New analysis of 17,000 drawdown customers by a provider has revealed wide variations in the amount taken from pension pots but few signs of pensioners taking out all their cash in one go to buy a Lamborghini.

The survey revealed the most common rate of withdrawal was in the 4-5% band, which is broadly in line with traditional notions of a ‘sustainable’ rate of withdrawal and more than a third of the sample were withdrawing between 3% and 6% per year.

However, around 1 in 6 of the sample was withdrawing over 10% per year, but these were on average those with the smallest pots – the median pot size for this group was just over £30,000.

With around a third of drawdown sales in the wider market on an ‘unadvised’ basis, there have been concerns that those who do not take advice may be running down their pension pots too quickly and may exhaust their savings early. 

Royal London analysed data from a sample of more than 17,000 of its customers, who are supported by financial advice, to see how they handle their funds in retirement. 

All those polled were customers whose adviser uses the firm’s ‘Drawdown Governance Service’, which provides advisers with quarterly red/amber/green assessments as to how sustainably individuals are using their pension pots.

The data suggested that smaller pots were not being used to support people throughout retirement and there were other, larger, sources of income on which the client was relying. For example some savers may be rapidly running down one pot earlier in retirement before state pension and occupational pensions come into effect.

The figures indicated a correlation between size of pot and rate of withdrawal, with those with the largest pots taking the smallest percentage withdrawals.

Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London, said: “Our data shows that for those with larger pots, which are likely to form a major part of their retirement income, current withdrawal rates for those taking advice are typically in low single figures – there is no sign of ‘Lamborghinis’ in our data.  

“Faster withdrawal rates tend to be associated with much smaller pots and this is likely to be for individuals who have other sources of income in retirement. 

“This data suggests that for advised customers there is little reason for concern that pension freedoms are being used irresponsibly, but does show the potential advantages in getting more people take advice and guidance at retirement.”