Most people approaching retirement focus on how much they've saved. Very few think about the order in which they draw it down — and that decision can make a difference of thousands of pounds in tax over the course of retirement.

The Tax-Efficient Withdrawal Planner models three strategies side by side under current 2025/26 HMRC rules: drawing your ISA first, drawing your SIPP first with the 25% tax-free lump sum, and a mixed approach that draws from all pots in the optimal proportion each year to keep your taxable income as close to the Personal Allowance as possible.

For most people, the difference between the least and most efficient strategy runs to tens of thousands of pounds over a 25-year retirement — money that stays in your pocket rather than going to HMRC.

Enter your pension pot, ISA balance, State Pension, and target monthly income. The planner calculates the total tax cost of each strategy year by year, shows you the exact age each pot depletes, and delivers a plain-English verdict on which approach saves you the most — with your specific numbers, not generic estimates.

Results include a year-by-year tax breakdown table for the recommended strategy, a personal allowance utilisation analysis, and a four-chip summary showing your Year 1 tax bill, lifetime tax saving, effective tax rate, and personal allowance usage.

Based on HMRC 2025/26 tax bands. Updated after each Autumn Budget. For educational planning purposes only.