How long will my pension pot last?

Worked UK examples, the four things that decide the answer, and how to work out your own.

Last updated: October 2026

The short answer

It depends mostly on the size of your pot and how much you take out each year, how your investments grow, and when your State Pension and any other pensions start.
In our example, a £300,000 pot taken from age 60 runs out at about 80 if you take £24,000 a year at 4% growth, but lasts past 100 at £20,000 a year and 5% growth.
Timing matters as much as averages. One bad year for markets just after you retire can take years off the life of a pot.
There's no single right number. The useful question is: how long does it last if things go less well than I hope?

The four things that decide how long it lasts

How much you take out, compared with the size of your pot. This matters more than anything else. Taking £20,000 a year from £300,000 is very different from taking it from £600,000. And a few thousand pounds a year more or less can move the answer by ten years or more.
Your other income, and when it starts. The full new State Pension is £12,548 a year in 2026/27, from State Pension age (66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028). Before it starts, your pot pays for everything. After it starts, your pot only has to fill the gap. A final salary (DB) pension works the same way.
Growth and inflation. What counts is growth after inflation. 6% growth with 3% inflation leaves your money growing by about 3% a year in real terms. 4% growth with 3% inflation leaves only about 1%.
The order of good and bad years. A market fall early in retirement does far more damage than the same fall later on. More on this below.

Tax matters too. Usually 25% of each withdrawal is tax-free (up to the £268,275 Lump Sum Allowance) and the rest is taxed as income. The Personal Allowance is £12,570 and frozen until April 2031. Once your State Pension starts, it uses most of that allowance, so more of your pension withdrawals are taxed.

A worked example: £300,000 at 60

Take one person who stops work at 60 with a £300,000 pension pot and nothing else saved. They get the full State Pension of £12,548 a year from 67. Until then the pot pays all their spending. From 67 it pays only the part the State Pension doesn't cover.

The table shows the age at which the pot runs out, for three spending levels and three growth rates. Spending is before tax and in today's money (it rises with 3% inflation each year).

Yearly spending (before tax)	4% growth	5% growth	6% growth
£20,000	93	Past 100	Past 100
£24,000	80	83	87
£28,000	74	76	77

Age the pot runs out. £300,000 pot from 60, State Pension £12,548 a year from 67, 3% inflation, growth after charges, same growth every year. Simple illustration only, ignoring tax.

Two things stand out:

Spending moves the answer far more than growth. Going from £24,000 to £20,000 a year adds 13 years at 4% growth. Going from 4% to 6% growth at £24,000 adds 7.
The years before the State Pension are the hardest. From 60 to 67 the pot pays the full £24,000. From 67 it pays about £11,500 (in today's money). Retiring a year or two later, or spending less in those years, helps a lot.

Why a bad start does more damage

Averages hide the order things happen in. Take the same person spending £24,000 a year with 6% growth, and add one 20% market fall. Everything else is identical.

When the 20% fall happens	Pot runs out at
No fall	87
At 69, nine years in	82
At 60, in the first year	74

Same assumptions as the table above, with 6% growth every year except the one fall.

A fall in the first year costs 13 years. The same fall nine years later costs 5. That's because early on you are selling investments while they're down, and the money you've taken out never gets the chance to recover. This is called sequence risk.

Some people hold a few years' spending in cash or lower-risk investments so they don't have to sell shares after a fall. Others buy an annuity with part of their pot, which pays a guaranteed income for life and can't run out.

What about the 4% rule?

The "4% rule" says you can take 4% of your pot in the first year, then raise it with inflation each year. On £300,000 that's £12,000 a year.

It comes from US research in the 1990s, based on US market history and a 30-year retirement. It's a useful starting point, but it isn't a promise, and it doesn't know about your State Pension, a DB pension, or the UK tax system. In our example, taking £12,000 a year from 60 lasts to 88 at 4% growth and past 100 at 6%.

How long do you need it to last?

Many people plan to their average life expectancy. That means about half of people outlive their plan. Running out of money at 85 is a much worse outcome than having some left over at 95.

The ONS life expectancy calculator shows your average age, and your chance of reaching 90 or 100. For a couple, the chance that at least one of you lives into your 90s is higher again. Planning to 95 is a common choice.

How to work out your own answer

List your guaranteed income, and when each part starts: State Pension (from your State Pension forecast), any DB pensions, any annuity.
Decide what you'd like to spend each year, after tax. Our guide How much money do you need to retire? has the official benchmarks. Spending often falls in your late 70s and 80s, but care costs can come later.
Work out the gap, year by year. The gap is what your pot, savings and ISAs have to pay. It is usually biggest before the State Pension starts.
Test it, not just once. Try lower growth, higher inflation, and a fall in the first year. If the plan only works when everything goes well, it's worth knowing now.
For a couple, do it for both of you, including what happens to income when one of you dies.

If you have savings and ISAs as well as a pension, the order you spend them in also changes how long your money lasts, and how much tax you pay. From 6 April 2027, most unused pensions also count towards inheritance tax, which changes the answer for many families.

This is what Time to Retire does. It works out the gap for every year of your plan, for one person or a couple, with UK tax for each of you. It runs your plan 400 times with random good and bad years for markets, and shows the age your money lasts to in each case. Your figures stay on your own device.

Try the free demo → See pricing

Common questions

How long will £100,000 last in retirement?

Taking £10,000 a year, rising with inflation, it lasts about 10 to 11 years at 4% to 6% growth with 3% inflation. Taking £5,000 a year, it lasts about 22 years at 4% growth and about 29 at 6%. With the State Pension covering the basics, a pot this size often works best topping up income rather than paying for everything.

Is it better to buy an annuity?

An annuity can't run out, but you give up the pot in exchange. Drawdown keeps the pot invested and flexible, but it can run out. Many people use some of each. See Annuity vs drawdown for a worked example.

What happens to what's left when I die?

Unused pension money can usually pass to your family. From 6 April 2027 most unused pensions count towards your estate for inheritance tax. If you die at 75 or over, the people who inherit it also pay income tax when they take it out. See Inheritance tax on pensions from 2027.

Will the Budget change this?

The figures on this page were checked in October 2026. If the Budget on 28 October changes any of them, we'll update this page.

Is this financial advice?

No. The examples are simple illustrations on the stated assumptions, not a forecast for you. For advice on your own situation, speak to a regulated financial adviser. Pension Wise offers free, impartial guidance if you're 50 or over and have a DC pension.

Time to Retire is a planning tool, not financial advice. It is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Figures are estimates based on stated assumptions and current rules, which can change. · Privacy policy · Terms · More guides · © 2026 TimeToRetire.co.uk

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