Will my money last?

How it works

The calculator treats you as retired from today. Each year your spending is paid first from the State Pension (from State Pension age) and any final-salary pension, then from your pensions and ISAs. A quarter of each pension withdrawal is tax-free and the rest is taxed as income, so it takes out a little more than you spend to cover the tax.

It answers in two ways. First at steady growth: the same return every year (2.6%, 3.9% or 5.1% above inflation for a cautious, balanced or adventurous mix), giving the age your money lasts to. Then with markets that go up and down: the full planner’s own simulation runs 1,000 possible futures for shares, bonds and cash, moving together the way they tend to, and counts how many still pay your spending at 90, 95 and 100.

The two can tell different stories. A bad run of markets in the first few years of retirement, while you’re drawing money out, does lasting harm — so a plan that lasts comfortably at steady growth can still fall short in a fair share of simulated markets.

The UK rules it uses

• Income tax on pension income at 2026/27 rates: nothing on the first £12,570, 20% to £50,270, 40% above. No National Insurance on pensions.
• A quarter of each pension withdrawal tax-free, up to £268,275 over your lifetime.
• Pensions can be drawn from 55, rising to 57 from 6 April 2028. ISAs can be used at any age and are tax-free.
• The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27 (£12,548 a year), from State Pension age — 67 for most people retiring now.
• Everything is in today’s money: your spending, the State Pension and any final-salary pension rise with prices.

A worked example

Say you’re 65 with £350,000 in pensions and £50,000 in ISAs, spending £28,000 a year, with the full State Pension from 67 and a balanced mix. At steady growth of 3.9% a year, there’s still money left at 100.

In the simulation the picture is less certain: the money lasted to 90 in 82% of simulated markets, to 95 in 69% and to 100 in 60%. Spending £24,000 instead, those become 98%, 94% and 89%. Spending £32,000, it runs short at 90 even at steady growth, and lasts to 95 in only 40% of simulated markets.

Questions people ask

What does “lasts to 95 in 69% of simulated markets” mean?

Of 1,000 possible futures for the markets, your spending was paid every year up to 95 in 690 of them. It describes how the plan held up in the simulation, not the odds of what will actually happen — real markets, and your own life, won’t follow any of them exactly.

Why does steady growth say it lasts when the simulation is less sure?

Steady growth is an average. When markets fall early in retirement you sell more to pay the same bills, and that money isn’t there for the recovery. The simulation includes those bad sequences; steady growth doesn’t.

Should I spend less to be safe?

That’s your choice, and many people would rather adjust as they go — spending a little less after bad years. The full plan can model that, along with a partner, your home, and the order you draw your pensions and ISAs.

Does it include a final-salary pension?

Yes: add the yearly amount and the age it starts. It’s taken to rise with prices, as most do (often up to a cap).