Retirement guides
Plain-English answers to the questions people actually have about making their money last.
Simulated futures explained: what the number on your retirement plan means
Most people treat the percentage on a retirement plan like a test score out of 100. It's a count: out of 2,000 simulated futures, how many the money lasted. This guide explains what it counts, why the order your good and bad years arrive in matters more than the average, what the range chart shows, and what neither can tell you.
Before you start: how to prepare for retirement planning
Twenty minutes gathering a few numbers makes a real difference to what you get out, because a plan is only as good as the figures behind it. Here's exactly what to collect: your State Pension forecast, every pension (DB and DC), savings, the income you want, and the big one-offs, plus how to get the most out of the tool.
Planning your retirement: a plain-English guide
A free, jargon-free guide to UK retirement planning: start from the life you want, build on your guaranteed income, choose how to turn a pot into income, manage the big risks, and pressure-test the plan.
Retirement planning as a couple: two pots, one plan, and the first death
Planning as a couple adds three things a single plan does not have: two of most allowances, two retirement dates to bridge between, and a first death that cuts income far faster than it cuts spending. Here is how each one works, with the arithmetic on the survivor gap most tools skip.
How much do I need to retire in the UK?
There's no universal number. What you need depends on your target lifestyle, your State Pension and other guaranteed income, and how long the money must last. Here's a framework, and how to pressure-test your own target.
The State Pension explained: amount, age, top-ups and the triple lock
The full new State Pension is £12,548 a year for 2026/27. Here's how much you get and why, your State Pension age, how qualifying years and National Insurance top-ups work, what the triple lock is, the effect of deferring, and how it's taxed.
When can I access my pension? (and the 2028 change)
Private pension from 55 (rising to 57 in April 2028); State Pension at 66 (rising to 67). A plain-English guide to the two ages people confuse, the 2028 change, the can-vs-should trap, the MPAA catch, and the early-access scam warning.
Investing basics: pensions, ISAs, fees, risk and asset classes
Investing feels complex, but it comes down to a few simple ideas: a pension or ISA is a wrapper, not an investment; inside it you hold asset classes that trade risk against reward; fees quietly compound; every provider's default fund and charges differ, so check both; and 'lifestyling' may not match your plan.
How long will £500,000 last in retirement?
There's no single answer. £500k might last 20 years or 40+, depending on your spending, other income like the State Pension, and the order markets move in. Here's what drives it, and how to see your own figure.
Sequence-of-returns risk: why the order of your returns matters
While you are saving, the order of your investment returns barely matters. Once you start drawing an income, it matters a great deal: a bad run in the first few years forces you to sell more units at low prices, and the pot may never fully recover. Here is the arithmetic, why averages hide it, and what can soften it.
Pension drawdown explained: how to actually run it
Pension drawdown keeps your pot invested and lets you take income from it as you choose. This guide covers what it is and the rules that apply, then the part that actually decides the outcome: how much to take (and the 4% 'rule'), sequence risk, which pots in which order, crystallisation methods, the MPAA trap, and keeping it going for a 30-year-plus retirement.
Annuity vs drawdown: how to think about the choice
Annuity or drawdown is the big retirement-income decision. One trades your pot for guaranteed income; the other keeps it invested and flexible. Here are the trade-offs, the tax, the risks, and why blending the two is so common.
Inheritance tax on pensions from April 2027: what's changing
From 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds will be included in your estate for inheritance tax. Combined with income tax on inherited pensions where death is at or after age 75, unspent pension can face a high effective rate. Here's how it works and how to model it.
What happens to my pension when I die?
Pensions usually pass outside your will, to whoever you've nominated, not who's in your will. Here's who inherits, the under-75 / over-75 tax rule, what happens with annuities and final-salary pensions, the 2027 IHT change, and the one form to keep updated.
Can I afford to retire at 60?
Retiring at 60 comes down to three numbers (what you've saved, what you'll spend, and what's already guaranteed) and one gap: the years before the State Pension starts at 67. Here's how to think it through, and the levers that move the answer.
Pension tax-free lump sum: the 25% explained
The 25% tax-free lump sum is one of the most valuable, and most misunderstood, pension features. Here's how it works, the £268,275 cap, why you don't have to take it all at once, and the tax traps to avoid.
Emergency tax on your first pension withdrawal: why you get less than you expected
The first time you take money flexibly from a pension, your provider usually has no tax code for you, so it taxes the payment as though you were going to take the same amount every month for a year. That squeezes a single withdrawal through one twelfth of every band, and the bill can be several thousand pounds more than you actually owe. It's refundable, and largely avoidable.
Salary sacrifice is changing in 2029: what it means for your pay
From April 2029 a £2,000 annual cap applies to the National Insurance saving on salary sacrifice. Income tax relief is untouched. Worked figures at ten salary levels, the counter-intuitive point that the cost peaks near £50,000, what it means for bonus sacrifice, and what your employer loses too.