Drawdown Calculator UK: Will Your Pot Last?
The hardest financial question in retirement isn't 'have I saved enough?' It's 'how long will what I have actually last?' The drawdown calculator answers that, year by year.
Fee drag on a £100,000 pot over 30 years at 7%
£100k starting pot, no contributions, 7% nominal annual return. Compounded fee drag is the silent tax.
Drawdown rules of thumb for UK retirees
| Input | Sensible default |
|---|---|
| Withdrawal rate | 3.0% to 3.5% for a 40-year plan |
| Real return | 4% to 5% for a balanced equity portfolio |
| Inflation | 2.5% (BoE target 2%, history closer to 3%) |
| Full State Pension | About £11,500 per year from age 66 |
| Cash buffer | 1 to 3 years of spending at the start |
Conservative inputs beat optimistic ones when the cost of being wrong is your seventies.
Key takeaways
The drawdown calculator simulates how long your retirement pot lasts when you draw down a set income each year.
It accounts for investment returns, inflation, and the State Pension topping up your income from your State Pension age.
A 4% starting withdrawal rate is the textbook safe rate, but UK retirees often use 3% to 3.5% for extra margin.
The biggest risk is sequence of returns - poor markets in your first decade of retirement can shorten the life of your pot dramatically.