Drawdown Simulator

    Changelog

    Every change that a user would notice, newest first. Current version 1.40. How the model works is on the methodology page.

    Model corrections

    Changes that moved the numbers because the model was wrong, not because a feature was added. Listed separately because a reader deserves to know.

    • 11 Sep 2026, v1.32. Rolling cash ladder inside the pension: its first rungs left the pension untaxed and were spent untaxed; only refills were taxed. Now built by the first year's refill under the same rules. Ladders held outside the pension are now paid for from the ISA and savings entered rather than assumed to be extra money. Found by a reader reconciling his year-by-year.
    • 10 Sep 2026, v1.28. A pension already partly in drawdown: prior tax-free cash reduced the allowance but the crystallised money it left behind kept a 25% tax-free share. Now entered explicitly and taxed in full when drawn.
    • 10 Sep 2026, v1.25. Tax thresholds were held at 2026/27 values for the whole plan. They now stay frozen to April 2031 as legislated and rise with inflation after it, with frozen-throughout as the stress option. Quantified against a reader's own model: about £200,000 of lifetime tax on a 35-year plan.
    • 10 Sep 2026, v1.19. Independent review of the engine: one definition of the headline (every year to target funded), the reserve floor held in today's money, a lump sum over 25% stacked on the year's other income, windfalls kept rather than lost, and a glide-path cap lifted when nothing else could fund the year.

    All changes

    v1.40 · 12 Sep 2026

    • Three pages that say what this is: About (who built it and why, what it does not do), Methodology (how the simulation, tax and drawing rules work, and what "works in 90 of 100 futures" does and does not mean), and this changelog on its own page with the model corrections called out. Linked from the footer.
    • The spending-guardrail card no longer claims to be the single most effective protection. It is one of the most effective, and the results now say how often it was needed.

    v1.39 · 12 Sep 2026

    • Which month you stop now counts. Choose a month in the planner's third question and enter your salary, and the first year runs from that month to 5 April, scaled to its months, with the salary already earned that tax year sitting under the plan's withdrawals so they are taxed on top of it. Later years are full tax years and the year-by-year is labelled 2027/28 and so on. The story compares your month with stopping after 6 April. Off unless you choose a month, so existing plans are unchanged.
    • Calculator: the same as a switch under the start date, with a field for taxable pay earned so far this tax year, for you and your partner.

    v1.38 · 12 Sep 2026

    • Blog post titles are white on their coloured banners again. A style rule had been painting them dark on dark on every post.

    v1.37 · 12 Sep 2026

    • Shared links now show a card. Every page carries a social image, and each blog post has its own with the title on it, so a link pasted into WhatsApp, Facebook or LinkedIn looks like something rather than a bare address.

    v1.36 · 12 Sep 2026

    • Sharing a page from a phone now shares that page. Safari and Chrome on iPhone share a page's canonical address rather than the one in the address bar, and ours pointed every page at the home page, so a shared blog post arrived as the bare domain. The address now follows the page.

    v1.35 · 11 Sep 2026

    • Year-by-year: a one-off windfall is now labelled as a windfall, not as a negative "additional spend". The engine has always treated it as money in that covers the year's spending first and banks the rest in your savings; the label was the confusing part.

    v1.34 · 11 Sep 2026

    • The tax-free lump sum card now shows your actual maximum in pounds: 25% of the pot, capped at £268,275 over a lifetime. It said "up to 25%" and left you to do the sum.
    • The story's opening line now says the plan works in "N of every 100" futures rather than "N out of 100", so it reads as a rate of the 1,000 futures it has just mentioned, not a different count. A reader found the switch from 1,000 to 100 confusing.

    v1.33 · 11 Sep 2026

    • The footer now says who made this. A reader who had spent a day with the tool wrote to say thank you and could not find a name anywhere but the blog.

