📈 Retirement Withdrawal Calculator: How Long Will Your Savings Last?

Estimate how long your retirement savings will last with our free, browser‑based calculator. Input withdrawals, inflation, returns, and more.

Last updated: 19 October 2026

Retirement Withdrawal Calculator

Short answer: how long your retirement savings last depends on three things you control here — the withdrawal amount, the inflation increase and the assumed annual return. The base path below is an illustration under constant assumptions, not a forecast or a guarantee.

Educational estimate, not financial, tax or legal advice. This page runs entirely in your browser. Treat every regulated figure as an editable assumption and check the official body before relying on it.

Calculate your withdrawal plan

Withdrawal strategy Fixed, inflation-adjusted amount (rises each year by inflation) Fixed nominal amount (same dollars every year) Percent of portfolio (a share of the balance each year)

Portfolio and withdrawal

Starting portfolio balance (USD)

First-year withdrawal (USD)

Assumptions

Expected annual return (%) Constant in the base path. Real returns vary, so this fixed path does not model sequence of returns risk — the optional stress case shows one illustrative poor-return sequence instead. Annual inflation (%) How inflation affects retirement withdrawals: it raises the spending need each year under the inflation-adjusted strategy. Planning horizon (years) 1 to 60 years. Current age (optional, for depletion age) Other annual income (USD, optional) Social Security or pension dollars that offset the amount needed from the portfolio each year. Effective tax rate on withdrawals (%, optional) User-entered rate applied to the net portfolio withdrawal. State income taxes on retirement withdrawals are not modeled.

Stress case (optional): poor early returns

Number of poor years at the start 1 to 10, or 0 to disable. Return during those years (%) Illustrative comparison against the base path, not a forecast.

How long will my retirement savings last calculator results

Years fully funded

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Depletion

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Ending balance

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Initial withdrawal rate

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First-year withdrawal ÷ starting balance

Limitations of this result: constant return and inflation, start-of-year withdrawals, no sequence-of-returns variation in the base path, no required minimum distribution logic, no state taxes, no Medicare or health costs, no Social Security claiming optimization. A single deterministic path is an illustration, never a prediction. Rule version v2026.10-unverified; financial year 2026; last updated 2026-10-19.

How much can I withdraw from my retirement each month

Monthly equivalent of the first-year withdrawal

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First-year withdrawal ÷ 12 (simple monthly equivalent; spending rarely arrives in 12 equal pieces).

Monthly retirement withdrawal from year 2 onward

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Year-2 scheduled withdrawal ÷ 12.

Safe withdrawal rate calculator: sustainable first-year withdrawal

The solver finds the largest level first-year withdrawal that lasts the chosen horizon under the same constant return and inflation you entered, with start-of-year withdrawals. It refuses to call any rate “safe” in the sense of guaranteed — no rate is guaranteed, because real returns vary by sequence.

Sustainable first-year withdrawal

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Monthly equivalent of the sustainable amount

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Sustainable first-year withdrawal ÷ 12.

Method & sources (shown with the result)

Formula: B_t+1 = (B_t − outflow_t) × (1 + r_t), with the withdrawal taken at the start of year t. Inflation-adjusted strategy: W_t = W₁ × (1 + g)^t−1. Sustainable solver: W₁ = B ÷ Σ_t=1..N ((1+g)^t−1 / (1+r)^t−1).
Substitution for your run: enter values and press Calculate.
Rounding: currency rounded half-up to the cent for display only; percentages to two decimals; internal values unrounded. Years reported whole, with any partial year reported separately.
Rule version / period: v2026.10-unverified · financial year 2026. No source document was opened for this run, so every regulated number on this page is an editable input with a default rather than an official value.
None. Official starting points the reader should check: IRS.gov (Publication 590-B, Topic 557, RMD pages), SSA.gov, SEC Investor.gov, FINRA.org. These are starting points only — this page never implies affiliation with or endorsement by any agency.

What would change this result (sensitivity)

Press Calculate to populate. Values are recalculated with your other inputs held constant.

Sensitivity of fully funded years to the annual return
Annual return	Years fully funded	Ending balance after horizon
Run the calculation to fill this table.

Year-by-year projection (data table and balance chart)

The chart draws the portfolio balance at the end of each year for the base path, and for the stress path when a stress case is entered. The table is the full data-table alternative for the chart.

Portfolio balance by year. The depletion marker shows the first year the scheduled withdrawal cannot be fully funded.

Base path

Year-by-year balance, withdrawal and end-of-year value
Year	Age	Balance at start	Scheduled withdrawal	From portfolio	End-of-year balance	Status
Run the calculation to fill this table.

Stress path versus base path (illustrative, not a forecast)
Year	Base end-of-year balance	Stress end-of-year balance	Difference

Retirement withdrawal strategy calculator: how the three strategies behave

Inflation adjusted retirement withdrawal calculator mode

Year t withdrawal = first-year amount × (1 + inflation)^t−1.
Keeps spending power roughly constant when inflation is positive.
Consumes the portfolio fastest of the three when inflation is positive.
Withdrawal is fixed in dollars, so it does not react to a falling balance.

Fixed nominal mode

The same dollar amount every year.
Simple to budget, but each year buys less as prices rise.
Portfolio outlasts the inflation-adjusted path, at the cost of falling real spending.

Percent of portfolio mode

Each year’s withdrawal = rate × the balance at the start of that year.
Spending falls automatically after poor years and rises after good ones.
With a constant return above the rate the balance never reaches zero, so this page reports “no depletion under constant assumptions” instead of a depletion year.
Called the percent of portfolio withdrawal strategy in planning conversations.

