Your Name Retirement Planner and Tracker

What the Forecast is for

Use the Forecast to plan ahead, before and during retirement. It takes everything in “Your plan” (your ages, savings, pensions and other income, spending and assumptions) and works out year by year how long your money is likely to last. It shows:

  • The headline answer: the age your savings run out, or that they last to your plan-until age, and how much you could spend each year to make them last.
  • Different markets: the buttons at the top switch between middle, unlucky and lucky returns, and replays of real market history.
  • Where your money comes from: your savings by account over your lifetime, your income from pensions and other sources, and what’s drawn from savings each year, including the income tax due.

All figures are in today’s money. Change anything in “Your plan” and the Forecast updates straight away. Once you’re drawing your pension, use the Tracker to compare your real figures with this plan. This is a planning tool, not financial advice.

If one of you dies first

How the survivor would manage, using the settings in Your plan (“If one of you dies first”).

Inheritance tax on what’s left

An estimate for the end of your plan, when both of you are assumed to have died, using the estate details in Your plan. From 6 April 2027, unused pension funds count towards the estate.

Chance of success in past markets

Your whole plan replayed through every period of real market history we have data for, one start year at a time. A fairer test than a single “unlucky” or “lucky” market.

Your savings over a lifetime

Start-of-year balances in today's money. Hover or tap for the detail.

Your other sources of income over time

Income from outside your savings, such as pensions, work and rent, before tax and in today’s money. The dashed line is your planned spending.

How the markets change things

Pick a scenario to switch the whole page to it.

Where each year’s money comes from

Income and withdrawals against spending plus tax.

Withdrawals include income tax. The amount taken from savings covers your planned spending and the income tax due, so the spending you enter is what you actually get to spend. Tax on pension withdrawals is paid in the same year, as with PAYE, unless you change this in Assumptions.

Planned monthly outgoings

Regular commitments in retirement, such as insurance and subscriptions. They’re paid out of your general spending, so they don’t change the forecast.

Year-by-year numbers

This planner is a simplified model, not financial advice. It uses long-term return assumptions, today's UK tax bands and a fixed order for drawing on savings (cash, then other investments, then ISAs, then pensions). Historical scenarios replay real US market returns after inflation, starting from the year shown.

What the Tracker is for

Use the Tracker once you’re in retirement and drawing on your pension. Each month, record your pension value from your provider, what you withdrew (gross, before tax) and, if you like, what you spent (net). The Tracker then shows:

  • Whether you’re on track: your real pension value against what your plan expected for that month.
  • How long your money will last now: a fresh forecast from your latest figures, and a safe amount to spend each month.
  • This tax year: how much you’ve withdrawn, the likely income tax, and how much more you can take before paying 40%.

Your Forecast and plan settings stay as they are. The Tracker sits alongside them. Download a plan file now and then, as your monthly record is saved only in this browser.

Monthly record

Every month you’ve recorded, newest first. Change any figure and everything updates. Click a column name with a pencil to rename it. Your plan settings aren’t changed by the tracker.

Withdrawn: enter the gross amount, before tax. You don’t need to add anything for tax yourself. Ask your provider for the planned withdrawal, which is already sized so that after tax you’re left with enough for your spending; they take the tax off through PAYE before paying you. Record the figure that left your pension (shown on your provider’s statement), not the smaller amount that reached your bank, because that’s what reduces your pot and sets this tax year’s figures. “Spent” is what you actually spent from the money you received. The tax on a withdrawal can look higher than the plan’s average, because your personal allowance is usually set against your other pension, and a first withdrawal may be over-taxed on an emergency code; HMRC refunds any overpayment.

How the re-forecast works. It restarts your plan from your latest pension value, at your age in that year, using your plan’s spending, income and assumptions. Lump sums planned for this year or earlier are treated as already taken.

Guide

How to use the planner

Step-by-step help for every part of the planner, from setting up your plan to recording each month of retirement. Search, or pick a topic.

For you right now

Based on your own plan and records. This updates as you change things.

What you’ll need

Gathering these first makes setting up quicker and the results more accurate. Use rough figures where you don’t have exact ones; you can refine them later.

