Configure tax thresholds, pensions, and expected CPI for each tax year.
📜 Drawdown History
Month
Mode
Total
SIPP
Source
Notes
⚙️ Decision Tool Settings
Fund Minimums (Year 0 baseline)
Income Settings
🎲 Monte Carlo Simulation
1,000 scenarios. SIPP draw = BRL - Other - State Pension (stays below 40% tax).
📜 Historical Sequence Analysis
⚡ Stress Scenarios
💷 SIPP Drawdown Schedule
📉 Glidepath Visualization
⚙️ Stress Tester Settings
Income Target
💰 Target: The total yearly income you want from all sources (like a salary). This combines your SIPP withdrawals, other pensions, and state pension to reach this total.
Fund Minimums (Year 0, real terms)
📉 Glidepath: Equity & Bond minimums inflate with simulated CPI but deplete linearly to £0. Cash inflates only (maintains real value).
Tax Thresholds (Year 0)
💷 How SIPP withdrawals are calculated:
SIPP Draw = Target Income - Other Pensions - State Pension
(But never more than the Basic Rate Limit, to avoid 40% tax)
Frozen: Tax thresholds stay the same each year - you pay more tax over time as inflation rises. Standard: Tax thresholds rise with inflation - your spending power stays the same.
Other Pensions (Year 0)
Pension Inflation:
• Other Income/Pension: Follows simulated CPI, capped at 4% per year
• State Pension: Follows simulated CPI (triple-lock proxy)
Protection Rules
Disable Protection: Use this when testing all-Cash or conservative strategies where protection mode doesn't apply.
🔒 Break Glass Reserve: Emergency fund held in RICA (Ruffer Investment Company).
• Multi-asset absolute return fund targeting positive returns in all conditions
• Low correlation to equities - historically performs well during market crashes
• ~6.9% annualised return since 2004, ~6% volatility, max drawdown ~10%
• Only accessed when main strategy would otherwise fail
Welcome to Pension Planner
A tool to help you plan and manage your SIPP pension drawdown
What does this app do?
This app helps you answer two important questions about your pension:
1. Stress Tester
"Can I afford to retire?" This tool runs 1,000 simulations using real historical market data to show you the range of possible outcomes for your pension. It helps you set realistic goals before you retire.
2. Decision Tool
"Where should I take money from this month?" Once you're retired, this tool helps you decide each month which fund to withdraw from to maximise tax efficiency.
Start with the Stress Tester
Whether you're already retired or still planning, the Stress Tester is where you should start.
The Stress Tester will help you understand:
How much yearly income your pension could realistically provide
How long your money might last under different market conditions
What happens if markets crash early in your retirement
Whether your current savings are on track
Next: We'll set up your Stress Tester with some basic questions about your pension.
Stress Tester Setup
Let's set up your pension simulation in a few simple steps.
How much money do you want each year?
Think of this as your "salary" in retirement. This is the total amount before tax that you want to receive each year from all your pension sources combined.
£per year
Example: If you want £2,500 per month, enter £30,000 here.
Do you have other pension income?
Enter any other guaranteed pension income you'll receive (like a workplace defined benefit pension). This is separate from the funds you're testing.
£per year
Example: If you have a company pension paying £5,000/year, enter £5,000.
What about the State Pension?
The full State Pension is currently about £12,000 per year. When do you expect to start receiving it?
£per year
Starting in yearof retirement
Example: If you're retiring at 55 and get State Pension at 67, enter year 12.
How big are your pension funds?
Enter the minimum amount you want to keep in each type of investment at the start of retirement. The simulation will try to stay above these levels.
£
£
£
Tip: These are target minimums. The simulation draws from stocks/bonds first and keeps cash as an emergency buffer.
How long should your money last?
How many years of retirement do you want to plan for? This should cover from now until you expect to no longer need the money.
years
Example: If you're 55 and want money until age 90, enter 35 years.
One last thing: Tax thresholds
Will the government raise tax thresholds with inflation, or keep them frozen? "Frozen" is more pessimistic (you pay more tax over time).
Tip: "Standard" assumes thresholds rise with inflation. "Frozen" means you'll pay more tax over time as your income grows but thresholds don't.
Decision Tool Setup
Now let's set up the tool you'll use each month once you're retired.
How much money do you want each year?
This is your target "salary" from your pension. The tool will calculate how much to withdraw from your SIPP each month to reach this goal.
£per year (before tax)
Example: If you want about £2,000 per month after tax, you might need £30,000 gross.
What are your fund size targets?
Enter the minimum you want in each fund at the start of retirement. The tool uses these to decide when to enter "protection mode" if markets fall.
£
£
£
Protection Mode: If your growth funds drop below these minimums, the tool recommends drawing from cash instead.
How long should your money last?
The fund minimums will gradually reduce to zero over this period. This is your "depletion curve."
years
Example: If you're 55 and planning to age 90, enter 35 years.
You're all set!
The Decision Tool will now help you track monthly withdrawals. Each month, enter your current fund values and it will tell you:
How much to withdraw from your SIPP
Whether you need ISA top-up
Which fund to take money from
Whether to enter protection mode
Next Step: Go to "Tax Years" to set up your personal tax details (allowance, other income, state pension dates).