Pension Drawdown Calculator: Tax & Pot Projection
Explore how tax, withdrawals, investment returns and inflation affect your pension fund. Keep upfront cash separate from later taxable drawdown and inspect the annual breakdown.
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Choose whether to take standard tax-free cash before the projection or start with an existing fully taxable drawdown fund. Later withdrawals in this model are taxable; UFPLS and phased crystallisation are not included.
Compare a fixed gross withdrawal rising with inflation against a percentage of the remaining pot. The projection covers your chosen end age under constant assumptions; it does not prove your money will last for life or identify a safe withdrawal rate.
A flexi-access drawdown scenario: tax-free cash is taken once or has already been dealt with. All later withdrawals modelled here are taxable. UFPLS and phased crystallisation are separate options and are not calculated.
Your pot and withdrawal assumptions
Cash is removed before the annual projection.
Confirm the amount with your provider, considering prior use, protection and both lump sum allowances. £268,275 is the standard total LSA, not necessarily your remaining amount.
Before tax. The amount rises by your entered inflation rate.
For example, State Pension or another pension already in payment. Held constant in cash terms. Excludes savings/dividends; changing start dates need the retirement planner.
Nominal return, before inflation. Constant every year; zero and negative scenarios are supported.
Used to increase fixed gross withdrawals and show net income in starting-year pounds. No automatic future rate forecast.
Check your minimum or protected access age separately. This does not establish eligibility.
The model stops on this birthday. A remaining balance does not prove lifetime sustainability.
Your drawdown scenario
Upfront cash outside this plan
£62,500.00
Starting drawdown fund
£187,500.00
First-year net drawdown
£18,514.00
- First-year gross withdrawal
- £20,000.00
- Income Tax attributable to drawdown
- £1,486.00
- First-year net monthly equivalent
- £1,542.83
The requested gross withdrawal cannot be met in full in the period starting at age 69.
The pot reaches zero in the model period 69–70. This is not an exact payment or depletion date.
Upfront cash is outside this projection and is not spent on annual withdrawals. Tax is the difference between combined-income tax and tax on other income alone, using 2026/27 bands held constant in cash terms. No employment NI is charged on pension withdrawals. Net drawdown excludes the other income itself.
This is an annual tax-liability estimate, not a PAYE or emergency-tax forecast. Your actual tax code, deductions, residence and other income can change the result. Constant returns do not measure market volatility or sequence-of-returns risk.
Annual withdrawals, tax and remaining fund
| Age | Opening fund | Requested gross | Actual gross | Tax on drawdown | Net drawdown | Net in starting-year £ | Growth after withdrawal | Closing fund |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60–61 | £187,500.00 | £20,000.00 | £20,000.00 | £1,486.00 | £18,514.00 | £18,514.00 | £3,350.00 | £170,850.00 |
| 61–62 | £170,850.00 | £20,400.00 | £20,400.00 | £1,566.00 | £18,834.00 | £18,464.71 | £3,009.00 | £153,459.00 |
| 62–63 | £153,459.00 | £20,808.00 | £20,808.00 | £1,647.60 | £19,160.40 | £18,416.38 | £2,653.02 | £135,304.02 |
| 63–64 | £135,304.02 | £21,224.16 | £21,224.16 | £1,730.83 | £19,493.33 | £18,369.00 | £2,281.60 | £116,361.46 |
| 64–65 | £116,361.46 | £21,648.64 | £21,648.64 | £1,815.73 | £19,832.91 | £18,322.55 | £1,894.26 | £96,607.07 |
| 65–66 | £96,607.07 | £22,081.62 | £22,081.62 | £1,902.32 | £20,179.29 | £18,277.01 | £1,490.51 | £76,015.96 |
| 66–67 | £76,015.96 | £22,523.25 | £22,523.25 | £1,990.65 | £20,532.60 | £18,232.36 | £1,069.85 | £54,562.57 |
| 67–68 | £54,562.57 | £22,973.71 | £22,973.71 | £2,080.74 | £20,892.97 | £18,188.59 | £631.78 | £32,220.63 |
| 68–69 | £32,220.63 | £23,433.19 | £23,433.19 | £2,172.64 | £21,260.55 | £18,145.67 | £175.75 | £8,963.19 |
