What is the Pension vs ISA Withdrawal Calculator?
The Pension vs ISA Withdrawal Calculator shows what you keep after tax when taking extra money from your pension, ISA or other savings.
Enter your income, withdrawal amount and available pots. See how the options compare for 2026/27 and 2027/28, including tax-free pension cash and splitting a withdrawal across two tax years.
For a longer view, try the Pension Drawdown Tax Calculator. If you are still working, the Marginal Tax Rate Calculator also covers National Insurance.
How the Calculator Works?
The calculator compares your withdrawal options after extra income tax, Capital Gains Tax and any Winter Fuel Payment repayment. It includes available tax-free pension cash.
It includes the effect of crossing tax thresholds. A pension withdrawal can increase tax on your savings and dividends, reduce your personal allowance or take you over the £35,000 Winter Fuel Payment threshold.
It uses income tax rules for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish income tax, means-tested benefits, couples and emergency tax are excluded.
For a two-year split, other income and your Winter Fuel Payment amount stay unchanged. You can enter different pension withdrawals for next year; the calculation assumes no investment gains have already been made that year.
Step 1: Enter Your Income
Choose the tax year and enter your income, including taxable pension withdrawals already taken or planned before 5th of April. Add other income and investment gains in the relevant fields, then select your Winter Fuel Payment amount.
Step 2: Add the Extra Money and Your Pots
Enter your withdrawal amount before tax and the pots available to you. Leave any pot you do not have at £0. If you have taken tax-free pension cash before, enter your remaining tax-free lump sum allowance.
Step 3: Compare the Routes
Choose how to rank the routes: what you keep now, or allowing for future pension tax. For the second option, choose an assumed future tax rate from the preset buttons.
Select a route for its breakdown. To download a CSV, provide your name and email and join our email list. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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Illustrative only, not financial advice. Estimates use the 2026/27 and legislated 2027/28 income tax rules. Before withdrawing, check your provider’s rules, tax code, remaining tax-free lump sum allowance and personal tax position.
Understanding Your Results
Compare what you keep, check the top route and see where extra pension income becomes more expensive.
What You Keep as Pension Income
This shows what you keep if the whole withdrawal is taxable pension income, alongside the tax, Winter Fuel Payment repayment and cost of your next £1,000.
It reflects your final annual tax position. Your initial payment may differ because of emergency tax or when HMRC collects the repayment.
The Top Route and the Ranking
The table ranks the available routes using your chosen comparison, with equal results shown as joint. For a split withdrawal, it includes both years.
Using your ISA or cash leaves pension money for later. The future-tax comparison allows for tax when you eventually withdraw it.
Where the Rate Jumps
The chart shows where each extra £1,000 of pension income costs more and how close you are to those thresholds. The table below breaks your chosen withdrawal into £1,000 slices.
Three people taking extra money in retirement
Your existing income changes the cost of a withdrawal. These examples show why.
Linda, 68, wants £5,000 for a new kitchen
State Pension £12,548 • Workplace pension £9,000 • £11,000 already drawn from her pension this year • £900 savings interest • £150,000 in drawdown • £30,000 ISA • 2026/27
Linda is £1,552 below the £35,000 threshold. Taking all £5,000 from her pension would mean paying income tax and repaying her £200 Winter Fuel Payment.
- All from her ISA: keeps £5,000
- £1,552 from her pension, £3,448 from her ISA: keeps £4,690
- All from her pension: keeps £3,800
- Half this tax year, half next: keeps £3,600, because each half still takes her over £35,000
What Linda takes from it
Splitting costs more here: both halves cross £35,000, so Linda repays two Winter Fuel Payments.
The pension-and-ISA mix avoids that threshold. Assuming 20% tax on future pension withdrawals, it ties with using her ISA in the future-tax comparison, while using less ISA savings.
Derek, 81, wants £10,000 to help his grandson
State Pension £11,500 • Workplace pension £31,000 • £2,000 savings interest • £1,000 dividends • £100,000 untouched pension • £50,000 of shares outside an ISA, 40% of it gain • 2027/28
Derek already repays his Winter Fuel Payment. Taking £10,000 from his untouched pension would also push him into the higher-rate band, increasing tax on his savings interest and dividends as well as the withdrawal.
- Tax-free cash only: keeps £10,000, but moves £30,000 into drawdown
- Selling shares: keeps £9,820 after £180 of Capital Gains Tax
- £6,360 from his pension, £3,640 from shares: keeps £9,046
- Half in 2027/28, half in 2028/29: keeps £8,500, assuming his income and Winter Fuel Payment are the same in 2028/29
- All from his untouched pension: keeps £7,965
What Derek tests
Limiting the pension withdrawal to £6,360 avoids the higher-rate band. Taking only tax-free cash keeps more now, but moves £30,000 into drawdown for potentially taxable withdrawals later.
