How long will a £150,000 pension pot last — starting to feel comfortable.
How long does a £150,000 pension pot last in drawdown? Model sustainable withdrawal rates, the 4% rule, and combined income with state pension.
£150,000 is the threshold at which drawdown calculations start producing genuinely useful outcomes. At 4% withdrawal it produces £6,000/year, which combined with the full state pension of £11,502 gives £17,500/year — within striking distance of the PLSA 'moderate' retirement standard. The pot can typically sustain drawdowns of £10-12k/year for 15-18 years at moderate growth, making it well-suited to bridging an early retirement at 60-62 through to state pension age. The biggest drawdown risk for pots this size is sequence-of-returns: a poor first 5 years of investment performance during retirement can shorten the pot's lifespan dramatically. Many advisers recommend a cash buffer of 1-3 years of income to avoid forced selling in a downturn.