| 69–70 | £8,963.19 | £23,901.85 | £8,963.19 | £0.00 | £8,963.19 | £7,500.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 70–71 | £0.00 | £24,379.89 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 71–72 | £0.00 | £24,867.49 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 72–73 | £0.00 | £25,364.84 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 73–74 | £0.00 | £25,872.13 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 74–75 | £0.00 | £26,389.58 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 75–76 | £0.00 | £26,917.37 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 76–77 | £0.00 | £27,455.71 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 77–78 | £0.00 | £28,004.83 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 78–79 | £0.00 | £28,564.92 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 79–80 | £0.00 | £29,136.22 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 80–81 | £0.00 | £29,718.95 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 81–82 | £0.00 | £30,313.33 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 82–83 | £0.00 | £30,919.59 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 83–84 | £0.00 | £31,537.99 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 84–85 | £0.00 | £32,168.74 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 85–86 | £0.00 | £32,812.12 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 86–87 | £0.00 | £33,468.36 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 87–88 | £0.00 | £34,137.73 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 88–89 | £0.00 | £34,820.48 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 89–90 | £0.00 | £35,516.89 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 90–91 | £0.00 | £36,227.23 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 91–92 | £0.00 | £36,951.78 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 92–93 | £0.00 | £37,690.81 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 93–94 | £0.00 | £38,444.63 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 94–95 | £0.00 | £39,213.52 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
Model different pension start dates and an after-tax spending target
How this pension drawdown calculator works
Reviewed 16 October 2026. This is a single-person, UK-resident flexi-access drawdown scenario using 2026/27 Income Tax rates. It does not choose investments, establish pension access rights or recommend a withdrawal strategy.
For the upfront option, the entered pot is before tax-free cash and the whole remainder is treated as taxable drawdown. For an existing fund, enter the remaining fully taxable fund after earlier cash; no second deduction is made. Upfront cash stays outside the annual projection and does not also pay for annual withdrawals. Phased access and UFPLS require separate modelling.
Each row represents a birthday-to-birthday period, not an exact tax year or payment schedule. The model withdraws the gross amount at the start of the period, then applies the constant net-of-fee investment return to the balance. Fixed withdrawals rise with inflation; percentages use the opening remaining pot. Tax is calculated annually, with no emergency-PAYE adjustment.
Worked example: cash first, then taxable drawdown
With a £250,000 pot and sufficient confirmed allowance, the standard upfront cash is £62,500 and the drawdown fund starts at £187,500. A £20,000 gross first-year withdrawal with no other income produces £1,486 Income Tax and £18,514 net (£1,542.83 monthly equivalent) using England, Wales and Northern Ireland bands.
At zero growth and zero inflation from age 60, nine full £20,000 withdrawals leave £7,500. The period starting at 69 can provide only £7,500 gross, so the requested amount is no longer met and the fund reaches zero in period 69–70. This is a model period, not a precise depletion date. The £62,500 cash remains outside this calculation.
Worked example: other income changes the tax
With £30,000 other taxable non-savings income and £20,000 taxable drawdown, combined Income Tax is £7,486 versus £3,486 on the other income alone. The extra tax attributable to drawdown is £4,000, leaving £16,000 net drawdown. Your other income is not added to that net result. Scottish bands can produce a different answer.
Read the projection as a scenario, not a guarantee
Future investment performance is uncertain. A sequence of losses while withdrawing money can damage the fund even when a long-run average return looks plausible. Compare zero or negative growth, higher inflation and a longer horizon. The tool does not calculate a probability of success or identify a universally safe percentage.
Other income is assumed to be present throughout the projection and stays constant in cash terms. If State Pension or another scheme pension starts later, use the retirement planner with the relevant start ages. Do not enter income you have not yet started as though it were already available.
Tax thresholds also stay constant in cash terms in the model, which can increase tax as fixed withdrawals rise. Actual future rules may differ. Savings/dividends, tax-code adjustments, means-tested benefits, care costs, death benefits, contribution allowances and new contributions are not modelled.
Private-pension access is generally from 55 now and usually 57 from 6 April 2028, with exceptions including protected rights and some ill-health cases. An entered start age is not an eligibility check. Confirm with your provider before planning a payment.
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