How much income will a £400,000 pension pot give you?
A £400,000 pension pot could provide around £16,000/year via a 4% drawdown assumption, or around £31,568/year as an illustrative single-life annuity at 65. Combined with the full state pension (£12,548/year), total income reaches £28,548/year — about £549/week. Below: what it pays at each retirement age, how it stacks up against UK averages, and whether it's enough to retire on.
£400,000 measured against PLSA Retirement Living Standards
Whether a pot meets each PLSA standard under a 4% drawdown plus full state pension. The standards are research benchmarks; whether any pot is "enough" in practice depends on housing costs, longevity, health, and other savings.
› How we calculate this
The retirement-readiness calculator runs scenarios across ages, contribution rates, and PLSA lifestyle targets. Educational only — not personal financial advice.
Open the calculatorA £400,000 pension pot puts you above the UK median. Combined with the full state pension, drawdown at 4% gives you around £28,548/year — above the PLSA "minimum" standard (£14,400/yr) but roughly £2,752/yr short of "moderate" (£31,300/yr).
At this pot size, the option set widens. Drawdown keeps the pot invested and flexible; an annuity at 65 would lock in around £31,568/year guaranteed for life at illustrative single-life level rates. Some savers use a single approach, others blend the two — the balance depends on priorities, risk tolerance and income needs.
Behavioural risks sit alongside the mathematical ones at this level. Overspending in early retirement, panic-selling during market downturns, and pension scams are common ways pots get smaller faster than the spreadsheet predicts — sequence-of-returns risk, inflation, fees, longevity and tax do the rest. A regulated adviser can help with personal recommendations where needed.
Where £400,000 sits in the UK
£400,000 is roughly 2.30× the UK age-65 median of £174,000. It sits above the typical UK saver's pre-retirement peak — there is no working-age cohort whose median lines up with a pot this large. Measured against UK median full-time pay of £37,430/yr, £400,000 represents roughly 10.7 years of pre-tax earnings.
What it would take to build a £400,000 pot by 67
Monthly contribution required to reach £400,000 by state pension age, assuming 5% annual real return net of fees. Cost of starting late is steep — a decade of delay can roughly double the monthly ask.
What £400,000 feels like in practice
What income £400,000 delivers at 55, 60, or 67
The earlier you retire, the longer the pot has to last and the lower the annuity rate. Drawdown income is the same at any age (4% of pot), but state pension only kicks in at 67.
Retiring before state pension age
From the minimum pension access age of 55 (rising to 57 from 2028) up until 67, the £400,000 pot is doing the work alone. At 4% drawdown that is £16,000/year with no state pension yet — above the PLSA "minimum" standard (£14,400/yr) but £15,300/yr short of "moderate" (£31,300/yr). The bridging window narrows the closer to 67 you start: 12 years if you stop at 55, 7 years at 60, just 2 years at 65. From 67 the full state pension joins drawdown, taking total income to £28,548/year — above the PLSA "minimum" standard (£14,400/yr) but £2,752/yr short of "moderate" (£31,300/yr). Annuity rates rise with age, so locking in a guaranteed income earlier costs more pot per pound of income: a single-life level annuity would pay around £26,652/year at 55, £28,148/year at 60, and £31,568/year at 65.
Retiring at 67 (state pension age)
From 67, drawdown at 4% combined with the full state pension produces £28,548/year — above the PLSA "minimum" standard (£14,400/yr) but £2,752/yr short of "moderate" (£31,300/yr). There is no bridging gap and the pot does not have to stretch as far. A single-life level annuity bought at 67 would pay around £32,730/year for life — more than at 55 or 60 because the insurer expects to pay out for fewer years.
Is £400,000 a good UK pension pot?
At age 65, the typical UK private pension pot sits around £174,000, based on ONS Wealth and Assets Survey median data. £400,000 sits at roughly 2.3× that figure.
The median is a comparison, not a verdict. Whether £400,000is "good" depends on what you need it to do — your housing costs, target lifestyle, other savings, and how long you need the pot to last. The PLSA Retirement Living Standards (minimum / moderate / comfortable) are a more useful benchmark for sufficiency than where the median sits.
What can affect your income from £400,000?
The headline numbers on this page assume a 4% sustainable withdrawal, full state pension, and 4% nominal investment growth. Real outcomes depend on the variables below.
