What income might I get from a £250,000 pension?

A pension pot of £250,000 might sound a lot of money but it’s the sort of figure many people have in mind when they are saving for retirement.

But the size of the fund you build by the time you retire is only half the story - you need to know what level of income that gets you when you retire.

Here we’ll try to lay out in simple terms what a pot of £250,000 translates into in retirement. 

How much income would it get you, what will affect that, and how can you improve your chances of a better income?

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Income options

There are now several possible ways to use retirement savings to generate an income and each has different implications for the amount you’ll produce. We’re talking here about money saved and invested inside a ‘defined contribution’ pension scheme. That could include workplace schemes or a self-invested personal pension (SIPP).

You can read about the different income options here. These include buying an annuity - the financial product that takes your savings and provides a guaranteed income in return - as well as options that allow you to leave your money invested while you take income from them, including ‘drawdown’ income and lump sums.

Both drawdown and annuity options usually allow you to withdraw 25% of your pension fund tax-free (up to a limit - currently £268,275), with income tax applying on the rest of the fund. If taking lump sums, 25% of each withdrawal is tax-free with tax payable on the rest.

And remember - you don’t have to pick just one method of accessing your pension cash - these options can be blended and changed over time to maximise your income tax efficiently. An adviser can help with that.

How much can you expect?

Annuity income works differently from the other income options because you have to give up your savings in order to buy one. The benefits, however, are that the income an annuity pays is guaranteed for life and that, sometimes, better rates in financial markets which influence annuity returns can mean a higher regular income.

With a pension pot of £250,000, a tax-free amount of £62,500 could be taken and the remaining £187,500 used to buy an annuity. At current rates, the highest-paying annuity would generate an income of £10,748¹, based on a healthy individual aged 65, living in London and with a 3% increase in payments each year to mitigate inflation.

Because the price of annuities take account of your expected lifespan, people with health conditions could benefit from higher annuity rates.

To compare that with income from drawdown requires you to apply a withdrawal rate to your fund - the proportion which can be withdrawn each year to give you the maximum income possible while allowing your fund to last as long as you need it. It isn’t always easy to do because investment returns mean the value of your pot will rise and fall in ways that are not predictable. It’s also impossible to say exactly how long you will live.

Thankfully, a lot of work has been done to work out a sustainable rate of withdrawals based on analysing thousands of possible market scenarios. It has resulted in the ‘4% rule’ - the conclusion that 4% annual withdrawals, updated each year with inflation, have been very likely to let your money last for at least 30 years.²

• Read: The 4% rule: the basics

In the example of a £250,000 fund, assuming £62,500 (25%) was withdrawn tax-free, the remaining £187,500 would generate a regular annual income of £7,500, based on a 4% withdrawal rate. If you were to raise your starting withdrawal rate to 5% annual income would rise to £9,375 - but obviously raising the risk that your money runs out sooner.

Of course, in the case of both annuities and drawdown, it would be possible to bolster income levels further by using tax-free cash for this purpose.

Important information - investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. Eligibility to invest in a SIPP and tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. Withdrawals from a pension product will not be possible until you reach age 55 (57 from 2028). It's important to understand that pension transfers are a complex area and may not be suitable for everyone. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.