Pensions

  • Pension statements for each pot: current value, what you and any employer pay in each year, fees, and how it’s invested.
  • For a defined benefit (final salary or military) pension: the yearly amount, the age it starts, and whether it rises each year.
  • Your State Pension forecast, from gov.uk/check-state-pension: the weekly amount and your State Pension age.

Savings and spending

  • Balances of ISAs, cash savings and any other investments.
  • A sense of what you spend each year, from bank statements, and any big one-off costs or windfalls you expect.
  • Regular bills such as insurance and subscriptions, for Planned monthly outgoings.

Tax (once you’re drawing a pension)

  • Recent payslips from each pension provider, showing the gross amount, tax deducted and tax code.
  • Your P60s after each tax year.
  • Your tax codes can also be checked in your HMRC online account or the HMRC app.

If you’re planning as a couple

  • The same details for your partner: age, retirement age, pensions, State Pension forecast and savings.

Getting started

The planner has three pages, chosen with the switch at the top (or the tabs at the bottom on a phone), and a panel called Your plan where you enter your figures.

  • Forecast works out how long your money is likely to last, year by year, in different markets.
  • Tracker is for when you’re retired: record what really happens each month and see whether you’re on track.
  • Guide is this page.

Quick start

  1. Enter your plan. Use Set up step by step for a guided start, or fill in the sections of Your plan directly.
  2. Read the headline on the Forecast: the age your savings run out, or that they last to your plan-until age.
  3. Try changes with the Quick levers, such as retiring a year later or spending a little less, and watch the result change.
  4. Test it against different markets with the buttons at the top and the chance of success card.
  5. Back it up with Download plan file. Your plan is only saved in this browser.
  6. Once you’re retired, use the Tracker each month.

Everything is in today’s money: £10,000 in 2045 means what £10,000 buys now. You don’t need to add inflation to any figure.

How do I…?

Answers to common questions. Tap a question to open it.

My provider hasn’t updated my pension value yet. What do I enter?

Leave Pension value blank and record the rest of the month. The Tracker estimates the pot from last month’s value less this month’s drawdown, marked “est.”. When the real value arrives, open that month in the monthly record and type it in; the growth for the month then appears.

HMRC has changed my tax code. What do I do?

In the Tracker, open Income sources and tax codes, choose + Add a tax code change for that provider, pick the month the new code starts and enter it. Earlier months keep the old code. The first month on the new code may show a catch-up or a refund, as your payslip will. You can see your current codes in your HMRC online account or the HMRC app.

The Tracker says too little tax is being deducted. What can I do?

This usually happens when your drawdown is taxed at a flat 20% (code BR) but your total income goes into the 40% band. HMRC normally collects the difference later, by changing a tax code or through Self Assessment. You can ask HMRC to review your codes so the right amount is taken during the year. The Tracker’s More you can withdraw before 40% tax figure also shows how much more you could take this tax year before reaching the higher band. This is information, not advice; HMRC or a regulated adviser can help with your own situation.

My first withdrawal had a lot of tax taken off. Is that right?

Often a first flexible withdrawal is taxed on an emergency code (such as 1257L M1), which can take too much. Add the emergency code as a change for that month to see the effect. HMRC usually refunds the overpayment automatically through later payments, or you can claim it back.

How do I record a lump sum I’ve taken?

For your plan, use One-off contributions and withdrawals, or the Take the 25% tax-free lump sum tick box for tax-free cash. In the Tracker, enter the pension value after the lump sum came out; if you record a value before and after, the drop shows as that month’s change.

How do I see what happens if I retire later or spend less?

Move the Quick levers. The headline and every chart update straight away, and a chip under the headline shows the difference, such as “+2 years since your last change”. Use undo to go back.

The State Pension went up in April. What do I change?

Nothing, unless you want to: the planner works in today’s money and already assumes it keeps pace with inflation. If you prefer to use the new amount, update it under your income in retirement. In the Tracker, record the State Pension you actually receive each month.

How do I check my P60s?

At the bottom of the Tracker, open the Tax-year summary, choose the tax year, and enter the total taxable pay and total tax from all your P60s for that year. The planner shows the tax due on that pay and whether you may be due a refund or owe more.

How do I move my plan to my phone or a new computer?