    v1.32 · 11 Sep 2026

    • Correction: the rolling cash ladder held inside the pension was built untaxed. Its first three rungs left the SIPP without income tax and were spent without it; only the yearly refills were taxed. The ladder now starts empty and is built by the first year's refill under the same rules as every later one: basic-rate withdrawals from the pension first, taxed, then your ISA and savings. Plans with this ladder show more tax and less wealth than before, which is the right answer. Found by a reader going through his year-by-year line by line.
    • Correction: a ladder held outside the pension was assumed to be paid for with money not entered anywhere, so anyone who had also entered that money as ISA or savings had it twice. It is now paid for from your ISA and savings, above your reserve floor; only any remainder is treated as outside cash, and the year card says so.
    • Year-by-year: the pension block names what the ladder money is (moved into gilts inside the pension, or a taxed refill), and the tax-free/taxable split no longer counts a within-pension move as cash drawn.

    v1.31 · 11 Sep 2026

    • Phones: the calculator's Download, Upload and Goal Seek buttons sit in a row under the title instead of stacking beside it, and the site header no longer wraps when your phone's text size is turned up.

    v1.30 · 11 Sep 2026

    • Phones: the planner, compare page, calculator and year-by-year now open with something to do on the first screen. Headings are smaller and the introductions are one sentence on a small screen, so the first question, the lever chips or the first year are visible without scrolling.
    • Year-by-year on a phone: the year and ages sit on one line, badges beneath, and the two headline numbers side by side, instead of wrapping into a column of fragments.
    • Calculator on a phone: the step footer's long Back and Next labels were pushing the whole form past the right edge of the screen on the pots and tax steps, so the step strip and the planner link were cut off. Short labels on phones, and the column can no longer be forced wide.

    v1.29 · 10 Sep 2026

    • Year-by-year, expanded year: each person's SIPP block now ends with "Taxed as income this year": the taxable part of SIPP withdrawals, annuity income, State Pension and other income, less the personal allowance, down to the tax due. An annuity purchase is shown as a transfer, not as taxable income, and the tax-free/taxable split applies only to money drawn as cash.
    • The per-person tax boxes show how much of the year's gross income was taxable and how much was tax-free (ISA, reserve, tax-free cash).
    • When your income target is a before-tax figure, the year card says so and explains why the take-home is lower than the target, and how to ask for a take-home figure instead.

    v1.28 · 10 Sep 2026

    • A pension that is partly in drawdown can now be modelled. Beside each pot you can say how much of it is already in drawdown: that part is fully taxable when drawn and the rest keeps its 25% tax-free. Before, prior tax-free cash reduced your allowance but the money it left behind was still treated as 25% tax-free.
    • Tax-free cash already taken now sits with the pension pots on the calculator, where it belongs, rather than among the savings.
    • The tax-free savings box is labelled for what it holds: ISAs and premium bonds together. A reader asked for cash ISAs and premium bonds to earn a cash rate instead of the portfolio return; that is on the list.

    v1.27 · 10 Sep 2026

    • The story gained a chapter on tax: what you pay in year one, what changes when the State Pension arrives, where the bill ends up in today's money and why, and the lifetime total. Facts about your plan, not advice.
    • How long it has to last: under the stress tests, the same plan is asked to reach 90, 95 and 100, with the futures count and what is left for each, so longevity is a choice you can see rather than a buried setting.
    • Year-by-year: each expanded year now opens with a bar showing where that year's money came from, with the tax share underneath. It replaces the doughnut that showed the same split further down.

    v1.26 · 10 Sep 2026

    • The survivor what-if now announces itself on the year-by-year page. It has always been a second run beside your plan rather than a change to it, so the couple's table still showed both State Pensions and the full DB pensions after the chosen age, and the switch to the survivor's rows was easy to miss. A banner now says which view you are looking at and offers the other one. The card is renamed "What if one of us dies first?". Both from a reader who ran it and reasonably wondered whether it had done anything.

    v1.25 · 10 Sep 2026

    • Tax thresholds now follow the law beyond the freeze. The personal allowance and basic-rate limit stay at 2026/27 values to April 2031, then rise with inflation each year (the additional-rate point moves with the allowance; the £100,000 taper start stays fixed). Before, every threshold was frozen for the whole plan, which overstated late-life tax: about £160,000 over 35 years on a typical couple. A switch on the Tax step and in the planner's assumptions keeps them frozen throughout as a stress test. Found by a reader's cross-check against his own model.

