UK Pension Drawdown Calculator

Illustration only. This calculator models the assumptions you enter; it does not predict investment returns or future tax law. Pension and tax rules can change. Figures are not financial advice.

Private pension

Age when drawdown starts

Normal minimum pension age rules are validated unless protected age is selected.

Total pension pot (£)

Tax-free cash strategy

Remaining Lump Sum Allowance (£)

Use the allowance you still have available, not necessarily the standard lifetime amount.

I am modelling a valid protected pension age / applicable exception

Income target

Target net monthly income (£, today's money)

Net income after modelled pension-income tax. Upfront PCLS is not counted as annual income.

Real income growth (%/year)

Inflation assumption (%/year)

Projection period (years)

Other taxable income (£/year, today's money)

Examples: DB pension or employment income. Included in the target and tax calculation.

Other income real growth (%/year)

Investments & charges

Equity allocation (%)

Cash allocation (%)

Equity return (% nominal)

Cash return (% nominal)

Annual charges (%)

Applied to opening balance each projection year.

State Pension

Your State Pension age

Use the age from your official State Pension forecast.

State Pension input method

Official forecast is preferred. Qualifying-years mode is provided for scenario modelling, including expat cases.

Forecast annual State Pension (£, current 2026/27 value)

Enter the annual amount from your GOV.UK State Pension forecast.

Earnings growth assumption (%/year)

Triple-lock floor (%/year)

Projection uses max(inflation, earnings growth, floor). This is an assumption, not a forecast.

Tax assumptions

Personal Allowance (£)

PA taper starts at total taxable income (£)

Tax-band/allowance growth (%/year)

Future tax policy is unknown. 0% models frozen nominal thresholds.

Advanced modelling

Return timing

Mid-year mode applies half the net return before and half after withdrawal.

Low-balance warning (% of starting invested pot)

Display precision

Advanced tax-band editor

Projected pension balance

Year	Age	Opening	Gross return	Charges	Gross withdrawal	Tax-free	Taxable withdrawal	Other taxable	State Pension	Total tax	Net total income	Income shortfall	Closing	Real closing	LSA remaining

Important modelling notes

Tax: 2026/27 defaults are provided for England/Wales/Northern Ireland and Scotland. Future-year thresholds are projections controlled by the tax-threshold growth input. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and can change.

State Pension: official forecast mode is preferred. The optional qualifying-years mode is a simplified scenario estimate: normally fewer than 10 qualifying years gives no new State Pension, while 10–35 years are modelled proportionally against the full current rate. This proportional method is not a substitute for an official forecast, particularly where the National Insurance record started before 6 April 2016 or contracting-out/transitional rules apply. The selected current-value amount is uprated to State Pension age using the assumptions entered.

Returns: this is a deterministic projection. Constant annual return assumptions do not model market volatility or sequence-of-returns risk. A projection that retains a positive balance is not a guarantee of sustainability.

PCLS/UFPLS: the model tracks the remaining Lump Sum Allowance you enter. It does not model every form of pension protection, transitional rule, scheme-specific restriction or emergency PAYE treatment.