Drawing an Income
Spending does not stay flat across a retirement
Plans usually assume a constant amount adjusted for inflation. Real spending tends to be lumpier and to change direction more than…
Drawing an Income
Withdrawal, dividends and turning a pot back into money to live on.
20 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 2 of 2
Drawing an Income
The slow risk that compounds against a retiree
A retirement lasting three decades meets the same compounding that built the portfolio, running steadily in the opposite direction.
Drawing an Income
The years between the last salary and the first pension
Stopping work rarely coincides with every income source starting. The gap years have their own arithmetic and are routinely…
Drawing an Income
Once a year or once a month, and what the choice costs
Withdrawal frequency changes dealing costs, cash drag and how often you make a decision. The last of those matters most.
Drawing an Income
Life expectancy is an average and you are not one
Planning to an average lifespan means roughly half of people outlive the plan. The distribution matters far more than the midpoint.
Drawing an Income
The late-life costs nobody can size in advance
Care needs are unpredictable in whether they arrive, when they arrive and what they cost. Plans usually respond by ignoring them…
Drawing an Income
Two more years of work moves three levers at once
Delaying the start of drawdown adds contributions, removes withdrawal years and shortens the period the portfolio has to cover.
Drawing an Income
One pot, two lifespans
A joint plan has to survive both people and then one of them alone. The second phase is where most plans turn out to be weakest.