    v1.24 · 10 Sep 2026

    • The story opens with your retirement on one line: every year from retirement to your target age coloured comfortable, watch or stretched, read straight from the futures (comfortable means the money lasts in the typical and the unlucky 1-in-10 future; watch means the unlucky future has already run short; stretched means even the typical one has). The State Pensions, other income, one-offs, spending steps, guaranteed income, care years and the survivor what-if sit on the line as dots. Hover for any age.
    • A one-line verdict under the heading names your plan's biggest vulnerability, from a new "Stress tests" chapter: a 2000-style first decade, inflation a point higher, and living to 100, each run on the same futures as your plan, with the protection that helps most against it and how many futures it wins back.

    v1.23 · 10 Sep 2026

    • Other income streams can now carry a tax-free lump sum: a DB pension's tax-free cash, paid once in the year the income starts, counted against the recipient's lump sum allowance (any part above it taxed as income that year) and banked in savings. For couples it follows the income's split, each half on its owner's age and allowance.
    • A fourth growth option for income streams: inflation-linked with a cap, the LPI shape of most DB schemes (5% by default, editable). Rises with inflation up to the cap and never falls.
    • The couple's allocation slider now says what it is for: whose income it is, which decides who pays the tax. The partner's tax-free-cash field carries the same note as yours. All four from one reader's planning evening.

    v1.22 · 10 Sep 2026

    • The story ends with "Your choices": three ordinary levers (work two more years, spend 10% less, secure 70% of spending with guaranteed income) run on the same futures as your plan and ranked by how much they help, in three plain sentences. The answer to "so what should I do?", with the compare page one click away. Remembered per plan so a return visit is instant.
    • Compare gains a spending ladder: five spending levels from 20% less to 20% more, each a full run on the same futures, read as a range with its trade-offs rather than a single "safe" number.

    v1.21 · 10 Sep 2026

    • Compare: three levers instead of five chips. "Retire at a different age" and "Spend a different amount" each take one column, and the stepper on the card runs from earlier to later, or less to more. Having "retire earlier" and "retire later" side by side made no sense (Ollie, ten minutes after launch).

    v1.20 · 10 Sep 2026

    • Compare your choices. A new page puts your plan beside alternatives that each change one thing: retire later or earlier, spend less or more, or secure the essentials with guaranteed income. Four numbers per column, one plain sentence on the trade-off, and one chart of how the money lasts. Every column runs on the same 1,000 market futures, so the differences are the decision, not chance. Remembered on this device, with a comparison file for keeps. Reached from the story and the calculator results.

    v1.19 · 10 Sep 2026

    • One definition of "works in N of 100 futures" for every plan: the share of futures in which every year to your target age was funded. Before, the headline switched to a different test when an annuity or a reserve floor was present, so a £1 floor could change the score. Money left at the target age and target-year income are now shown alongside, never swapped in. Plans that retire before minimum pension age with nothing to live on until then now show as failing, which they were.
    • Partial tax-free lump sums are modelled properly. Taking £50,000 tax-free from a £500,000 pot crystallises £200,000, so £150,000 of what remains carries no further tax-free element. Later withdrawals now get 25% tax-free only on the uncrystallised share. A full 25% lump behaves as before (no further tax-free cash), as does a pot flagged as already crystallised.
    • The reserve floor is in today's money, as the FAQ and story always said; it now rises with inflation instead of eroding.
    • A lump sum above 25% taken in the first year is taxed on top of that year's other income (a DB pension, the State Pension), not on its own. The extra tax is paid from the lump and shown separately.
    • Windfalls are banked half each for couples and treated as taxable cash rather than ISA money.
    • Before minimum pension age, savings and ISAs now cover the full need rather than being rationed over the bridge years while the pension cannot be touched.
    • Wording: annuity figures are illustrative rates, not quotes; dividends are part of total return and can be cut; the triple-lock switch describes the rule rather than saying "On"; the Monte Carlo FAQ states the sampling margin. Scottish plans' tax attribution now uses Scottish bands throughout. Prompted by an independent model review.

