Bureau of Wealth

Pension Drawdown Calculator: How Long Your Pot Lasts

By the Bureau of Wealth team Updated

This calculator is general information, not financial advice. Check your own figures with the provider or a qualified adviser before acting on them.

Enter your pot, the yearly income you want and your other income, such as the State Pension, to see the tax on each withdrawal and roughly when the money runs out.

Using 2026/27 rates rates checked 14 September 2026

Before tax, in today’s money. It rises with inflation each year.

Such as the State Pension (£12,547.60 a year at the full rate) or other pensions.

Check the highlighted fields to see your results.

What this calculator assumes

  • Each year's withdrawal is taken at the start of the year and rises with the inflation rate you enter. Whatever is left then grows at the same steady rate every year, so the effect of a market fall early in retirement is not shown.
  • Income tax uses the 2026/27 rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland or for Scotland, a standard tax code and the reduction in the Personal Allowance above £100,000. The bands are held at today's figures, while your withdrawals and other income rise with inflation.
  • Tax-free cash is either 25% of the pot taken at the start, or 25% of each withdrawal until the £268,275 lump sum allowance is used. If you choose "already taken", every pound you withdraw is taxed.
  • Other taxable income, such as the State Pension or a workplace pension, rises with inflation each year. What you do with a lump sum taken up front is not tracked.
  • Only one defined contribution pot is modelled. Annuities, defined benefit pensions, charges taken as fees rather than from growth, and inheritance tax are not included.

You might also want to check

  • State Pension Calculator

    Your State Pension is taxed alongside every drawdown withdrawal, so check how much you are likely to get before choosing an income.

  • Pension Calculator

    Still building your pot? Project what it could be worth by the age you want to start drawing from it.

How the calculator works

Drawdown means leaving your pension invested and taking money out as you need it. The calculator follows the pot year by year. At the start of each year it takes out the income you asked for, raised by inflation, works out the income tax on it, and grows what is left at your chosen rate. It stops when the pot is empty or when it reaches the age you plan to.

Tax is worked out on the pension withdrawal stacked on top of your other taxable income. The calculator taxes your other income on its own, then taxes your other income plus the withdrawal, and the difference is the tax on the withdrawal. So if the State Pension already uses most of your Personal Allowance, almost all of each withdrawal is taxed at your top rate.

A worked example

Say you have £300,000 at 67, want £15,000 a year before tax, and get the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week, or £12,547.60 a year. You live in England and assume 4% growth after charges and 2.5% inflation.

If you take 25% as a lump sum at the start, you receive £75,000 tax-free and £225,000 stays invested. Your State Pension leaves only £22.40 of the Personal Allowance, so the first year's £15,000 costs £2,995.52 in tax, leaving £12,004.48, or £1,000.37 a month. The pot runs out at about 83.

If instead you take 25% of each withdrawal tax-free, £3,750 of the first £15,000 is tax-free and the tax falls to £2,245.52, leaving £12,754.48, or £1,062.87 a month. Because the whole £300,000 stays invested, the same income lasts until about 90. The comparison is not like for like, though: the first option also gives you £75,000 in cash to spend, save or invest outside the pension.

What changes the result

The amount you take matters most. Raising the income in the example to £20,000 with the lump sum taken up front brings the end forward from about 83 to about 79. Growth matters too: at 2% a year instead of 4%, the pot runs out at about 81. In Scotland the first year's tax in the example is £2,955.85, because of the different bands.

Holding the tax bands at today's figures is realistic for now. The government has said the Personal Allowance will stay at £12,570 and the basic rate limit at £37,700 until 5 April 2031, after which the default is that they rise with inflation. Over a long plan, flat bands overstate the tax in later years.

Before you start drawing

Once you take taxable money from a defined contribution pension through drawdown or as cash lump sums, the money purchase annual allowance applies. For 2026/27 it limits tax-relieved payments into defined contribution pensions to £10,000 a year, which matters if you are still working and saving. You can currently access a personal or workplace pension from 55, and that age is due to rise to 57 from 6 April 2028.

Try the same pot with each tax-free cash option and a few income levels before you commit, and ask your pension provider which ways of taking your money your scheme offers. For a large pot or a complicated tax position, a regulated financial adviser can look at your whole situation. To see what the State Pension part of your income could be, use the State Pension calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How much of my pension can I take tax-free?

You can usually take up to 25% of the amount built up in a pension tax-free, up to a maximum of £268,275. The rest is taxed as income when you take it.

Is it better to take the tax-free cash up front or in stages?

Taking it in stages keeps more of the pot invested and lowers the tax on each withdrawal, which in the example makes the income last longer. Taking it up front gives you a large sum now, which may suit you if you have a clear use for it. Which is better depends on what you would do with the cash.

Does the State Pension count as taxable income?

Yes. GOV.UK lists the State Pension as part of the total income your tax is worked out on. At the full new State Pension rate it uses up almost all of your Personal Allowance, which is why the calculator asks for it.

What is the money purchase annual allowance?

It is a lower limit on tax-relieved pension saving that applies once you flexibly access a defined contribution pension, for example by taking drawdown income or cash from your pot. For 2026/27 it is £10,000 a year.

Why does the calculator say my pot runs out at a certain age?

It is the age when the yearly income you asked for, rising with inflation, can no longer be paid in full at the growth rate you entered. Real returns go up and down, so treat it as a guide and check your plan every year.

Sources

Figures come from institutions millions of people rely on. How we keep calculators accurate.