On the old device, choose Download plan file. Send the file to the new device (by email or a cloud drive), open the planner there, and choose Open plan file. Everything comes across, including your monthly record.

What does “Not covered” mean?

Planned spending (and tax) that your income and savings can’t pay for in that year, because the savings have run out. It’s shown in red on the charts.

I’ve made a mistake. How do I undo it?

Use the undo arrow at the top, or Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac). It reverses your last change, including a deletion, a reset or opening a plan file.

Worked example: one month’s tax

A typical retired month, worked through step by step so you can see where every figure in the Tracker comes from. The amounts use the tax bands in your Assumptions.

In this month, £2,924 is drawn from the pension pot (tax code BR) and £2,160 is paid by a defined benefit pension (tax code 1257L), the same every month of the tax year.

  1. Gross income

    £2,924 + £2,160 = before tax. Both amounts are recorded gross in the monthly record.

  2. What the drawdown provider deducts

    Code BR means everything is taxed at the basic rate: × 20% = .

  3. What the DB pension deducts

    Code 1257L gives a yearly allowance of £12,570, so one month’s share is . The rest is taxed at the basic rate: ( − ) × 20% = .

  4. Total deducted, and what arrives

    + = deducted, so reaches your bank. This is the Deducted by your providers row.

  5. What’s actually owed on your total income

    Tax works on all your income together. One month’s share of the personal allowance is and of the basic-rate band is . So: at 20% = , and the remaining at 40% = . Owed: . This is the Owed on your total income row.

  6. The difference

    owed − deducted = too little this month, about over the year. Neither provider knows about the other’s payments, and code BR never takes more than the basic rate, so the higher-rate tax isn’t collected. HMRC usually collects it later; see

  7. Keeping the pot up to date

    If the pot was last month, the expected value is − = . If your provider then shows , the difference, , is the month’s investment growth after fees.

To see the same figures for a real month, open it in the Tracker’s monthly record and compare the Deducted by your providers and Owed on your total income rows.

Routine checklist

A simple routine keeps the planner accurate once you’re retired.

Each month

  • Record the month in Update this month: pension value, drawdown and DB pension (gross).
  • Add the tax from your payslips in the monthly record.
  • Glance at latest figures: on track, ahead or behind.
  • Check Income tax, this tax year for any shortfall building up.

Each April (new tax year, from 6 April)

  • Check the tax codes on your first payslips and add any tax code change.
  • Check whether the government has changed the tax bands, and update Assumptions if so.
  • Update your State Pension amount if you want to use the new rate.
  • Review your spending and the Forecast; then download a plan file.

By the end of May

  • Your P60s arrive. Enter their totals in the tax-year summary to check the year’s tax.
  • Save or print the tax-year summary with your records.

Each year, or when things change

  • Check your State Pension forecast and pension statements, and update Your plan.
  • Review your assumptions, spending and the chance of success.
  • Print a plan summary if you see a financial adviser.

Your plan

On a computer it’s the panel on the left; on a phone, tap Your plan at the bottom. Changes update the results straight away and are saved automatically.

At the top

  • How your data is saved in this app explains where your plan is kept. Read it once.
  • Set up step by step walks you through five short steps. Used on a detailed plan, it lists anything it would remove before replacing it.
  • Amounts: Yearly / Monthly shows contributions, income and spending per year or per month. Your plan is stored yearly either way.
  • “Entries to check” appears if something looks impossible, such as an income that ends before it starts. Tap it to go to the box; a short note under the box explains.

Quick levers

  • Your retirement age and Plan until age: the age your plan runs to. Many people use 90 to 95.
  • General spending: your main yearly spending, with the monthly figure underneath.
  • DC pension additions (until planned retirement age): what goes into your DC pension each year until you retire.
  • Take the 25% tax-free lump sum: takes a quarter of your DC pension pot at retirement, up to the lump sum allowance (£268,275). The money is kept outside the plan and isn’t used for spending; the note shows how much it is and what’s left to draw on.

You and Your partner

Ages, retirement ages and savings. For each account (DC pension, ISAs, other investments, cash): the value now, what’s added per year, any yearly rise in additions, and the investment mix (how much is in shares). Leave your partner’s figures at zero if you’re planning alone. Savings are shared: if either of you runs short, the plan draws on the other’s savings before calling it a shortfall.

