How long will your pension actually last? Enter your pot, annual withdrawal, and real return to see exactly how many years of income you can take.
8 min readUpdated April 2026
The most stressful question in retirement is also the simplest: ‘how long will my pension last?’ The answer depends on three things — your pot, how much you withdraw each year, and the real return your investments earn.
The headline answer below shows years remaining at your current settings. The chart shows balance year-by-year. Compare your withdrawal rate to the classic 4% rule to gauge sustainability.
How Long Will My Pension Last?
Years of income from your pot at a given withdrawal and real return.
Your details
£50k£2m
£1k£150k
0%8%
Your answer
Pension lasts
0 years
at 0% withdrawal rate
vs the 4% rule
+0 years
4% rule would last...
Real return is after inflation, so figures are in today's money. State Pension is on top from State Pension age. Guidance only.
The 4% rule explained
The 4% rule is a withdrawal-rate rule of thumb: take 4% of your initial pot in year one, then increase by inflation each year. Historical UK and US data suggests this provides high probability of lasting 30+ years.
However, more recent UK research (Morningstar, PensionHelper, FCA) suggests 3.5% is safer for current retirees given lower expected real returns and longer life expectancy.
Sequence-of-returns risk: Even if average returns are good, a bad first 5 years can permanently damage your pot. Mitigate with a 2-3 year cash buffer and dynamic withdrawal rules.
What if my pot runs out?
You'd need to fall back on State Pension (£11,973/yr full new), other savings, ISAs, property, or part-time work. Most pensioners worry about this scenario most — and the calculator above helps you avoid it by showing the impact of small adjustments to withdrawal rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
At a 4% withdrawal rate (£20,000/year) and 3% real return, £500,000 typically lasts 30+ years. At 5% withdrawal, it depletes in roughly 23 years.
If your real return matches your withdrawal rate (e.g. 3.5% real return, 3.5% withdrawal), the pot in principle lasts forever in real terms. Below 4% is generally considered sustainable for 30 years.
Yes for total income planning. The calculator above shows pot duration only — State Pension (£11,973/year full new) is on top, starting at State Pension age.
Inflation eats into pots that aren't growing fast enough. The calculator uses real return (after inflation) so figures are in today's money — what you can actually buy.
Withdraw at or below your real return rate. A 3% real return supports a 3% withdrawal rate indefinitely. This is sometimes called 'perpetual withdrawal'.
Yes. Sustainable withdrawal is one of the hardest problems in personal finance. An FCA-regulated adviser can run Monte Carlo models and recommend dynamic strategies.
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