- Inflation. All figures here are nominal. At 2.5% inflation (Bank of England target), the purchasing power of £16,000/year halves over roughly 28 years. RPI-linked annuities and inflation-tracking drawdown plans address this; level annuities and fixed-pound drawdown do not.
- Fees. A 0.5% annual platform fee on a £400,000 pot costs around £2,000 in year one and compounds over time. Over 20 years, the gap between a 0.20% provider and a 0.75% provider on a static pot is tens of thousands of pounds.
- Investment returns. The 4% rule assumes 4% real growth net of fees. Sequence-of-returns risk — a bad early decade — can deplete a pot decades faster than an average return suggests. Most retirement-readiness models stress test for this.
- Withdrawal rate. Drawing 4% per year is the standard sustainable rule. Drawing 6% instead can deplete a pot in 20 years or less, especially if markets turn early. Drawing 3% extends the pot indefinitely under most scenarios but cuts headline income by a quarter.
- Tax. 25% of the pot is tax-free; the remaining £300,000 is taxed as income when drawn. Drawing the taxable 75% in one tax year would push most of it into the 40% or 45% band. Spreading withdrawals across enough tax years to stay within the basic-rate band is usually the difference between keeping £340,000 and keeping less.
- Retirement age. Annuity rates rise with age — buying at 70 instead of 60 typically adds ~30% to the annual payout — but you lose those years of potential income. State pension age also matters: retiring before 67 means bridging on the pot alone.
Frequently asked questions
How much income does a £400,000 pension pot give you?
Through drawdown at 4%, a £400,000 pot provides £16,000/yr. Combined with the full state pension (£12,548/yr), that's £28,548/yr or £549/week. Alternatively, an annuity purchased at 65 could provide around £31,568/yr guaranteed for life.
Is £400,000 enough to retire on in the UK?
A £400,000 pension pot provides around £28,548/yr through the 4% drawdown rule plus the full state pension. That falls short of the PLSA "moderate" Retirement Living Standard (£31,300/yr). The PLSA moderate standard implies a pot of around £468,800 under the 4% rule plus full state pension at age 67.
What annuity will a £400,000 pension pot buy?
A £400,000 pot bought as a single-life level annuity at age 65 could provide around £31,568/yr for life. Joint-life, inflation-linked (RPI), or enhanced annuities pay different amounts — see the annuity breakdown on this page.
How long will a £400,000 pension pot last?
It depends on how much you withdraw. At £15,000/yr, a £400,000 pot is not depleted under a constant 4% growth assumption. At higher withdrawal rates it depletes faster. A 4% starting withdrawal (£16,000/yr) is a common planning benchmark, not a guarantee.
How much of a £400,000 pension pot is tax-free?
You can usually take 25% of a £400,000 pot tax-free — that's £100,000. The remaining £300,000 is taxed as income when drawn. The 25% lump sum is capped at £268,275 across all your pensions.
- PLSA Retirement Living Standards — Benchmark retirement income levels (minimum / moderate / comfortable)
- HMRC pension tax rules — Official guidance on pension tax-free lump sum and income tax
- New State Pension (gov.uk) — Current full new state pension rate and NI eligibility
- ONS Wealth and Assets Survey — UK pension wealth distribution by age and percentile
- FCA Retirement Income Market Data — Published annuity rates and drawdown market statistics
- •Drawdown income on this page uses the 4% rule (£16,000/yr from a £400,000 pot). Sustainable withdrawal rates depend on net-of-fee returns, sequence-of-returns risk, and longevity — not average growth in isolation.
- •Annuity figures are illustrative single-life level rates at the ages shown. A £400,000 pot's actual quote moves with gilt yields, provider, health, and spouse age — get multiple quotes before buying.
- •Figures are nominal. £16,000/yr today buys roughly £12,499/yr of spending power after a decade at 2.5% inflation, before any market drag.
- •State pension figures use the full new State Pension (£12,548/yr) starting at age 67. Your entitlement depends on your National Insurance record — check your forecast at gov.uk.
- •PLSA target pots use the 4% rule applied to single-person Retirement Living Standards minus full state pension. They're research benchmarks, not personal targets.
- •25% of a £400,000 pot is tax-free (£100,000); the remaining £300,000 is taxed as income on withdrawal. The 25% lump sum is capped at £268,275 across all pensions combined.
- •Pension Bible publishes editorial analysis and general information, not personal financial advice. For decisions about your own pension, speak to an FCA-regulated financial adviser.