot is worth. It's whether it outlasts you.
Updated for the 2026/27 tax year · reviewed
Your drawdown
This assumes a constant growth rate applied evenly every month. Real returns arrive in an unpredictable sequence - a run of poor returns early in retirement (sequence risk) can damage a pot in a way a smooth average return never would, even at the same average.
It also ignores tax. Anything you take from a pension beyond your 25% tax-free entitlement is taxable income, so to actually spend £1,500 a month you generally have to withdraw more than that - and the pot runs down faster than the figure below suggests. To model income tax, the State Pension and the order you draw your pots in, use the retirement drawdown planner.
At this withdrawal rate, the pot lasts
27 years 7 months
Total withdrawn
£496,500
Age it runs out
95
from age 67 today
Sustainable withdrawal
£1,000
4% rule of thumb: pot × 4% ÷ 12
Pot balance over time
How the pot runs down as withdrawals outpace growth.
This assumes one pot and no tax. Your retirement has neither.
Real drawdown means several pots, a tax bill on what you take, and a State Pension that starts partway through. Plan the order you draw them in and the pot lasts materially longer.
Create your free accountHow this calculator works
Starting from your pot, we apply the assumed growth rate and subtract your withdrawal every month, and stop as soon as the running balance reaches zero. If it never does within 100 years of withdrawals, we say the pot is effectively sustainable rather than showing a meaninglessly large month count.
The "age it runs out" figure simply adds the number of months the pot lasts to the age you entered - it's arithmetic on top of the same month count, not a separate model.
The sustainable-withdrawal tile applies the 4% rule of thumb - a well-known planning shorthand suggesting a pot can support roughly a 4% annual withdrawal with a low risk of running out over a long retirement. It's a starting point, not a guarantee, and many planners now favour something more cautious.
This calculator applies a single constant growth rate every month, so it can't show sequence risk - the danger that a run of poor returns early in retirement, while you're also withdrawing money, damages a pot more than the same average return spread evenly would. Treat the result as an average-case estimate, and the state pension isn't included; this models only the pot you enter.
Questions people ask
How long will my pension pot last?
It depends on the size of the pot, how much you withdraw each year, and the growth rate on what's left invested - this calculator runs those numbers year by year so you can see the pot rise or fall over time. Withdrawing more than the pot grows will draw it down faster, even if that isn't obvious in the early years.
What is the 4% rule?
It's a rule of thumb, originally from US research, suggesting a pot can support an inflation-adjusted withdrawal of around 4% a year with a low risk of running out over a 30-year retirement. It's a useful starting point rather than a guarantee, and many UK planners now suggest a somewhat lower rate given longer retirements and market uncertainty.
Why do returns not being 'smooth' matter?
This is called sequence risk - a run of poor returns early in retirement, while you're also withdrawing money, can permanently damage a pot in a way that the same average return spread evenly would not. This calculator uses a constant assumed growth rate, so it can't show that risk directly; treat its output as an average-case estimate.
Does the state pension count towards this?
No - this calculator models only the pot you enter. The UK state pension is paid on top from state pension age and is a useful floor of income to factor in separately when deciding how hard your private pot needs to work.
Last reviewed against 2026/27 UK rules. Projections are estimates for education, not financial advice. Understanding your projections.
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