    v1.18 · 9 Sep 2026

    • Spending that changes at set ages. A new planner card, "Will your spending change at set ages?": the mortgage ends at 68, you slow down after 80. Each step is a permanent change from that age, in today's money, so you no longer need a one-off row for every year. Also in the calculator's Fine-tuning step, and the story gains a chapter, "The steps". Asked for by a reader comparing the tool with Voyant.
    • Calculator form now reads as six numbered steps with a back/next footer; the "how long the money lasts" card counts every pot, not just the pensions; the State Pension table no longer hides rows behind a scrollbar. All from one reader's first session.

    v1.17 · 9 Sep 2026

    • "What if one of us needs care?" A new planner card: pick who, from what age, for how long and at what yearly cost, and the story gains a chapter showing the care years beside the plan without them. Choose whether the fees come from the pot or from an immediate needs annuity bought from savings at the start of care (fees paid to the home for life, tax-free; illustrative price). Sits with the survivor what-if under "The last chapters". Raised by a reader who works in retirement products.

    v1.16 · 9 Sep 2026

    • "What if one of us dies early?" A new planner card for couples. Pick who and at what age, and the story gains a chapter showing the survivor's years beside the couple's plan: the second State Pension stops, DB pensions drop to their survivor's share, a joint-life annuity keeps paying its share, the pension passes tax-free (before 75) or taxable (75 or over), ISAs keep their status, one personal allowance from then on, spending at 70% by default. Asked for by two readers in a week; the biggest gap the tool had.

    v1.15 · 9 Sep 2026

    • A single "drawdown order" choice replaces the basic-rate-band switch: savings and ISA first (lowest tax today, the old default), fill the 20% band first, or pension first with the ISA untouched. The third is for the April 2027 inheritance tax change, when money left in a pension can be taxed twice and money drawn in life once. Suggested by a reader who runs Voyant.
    • For couples, a new way to split withdrawals: fill both basic-rate bands before either of you pays 40%. Pro rata by pot size often filled one partner's band and left the other's half empty. Suggested by a reader whose wife's band was going unused.

    v1.14 · 8 Sep 2026

    • "Fill basic-rate band first" now also holds in take-home mode. The after-tax top-up used to gross up the pension withdrawal even when that meant 40% tax with a large ISA or GIA sitting untouched. With the option on, the shortfall now comes from the reserve first (ISA tax-free; GIA with CGT on the gain only), and pension income stops at the top of the basic band. Same reader as v1.13, who sent his plan so it could be checked properly.

    v1.13 · 8 Sep 2026

    • "Fill basic-rate band first" now does what it says. Before, the savings and GIA reserve was still rationed over the years to State Pension age, so a large income need could push pension withdrawals into the 40% band even with a big GIA sitting there. With the option on, the reserve now covers the whole need above the basic band (never below your ring-fenced floor), and CGT on the gain is almost always the cheaper tax. Plans without the option are unchanged. Reported by a reader who had done the arithmetic.

    v1.12 · 7 Sep 2026

    • Windfalls are now kept. A house sale or inheritance bigger than that year's spending used to cover the year and then vanish. The surplus now goes into your savings and ISA reserve, grows with it, and can be drawn in later years. Reported by a reader whose £500k house sale at 85 disappeared.
    • Fixed the Income Sources chart: your partner's "net state pension" bar was calculated differently from yours and came out too large whenever they had other income. Both now use the same method. Spotted by a reader comparing his and his partner's bars.

    v1.11 · 7 Sep 2026

    • Guaranteed income can now be held inside the pension. Tick "paid into the pot" on the annuity options and the payments are credited to your pension rather than paid to you: taxed only when you withdraw, free to compound, and your normal withdrawals carry on with more behind them. This is how guaranteed income bought inside a SIPP usually works, and few tools model it.
    • Fixed-term annuities can return a guaranteed amount at the end of the term (set it as a % of the price). It comes back into the pension, and the yearly income the same price buys falls accordingly.
    • Every story now ends with where to get free, impartial help: MoneyHelper, Pension Wise, and how to find a regulated adviser.

