

The investment and inflation returns are randomly generated from the normal distribution incorporating their associated means and standard deviations, as inputted by the user. The change in the pension fund over time is simulated using periodic investment returns, inflation and withdrawals. The user is able to select which type of withdrawal they wish to simulate, and only the appropriate input box is then displayed (utilising shinyjs ) so as to avoid confusion. There are two withdrawal types, both adjusted for inflation - a fixed withdrawal amount per annum, or a percentage of the starting fund value (this option is provided to help the user easily model withdrawal strategies similar to the “4% Rule” ). The user enters their age, the value of their fund upon retirement, and see how the size, type and frequencies of withdrawals affect their wealth ( Figure 8.1).
Drawdown on pension simulator#
In a similar style to the SORP Calculator ( Figure 6.1), the Drawdown Simulator uses a Sidebar Layout. 10,000 different simulations are run each time based on the parameters entered by the user, and these simulations are used to calculate reasonable estimates of future fund values, withdrawal amounts, and ruin probabilities.

Drawdown on pension code#
In essence, drawdown is a juggling act - one aims to balance taking out enough cash for a comfortable retirement, while keeping enough invested to provide for later years.īenefiting from the open-source nature of R, code sourced on the Systematic Investor Blog was modified to build the Drawdown Simulator. As such, income is not guaranteed for life. On the other hand, there is a risk that the fund may fall in value if the markets perform poorly. The pension fund stays invested, usually in the stock market.Īs a result, investment growth can provide higher returns and see the savings continue to increase in value. Then each year, they decide how much money to take out of their pension pot to live on. Drawdown, known as an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) in Ireland, consists of keeping one’s pension savings invested with their pension provider when they reach retirement. An increasingly prominent decision people face is whether to buy an annuity or draw down their pension at retirement.
