Retirement guides

Plain-English explanations of how UK pensions work in retirement. Each guide is general information, not advice, and links to the calculator so you can try the figures yourself.

• How long will £100k, £200k or £300k last in retirement?It depends, annoyingly. Here's what it depends on, with sums simple enough for the back of a biscuit wrapper.
• When can I take my State Pension, and how much is it?When the State Pension arrives, how much it brings, and what decides your amount. The one envelope worth opening.
• Tax-free cash: the pension's party trickA quarter of your pension usually comes out tax-free. How the 25% lump sum works, the limit, and taking it in one go or in slices.
• Retiring early: mind the gap (the bridge years)Stopping work before your State Pension starts? The years in between do a surprising amount of the heavy lifting.
• Pension drawdown and tax, explained without the headacheHow money taken from your pension is taxed, with worked examples using this year's rates and fewer headaches than usual.
• Go-go, slow-go, no-go: why retirement spending often falls with ageCruises, then garden centres, then a comfy chair. Why many people spend less as retirement goes on, and what the official figures show.
• Why I built this (and why there are adverts)The slightly ridiculous story behind Will My Pension Last: a retirement calculator built by someone who just wanted one that wasn't trying to sell them something.