Most unused pension funds also count towards an estate for Inheritance Tax from 6th of April 2027. The 25% Tax Free Lump Sum Calculator checks his available tax-free cash.
Pat, 72, wants £6,000 for a car
State Pension £10,000 • £3,000 savings interest • £50,000 in drawdown • £20,000 ISA • 2026/27
Pat currently pays no income tax and has £2,570 of personal allowance available for pension withdrawals. Taking the full £6,000 would also make some savings interest taxable, increasing the cost of the withdrawal.
- £2,570 from her pension, £3,430 from her ISA: keeps £6,000
- All from her ISA: also keeps £6,000, a tie
- Half this tax year, half next: keeps £5,828
- All from her pension: keeps £5,228
What Pat takes from it
If Pat needs the money now, the mix and ISA routes both keep £6,000. If she can wait for half, splitting uses personal allowance in both years and ranks first when assuming 20% tax on future pension withdrawals.
The Retirement Tax Planning Calculator explores using your personal allowance over five years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Browse the common questions we receive about the Pension vs ISA Withdrawal Calculator, including tax on extra pension income, the £35,000 Winter Fuel Payment threshold and choosing which pot to use.
What is the Pension vs ISA Withdrawal Calculator?
It compares what you keep after estimated tax and charges when withdrawing from your pension, ISA or other savings. It also compares splitting the withdrawal across two tax years.
Who has to pay back the Winter Fuel Payment?
HMRC generally recovers the whole payment if your annual income exceeds £35,000. This includes pensions, earnings, rental profit, interest and dividends. Exactly £35,000 does not trigger repayment, and Pension Credit recipients are exempt.
Couples are assessed individually. Payment amounts depend on age and household circumstances.
What does not count towards the £35,000?
Tax-free pension cash, ISA withdrawals, income within an ISA and capital gains do not count. Selling investments outside an ISA may still incur Capital Gains Tax.
How is the Winter Fuel Payment taken back?
Through your tax code or Self Assessment. Two payments may be collected together as HMRC changes the timing of recovery. Check your tax code or HMRC notice for your amount and collection dates.
Why can splitting a withdrawal across two tax years cost more?
Splitting can make use of two years’ allowances. But if both halves take your income over £35,000, you could repay two Winter Fuel Payments rather than one.
Why does extra pension income make my savings interest cost more?
Extra pension income can reduce your starting-rate allowance for savings, making more interest taxable. Moving into the higher-rate band also cuts your personal savings allowance from £1,000 to £500. The calculator includes both effects.
What changes on 6th of April 2027?
Savings interest and rental profit are taxed at 22%, 42% and 47%. Pension and employment income tax rates stay unchanged for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The calculator includes these changes when comparing tax years.
Is taking money from my ISA always best?
No. Using unused personal allowance could let you withdraw some pension money tax-free, while preserving your ISA. Pension money left behind may be taxed later.
Replacing an ISA withdrawal normally uses your annual allowance, unless your ISA is flexible and you replace it within the same tax year.
Does taking money from my pension affect what I can pay in?
Taxable flexible withdrawals usually trigger the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA). This reduces your defined contribution pension allowance to £10,000 a year, including employer contributions. Paying more can lead to a tax charge.
Taking only tax-free cash usually does not trigger it. Check with your provider.
I live in Scotland. Can I use it?
Its pension tax estimates are unsuitable for Scottish taxpayers because Scotland uses different rates and bands. The £35,000 repayment threshold still applies to Scotland’s Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.
Can I export my results?
Yes. Get my CSV downloads your inputs, rankings and tax breakdowns. You provide your name and email and join the RetirementCalculators.uk email list. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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Certified Money First Aider®
These calculators are built by a Certified Money First Aider to help you think more clearly about money and time. Money First Aid® is about practical, non-judgemental support for financial wellbeing. The calculators can certainly help you make informed decisions, but they are not regulated financial advice.
Behind Retirement Calculators
Built from the questions I was asking myself
I'm Ryan, the person behind Retirement Calculators. I started the site after selling an online business and trying to understand what our pensions, ISAs, investments and property actually meant for the way we wanted to live.
The calculators are built around those real decisions: whether you could work less, retire earlier, spend more now or use your money differently. They will not give you a perfect answer, but they can make the trade-offs much easier to see.
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