Income in retirement

Pensions and other income that don’t come from your savings, such as the State Pension, a final-salary or military pension, part-time work or rent. Enter each one with the ages it’s paid between and the yearly amount before tax. Ages are the age of the person it belongs to. You can rename, add and remove lines.

Household spending

What you plan to spend each year after tax, with the ages it applies between (your ages). The planner works out the tax and takes enough from savings to cover both, so don’t add tax on top.

My spending changes with age (optional): spend a lower percentage in your slower years and later years, and add yearly care costs from an age you choose. A small chart shows your spending at each age.

If one of you dies first

Choose who dies first and at what age, how much of their other pensions continues (many defined benefit and military pensions pay a spouse’s pension, often 50%), and the survivor’s spending (a single person usually needs 60% to 80% of a couple’s). From the death, the person’s State Pension stops and their savings pass to the survivor, who is taxed on their own income. The Forecast’s If one of you dies first card always compares both cases; tick Show this in the whole forecast to see one of them on every page.

Estate and inheritance tax

Enter your home value, other assets and debts, and say whether your home will pass to children or grandchildren and whether you’re married or in a civil partnership. Your savings and DC pensions at the end of the plan come from the forecast. The Forecast’s Inheritance tax on what’s left card uses these.

One-off contributions and withdrawals

Lump sums in or out of an account at a particular age, such as an inheritance or paying off a mortgage. Enter withdrawals as a minus figure. A pension one-off can be set to take 25% tax-free cash automatically; this stays in step with the Quick levers tick box. One-off withdrawals aren’t taxed in the plan.

Assumptions

  • Expected returns for shares and bonds in middle, lucky and unlucky markets, before inflation.
  • Inflation, cash interest and fees.
  • Income tax bands and rates: change these if the government changes them.
  • Tax on pension withdrawals: paid the same year (PAYE) is realistic; paid the following year reproduces the original spreadsheet.
  • Tax-free share of withdrawals: 0% if you take your 25% as one lump sum; 25% if you take it a bit at a time.
  • Draw on savings in this order: savings first (cash, other investments, ISAs) then DC pension, or DC pension first.
  • Inheritance tax bands: the nil-rate band, residence nil-rate band and rate.
  • Tax-free lump sum cap, allowances, and the three historical replay start years.

The ⓘ buttons next to some boxes explain the term in a sentence.

Buttons at the bottom

  • Print plan summary: the one-page summary (also the printer button at the top).
  • Download plan file and Open plan file: back up and restore. See .
  • Reset to example and Reset to blank: both ask first and offer to download your plan before anything is cleared.

The Forecast page

Choosing a market

The buttons at the top switch the whole page between a Middle, Unlucky or Lucky market, or a replay of real market history From a chosen year.

The headline

  • Your savings run out at… or last to…, with how much you could spend each year to make them last.
  • Why? explains the result in plain English: what you start with, how much comes from savings each year, and when that changes.
  • After you change something, a chip such as “+2 years since your last change” shows the effect.
  • The ring shows how many retirement years are fully funded, and the timeline below shows working years, funded years and any not fully funded. Tap the ring for details.

The four figures

Savings today, savings when you retire, guaranteed income, and income tax over the plan. Tap any of them for a breakdown of how it’s worked out.

If one of you dies first

Compares your money if you both live with what happens if either of you dies first, at the age set in Your plan: how long the money lasts, the survivor’s income and spending, and any spending not covered. Income that stops with a death, such as a State Pension, is usually what makes the difference.

Inheritance tax on what’s left

Estimates the tax on your estate at the end of the plan: your remaining savings and DC pensions, plus your home and other assets, less your tax-free allowances (two of each as a married couple, because unused allowances pass to the survivor). From 6 April 2027, unused pension funds count towards the estate, and the card shows how much of the tax that adds. Which pot to draw from first compares drawing your savings first with drawing your DC pension first: income tax in your lifetimes, inheritance tax and what’s left to your heirs. Change the order under Assumptions.

