What is a sustainable pension withdrawal rate?
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In short: The percentage of your drawdown pot you can take each year without likely running out — often discussed as 3%–4% as a starting point, adjusted for charges, State Pension, tax and market returns.
Last reviewed:
Reviewed by Kaiser Khan
The US 4% rule is a guide, not a UK guarantee. Sequence-of-returns risk matters.
Use our pension drawdown calculator and drawdown income guide to model your situation.
Combining annuity income for essentials reduces drawdown pressure.
Primary source: gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension/what-you-can-do-with-your-private-pension-pot
Part of our Pensions & retirement
This quick answer sits inside our wider pensions & retirement hub — with sub-guides, calculators and step-by-step explainers on the same topic.
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