Withdrawal strategies
The withdrawal strategy controls how much is drawn from the portfolio each period. It is one of the most consequential inputs — the same portfolio with a rigid fixed-rate strategy can fail where a flexible strategy survives.
Go to Withdrawal strategy. Choose Single strategy for a consistent approach across retirement, or Phased schedule to chain up to five strategies across different retirement phases. The strategy reference panel shows all seven options as cards with mini-charts illustrating how withdrawals behave over time. Click a card to highlight it, then configure it in the phase matrix below.
Withdraws a fixed percentage of the opening retirement portfolio each year, optionally inflation-linked. Simple and well-studied. Enter the rate (e.g. 4%) and whether to inflation-link it. The mini-chart shows a flat or gently rising line — the withdrawal amount does not respond to portfolio performance.
S2 withdraws a fixed pound amount, unchanged over time — purchasing power erodes with inflation. S3 withdraws a fixed amount in real terms, growing with CPI each year so purchasing power is preserved. Enter the annual amount. Both strategies ignore portfolio performance.
Withdraws a fixed percentage of the current portfolio value each period. Spending rises in good markets and falls in bad ones. The mini-chart shows a wavy line tracking portfolio performance. The portfolio technically cannot hit zero under this strategy — but income can fall to very low levels in sustained downturns.
Guarantees a minimum (floor) withdrawal regardless of portfolio performance, with an optional top-up when the portfolio performs well. Balances income security with upside participation. Enter the floor amount and the upside percentage rate separately.
Maintains a cash reserve between a floor and ceiling. When the buffer falls below the floor, the engine withdraws from the portfolio to refill it to the ceiling. When the buffer is above the ceiling, no withdrawal occurs. Enter the floor and ceiling amounts. The mini-chart shows a sawtooth pattern — the buffer tops up periodically rather than draining continuously.
Withdraws exactly what is needed each month to cover planned expenses net of guaranteed income, targeting a minimum buffer balance pre-funded at retirement. The most precise strategy — withdrawal amounts track your actual modelled expenses rather than a fixed rule. Requires detailed expense modelling on the Spending pattern tab to be meaningful.
In P10 scenarios — the worst 10% of simulated futures — flexible strategies (S4, S5, S6, S7) produce significantly better survival rates than fixed strategies (S1, S2, S3) because they automatically reduce withdrawals when the portfolio is under stress. The cumulative success probability chart shows the difference clearly: flexible strategies maintain a higher plateau through the retirement years.
For S6 (cash buffer band), the floor and ceiling values determine how aggressively the portfolio is drawn. A larger buffer provides more cushion against bad sequences but requires a larger cash allocation. The fan chart shows the spread of outcomes across all percentiles — a well-sized buffer narrows the gap between P10 and P50 without significantly reducing the P90.