Chance of success in past markets

Your whole plan replayed through every period of real market history with enough data, one start year at a time. The percentage is how many of those periods your money lasted through; each bar is one start year (green lasted, red ran short). Tap a bar for its details. Past markets don’t predict future ones, but this shows how sensitive your plan is to bad timing.

The charts

  • Your savings over a lifetime: savings by account at the start of each year, with markers for retirement, State Pension and any run-out.
  • Your other sources of income over time: pensions and other income by source, against your planned spending.
  • How the markets change things: total savings in each market. Tap a chip to switch the page to that market.
  • Where each year’s money comes from: income, withdrawals and any gap, against spending plus tax.

Hover over a chart, or tap it on a phone, to see the figures for that year.

Planned monthly outgoings

List regular commitments such as insurance and subscriptions, monthly or yearly. The planner shows your general spending, minus these outgoings, as available to spend. Quick-add buttons fill in common items. This doesn’t change the forecast; it’s a breakdown of your spending.

Year-by-year numbers

Open this at the bottom of the page for a table of every year: income, tax, spending, withdrawals, any shortfall and savings.

The Tracker page

Use the Tracker once you’re retired and drawing your pension. Each month, record what actually happened; the Tracker compares it with your plan and works out your tax. Recording months never changes your plan settings.

Update this month

The quickest way to record a month. Choose the month, then enter:

  • Pension value from your provider.
  • Your pension drawdown and DB pension for the month, both gross (before tax). The drawdown is filled in with your planned amount, and the DB pension with last month’s, so a typical month takes seconds.
  • Spent this month (optional), which is net: what you actually spent.

Saving again for the same month updates it. If it’s been more than a month, a prompt reminds you.

What the Tracker shows

  • Latest figures: your pension value against what the plan expected, marked on track, ahead or behind, with a fresh forecast from your real figures.
  • Safe monthly spending now, and charts of your pension against plan and of each month’s withdrawals and spending.
  • Income tax, this tax year: withdrawn so far, likely tax for the year, room before the 40% rate, and whether too much or too little tax is being deducted.

The monthly record

Every month you’ve recorded, newest first. Each line shows the pension value, gross income, tax, net income and growth. Tap a month to open it:

  • Pension value from your provider, the expected value (last month less this month’s drawdown), and growth after fees, the difference between the two. If you leave the value blank, the expected figure keeps the pot up to date, marked “est.”.
  • Each income source: the gross amount and the tax from your payslip, with the planner’s estimate beside it and what you received.
  • Deducted by your providers: tax at 20% and 40% as each provider works it out from its own tax code.
  • Owed on your total income: the tax you actually owe on all your income together, at 20% and 40%. If this is more than what’s deducted, the difference may be collected later.
  • Year so far: total deducted against total owed since April.

Income sources and tax codes

At the top of the record. Name your sources and enter each provider’s tax code from its payslip (for example BR for drawdown and 1257L for a DB pension). When HMRC changes a code, use + Add a tax code change and pick the month it starts. Earlier months keep the old code, and the month it changes shows any catch-up or refund, as payroll does.

Other tools

  • + Add a month adds the next month, carrying regular payments forward.
  • Import from a file reads a CSV export from your provider: choose the date, value and withdrawal columns, preview, then import.
  • Tax-year summary (at the bottom): pick an April-to-March year to see its totals, and enter the figures from your P60s to check whether you may be due a refund or owe more. View, print or save gives a one-page document or a spreadsheet (CSV).

Gross, net and tax explained

  • Gross is before tax; net is what reaches your bank. Record withdrawals and pensions gross, because the gross amount is what leaves your pot and what tax is based on. Record spending net.
  • You don’t need to add anything for tax when you ask for a withdrawal: the planned amount already allows for it, and your provider takes the tax off through PAYE.
  • Each provider only sees what it pays you. Your personal allowance is usually set against one pension (often a DB pension, code 1257L), and drawdown often gets code BR, which takes a flat 20%. If your total income goes above £50,270, into the 40% band, nobody deducts the extra, so too little tax is taken. The Tracker shows how much; HMRC usually collects it by changing a tax code or through Self Assessment.
  • A first withdrawal is often taxed on an emergency code (for example 1257L M1) and can take too much; HMRC refunds the overpayment.
  • The State Pension is paid without tax taken off. Its tax is collected through the code on another pension.