    v1.10 · 6 Sep 2026

    • The spending guardrail can now have a floor in pounds: "after a bad year take 75% of normal income, but never below £30,000". The floor is in today's money, rising with inflation like everything else, and income from outside the pot counts toward it.
    • Results now say plainly how often the guardrail was needed across the simulated futures, and how many years you'd live on the reduced income in the unlucky 1-in-10 future. Your minimum expectation, stated as a number. Suggested by a reader on LinkedIn.

    v1.9 · 6 Sep 2026

    • Phone fixes, after a proper review on an iPhone (three in four visitors arrive on one). The cookie banner is gone until there is something to consent to: the analytics never used cookies and there are no ads. The planner's live "works in N of 100 futures" readout now sits in a bar at the bottom of the screen instead of floating over your inputs. Bigger tap targets, no more page zoom when you tap a small field, the year-by-year figures are whole pounds again, and the two "more room on a bigger screen" notes are now one note you can dismiss.

    v1.8 · 6 Sep 2026

    • You can now enter your income target as take-home (after tax). Flip the new toggle under the income field (calculator) or pick "After tax" on question 6 (planner), and the simulator works backwards through the tax bands every year, drawing whatever gross amount is needed so your figure actually lands in your pocket. Before-tax remains the default and behaves exactly as before. Requested by a beta tester who was absolutely right that trial-and-error grossing-up was a chore.

    v1.7 · 4 Sep 2026

    • Additional income (rental, defined benefit pensions, part-time work) can now start or stop at any age from 18, not just 50. Early retirees asked, fairly.
    • Dividend income from a trust slice held inside a pension now stays locked (and compounding) until you reach pension access age, exactly like the rest of the pension. Held in an ISA it pays from day one. Thanks to the reader who spotted the gap.

    v1.6 · 30 Aug 2026

    • Planning early retirement: the front-page quick check now starts from age 40, and it knows a pension is locked until your mid-50s, so the pot grows untouched until you can legally draw it. The full planner has always allowed any retirement age, bridging the years before 57 from ISAs and savings.
    • Your State Pension age now defaults to the right value for your birth year (66, 67, or 68 under current law) in the planner and the calculator, instead of a flat 67. You can still change it.

    v1.5 · 18 Aug 2026

    • Contact is now a menu item: one click from any page takes you to the suggest-a-feature box.

    v1.4 · 18 Aug 2026

    • You can now suggest a feature or report a problem: every page has a contact link in the footer, and the FAQ explains how to get in touch (hello@drawdownsimulator.co.uk). Much of what's on the site exists because a reader asked, so please do.

    v1.3 · 19 Jun 2026

    • If you switch market volatility off (fixed growth), the plan now says so plainly: it's a single fixed projection, not a spread of 100 futures, so the success number is all-or-nothing. Stops the confusing jump from 100% to 0% when income changes by a pound or two. Turn growth back to 'Variable' for a realistic probability.

    v1.2 · 16 Jun 2026

    • New: a 'How your money flows each year' diagram on the year-by-year page. It shows the order your spending is funded (cash ladder, dividends, State Pension, savings, then pension) and where any spare money goes. Toggle between the general order and a single year's actual pounds.

    v1.1 · 13 Jun 2026

    • Made the privacy promise clear and up front: your figures never leave your browser, no login, nothing saved on our servers.
    • Added a 'back to top' button on long pages.
    • The annuity spouse age-gap box now lets you type a negative number for an older spouse, not just use the arrows.
    • Fixed a misleading '40% tax: £0' tag that could show in a year where income just nudged over the threshold.

    v1.0 · 13 Jun 2026

    • New: model living off investment-trust dividends instead of selling investments, on the planner and the calculator. Use part of the pot, or all of it.
    • Annuity: joint life now works when your spouse is older than you, not just younger.
    • Your separate savings boxes (S&S ISA, cash ISA, premium bonds, GIA, savings) are now kept when you save and reload, instead of being lumped together.
    • Uploading an inputs file now recalculates straight away, and saved filenames include the time so they don't overwrite.
    • Various fixes from beta testers, including the parameter-file upload and the dividend fields.
    • Versioning introduced: this is where the tracked history begins.