Pension drawdown: it’s all spend, spend, spend (advisedly)

“I’M GOING to spend, spend, spend!” was Viv Nicholson’s response to her husband’s big 1961 win on the football pools, a popular flutter at the time. She wound up penniless, becoming a symbol of vulnerable profligacy thanks to a play, a musical and her image on the cover of the Smiths’ hit single Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.

Most of us are afraid of living beyond our means. The anxiety is acute in relation to retirement. Suppose I raid my defined contribution fund too heavily via drawdown? What if my investments disappoint?

Questions like these come into sharper focus as you approach retirement. I am at that stage myself. The natural follow-on question is: “How should I think about – and plan – retirement spending?”