Saving and backups

  • Your plan is saved automatically, only in this browser on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
  • Download plan file saves everything, including your monthly record, as a small file named with the planner name, date and time. Do this regularly; a reminder appears if it’s been 30 days.
  • Open plan file brings a saved plan back, in any browser on any device. Use it to move your plan between your computer and phone.
  • Undo: the arrow at the top, or Ctrl+Z, reverses your last change, including a deletion, a reset or opening a file.
  • Clearing your browsing data, or using a private window, removes the saved plan. Keep a downloaded copy.
  • If a saved plan ever can’t be opened, the planner keeps an untouched copy and offers it to download.
  • To give someone their own copy, share the planner file. They see the example figures, not yours, unless you also send a plan file.

Printing and documents

  • The printer button at the top (or Print plan summary) gives a one-page A4 summary of your plan, results and assumptions, ready for a financial adviser.
  • The Tracker’s tax-year summary gives a one-page document for any tax year, and a spreadsheet (CSV).
  • Both open in a preview first. Print or save as PDF prints, or choose “Save as PDF” in the print window; Save as file saves a copy you can open and print later.

On a phone

  • Use the tabs at the bottom: Forecast, Tracker, Guide and Your plan. While you edit your plan, a bar at the top keeps showing the result.
  • Tap or drag on any chart to see its figures.
  • To use it like an app, open your planner link in Safari (iPhone) or Chrome (Android) and choose Add to Home Screen.
  • Your phone and computer keep separate copies of your plan; move it with Download plan file and Open plan file.

Words explained

DC pension
A defined contribution pension: a pot of money built from contributions and investment growth, such as a workplace or personal pension. Enter it under DC pension in You and Your partner.
DB pension
A defined benefit pension, such as a final salary or military pension, which pays a set income. Enter it under income in retirement, not as a DC pension.
Drawdown
Taking money from your pension pot while the rest stays invested.
Today’s money
Future amounts shown as what they would buy now, with inflation taken out.
Real return
Investment growth after inflation (and, in this planner, after fees).
Tax-free lump sum
Usually 25% of a pension can be taken tax-free, up to the lump sum allowance (£268,275 in your Assumptions).
Personal allowance
Income you can have each year tax-free: £12,570, reduced above £100,000 of income and gone at £125,140.
Tax bands
20% on income above the allowance, 40% above £50,270 and 45% above £125,140, as set in your Assumptions.
PAYE
Pay As You Earn: tax taken off each payment by the payer, using your tax code.
Tax code
Tells a payer how much tax-free allowance to give: the number times 10, so 1257L gives £12,570; BR taxes everything at the basic rate; D0 at the higher rate; NT means no tax; M1 or W1 means each payment is worked out on its own.
Annual allowance
The most that can go into pensions each year with tax relief: £60,000 in your Assumptions (lower for very high earners or once you’ve made flexible withdrawals).
P60
The end-of-year statement each payer sends, showing your total pay and tax for the tax year.
Tax year
6 April to 5 April.
Inheritance tax
Tax on an estate above the tax-free allowances, at 40%. Anything left to a spouse or civil partner is exempt.
Nil-rate band
The amount an estate can pass on free of inheritance tax: £325,000 each. Any unused part passes to a surviving spouse or civil partner.
Residence nil-rate band
An extra £175,000 each when a home passes to children or grandchildren. It reduces for estates over £2 million.
Chance of success
The share of historical start years in which your plan’s money lasted to your plan-until age.

What the planner simplifies

The planner is a planning tool, not financial advice. It works in whole years for the forecast and uses some simplifications:

  • Returns are long-term averages; historical replays use US market returns after inflation, 1928 to 2022.
  • Income tax uses the bands in Assumptions for England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scottish rates, capital gains tax and inheritance tax aren’t modelled.
  • The State Pension rises with inflation only (not the triple lock), and the plan doesn’t model one partner dying before the other.
  • Savings are drawn in a fixed order: cash, other investments, ISAs, then pensions.

For decisions about your own pensions and tax, consider speaking to a regulated financial adviser. Free, impartial guidance is available from MoneyHelper and, for over-50s with a defined contribution pension, from Pension Wise.