The AB Income Architect has been designed specifically for use by professional advisers and supports the delivery of evidence based, personalised retirement income advice.

When a client enters drawdown, managing income sustainability alongside investment risk becomes increasingly complex. The sequencing of returns, life expectancy and an individual’s Attitude to Risk, all directly influence retirement outcomes, which means that generic withdrawal rates and single scenario projections may be inappropriate. The AB Income Architect provides a personalised and robust framework for determining sustainable income levels.

We believe the AB Income Architect offers a differentiated approach to retirement income planning. It has been developed in collaboration with leading academics, Professor Andrew Clare and Professor Stephen Thomas of Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), City, University of London, and Professor Peter Smith of the University of York, whose peer reviewed research into retirement decumulation underpins the calculator. Calculations are driven by each individual's Attitude to Risk and are based on real underlying investment portfolios rather than abstract models. Rather than a standard Monte Carlo analysis, the AB Income Architect uses sequences of asset class returns drawn from around 50 years of market data across a range of economic and interest rate environments. This provides an approach that is more appropriate for assessing sequencing risk. The calculator is linked to national mortality tables and incorporates annuity pricing from a leading household name insurance company.

The methodology is grounded in the professors' published academic research into retirement decumulation. Its central concept is the Perfect Withdrawal Rate, the constant real income that would draw a pot down to a chosen end balance over a defined period given the actual path of investment returns. By assessing income across many historical return sequences rather than a single projection, the calculator captures the effect of sequencing risk on outcomes. The resulting sustainable income is assessed against prevailing annuity rates and adjusted for the client's Attitude to Risk, enabling the calculator to identify the point at which moving from drawdown into an annuity becomes advantageous. Where appropriate, return smoothing techniques are applied to reduce the impact of market falls during the drawdown phase.

Returns are expressed in real (inflation-adjusted) terms, in sterling, and are based on representative underlying portfolios of equities and bonds. Annuity pricing is based on a single life, RPI-linked basis with a five-year guarantee per £100,000 of pot, sourced from a leading insurer, and mortality is drawn from national tables. The treatment of risk reflects loss aversion, so income above the secure annuity baseline is valued more cautiously than an equivalent shortfall, calibrated to each client's Attitude to Risk.

The analysis draws on around 50 years of market data. Rather than relying on a single set of conditions, it reflects a range of economic and interest rate environments, because annuity rates and prevailing market conditions materially affect the outcome. This evidence base is reinforced by longer run international datasets spanning approximately a century, which add further robustness to the conclusions.

The outputs are illustrative and probabilistic, generated from historical return sequences under stated assumptions, and are intended to support adviser judgement rather than to provide guarantees or forecasts. The central principle is sequencing risk: it is the order of returns, not simply the average, that shapes outcomes, and poor returns early in drawdown are particularly damaging because they occur when the pot is at its largest. For most clients there is a point during retirement at which switching from drawdown to an annuity becomes advantageous, which supports a flexible early phase followed by securing income against longevity risk. This point is not a fixed age, as it depends on prevailing annuity rates and on the client's Attitude to Risk, which is why a personalised assessment is central to the calculator.

The AB Income Architect provides three outcome options: Maximum income generation. Sustainable long-term income with capital preservation. Capital preservation alongside acceptable income withdrawals.

Three profiles are available: Capital Maintenance: supports a sustainable income while preserving the long-term value of the SIPP, with a 25% probability that income will need to be adjusted downward over time. Balanced: supports a sustainable income with a 50% probability that income will need to be adjusted downward over time. Income Generating: seeks to maximise sustainable income, with a 75% probability that income will need to be adjusted downward over time.

Yes, the income profile can be adjusted accordingly by the financial adviser. Annually, the system notifies for a review of the selected profile(s), as appropriate.

Users can view nominal returns or demonstrate the impact of inflation at 2% per annum (real returns). Alternatively, a selected notional inflation rate can be used to illustrate the effects of different economic environments.

The AB Income Architect links directly to Alpha Beta Partners portfolios and can be tailored to accommodate other portfolio solutions. It also connects to the AB Pathfinder Portfolio.

The AB Pathfinder Portfolio has been designed to deliver positive, long-term returns while reducing the impact of sequencing risk for drawdown clients.

The AB Income Architect integrates with leading adviser back-office systems via a secure two-way data link. It is also fully integrated with Intelligent Office (IO) and subject to demand, can be integrated with other systems.

The AB Income Architect is designed to form part of an annual or regular review process. It prompts advisers when a pre-agreed review date is approaching and includes built in reminders that encourage advisers to review their clients’ profiles each year.

The AB Income Architect is provided free of charge when used in conjunction with Alpha Beta Partners managed portfolios.