No strategy removes market risk. Choosing among them is a personal decision; this tool only shows arithmetic under the assumptions you enter.

How to use this calculator

Pick a withdrawal strategy and enter your starting balance in today’s dollars.
Enter either a first-year dollar withdrawal or an initial rate (the 4 percent rule calculator mode uses 4.00% as its default starting point).
Set the expected annual return and inflation you are willing to assume. If you have no research-backed figures, treat them as editable placeholders and test several values — that is what the sensitivity table is for.
Choose a planning horizon in years and, optionally, your current age so the depletion age can be shown.
Add other annual income (for example a Social Security benefit you enter yourself) to see the net withdrawal need from the portfolio, and an effective tax rate if you want a pre-tax-adjusted view.
Optionally add a stress case — poor returns in the first years — to compare against the base path.
Press Calculate, then read the funded years, the depletion year, the monthly equivalent and the year-by-year table.

How the retirement withdrawal rate and projections are calculated

Variables: B = starting portfolio balance; W₁ = first-year withdrawal; g = annual inflation; r = annual return; N = horizon in years; W_t = scheduled withdrawal in year t; B_t = balance at the start of year t.

Inflation-adjusted withdrawal: W_t = W₁ × (1 + g)^t−1. Nominal: W_t = W₁. Percent of portfolio: W_t = rate × B_t.
Net portfolio outflow: outflow_t = max(0, W_t − otherIncome) × (1 + taxRate), where otherIncome and taxRate default to 0.
Balance update (withdrawal at the start of the year): B_t+1 = (B_t − outflow_t) × (1 + r_t), where r_t equals the stress return while t is within the stress window, otherwise r.
Fully funded year: B_t ≥ outflow_t. The first year failing that test is the partial or depletion year; the amount it can still fund is reported separately.
Initial-rate method: W₁ = rate × B.
Sustainable first-year withdrawal for horizon N: W₁ = B ÷ Σ_t=1..N ((1+g)^t−1 / (1+r)^t−1) for start-of-year withdrawals, ignoring other income and tax so the figure stays comparable.

Rounding rule: currency is rounded half-up to the cent for display; percentages to two decimals; the internal computation keeps full precision. Years are whole numbers with a separately reported partial year. Substituted numbers for your last run appear in the Method & sources box next to the result.

Worked examples you can reproduce

All three examples are hypothetical and use exact inputs; enter them in the calculator to check the arithmetic yourself.

Example W1 — initial-rate method

Portfolio $1,000,000.00, first-year withdrawal rate 4.00% → year 1 withdrawal $40,000.00. Withdrawals then rise 3.00% inflation each year: year 2 = 40,000 × 1.03 = $41,200.00; year 3 = 41,200 × 1.03 = $42,436.00. The 4 percent figure is a rule of thumb from historical research, not a legal or guaranteed rate.

Example W2 — depletion test

Starting balance $800,000.00; first-year withdrawal $48,000.00 at the start of each year; constant 5.00% return; withdrawals increase 3.00% per year. The withdrawal is fully funded for 19 full years; the year-20 withdrawal cannot be fully funded because the balance is lower than the scheduled amount. Constant returns are an illustration — real returns vary, and sequence-of-returns risk is not modeled by this fixed-return path.

Example W3 — zero-return branch

$800,000.00 balance, $48,000.00 first-year withdrawal at the start of each year, 0.00% return, 0.00% inflation: 16 × 48,000 = 768,000, so 16 fully funded years, and year 17 can fund only the remaining $32,000.00 — reported as a partial year, never as a full year.

Comparison 1: three strategies, identical hypothetical inputs

Same inputs for every row: starting balance $800,000.00, first-year withdrawal $48,000.00, constant 5.00% return, 3.00% inflation, 40-year horizon, withdrawals at the start of each year. Hypothetical illustration produced by this engine; constant returns are not a forecast.

What happens to the same portfolio under each withdrawal strategy
Strategy	How the yearly withdrawal is set	Years fully funded	Outcome within 40 years	Best suited when
Fixed, inflation-adjusted	$48,000.00 in year 1, then ×1.03 each year	19	Year-20 withdrawal cannot be fully funded	Protecting spending power matters more than portfolio longevity
Fixed nominal	$48,000.00 every year, no inflation increase	32	Year-33 withdrawal cannot be fully funded; money left at that point $16,892.17	Simple budgeting; accepts that later years buy less
Percent of portfolio (6.00%)	6.00% of the balance at the start of each year	40 (all)	No depletion under constant 5.00% return; ending balance $473,997.55	Flexible spending that adapts to market outcomes

Comparison 2: what a different initial withdrawal rate does

Starting balance $800,000.00, constant 5.00% return, 3.00% inflation, inflation-adjusted withdrawals, 40-year horizon. Hypothetical and reproducible in the calculator above — change the initial rate and read the same columns.

Initial retirement withdrawal rate versus longevity of the portfolio
Initial withdrawal rate	First-year withdrawal	Monthly equivalent, year 1	Years fully funded	Status at year 40
3.00%	$24,000.00	$2,000.00	40 or more	Funded; projected balance $871,772.81
4.00%	$32,000.00	$2,666.67	33	Depletes in year 34
5.00%	$40,000.00	$3,333.33	24	Depletes in year 25
6.00%	$48,000.00	$4,000.00	19	Depletes in year 20

A lower initial rate extends the funded years in this fixed-return model, but it also means less spending. Neither direction is advice; both are arithmetic under stated assumptions.

Infographics: the projection at a glance

Infographic 1 — Years fully funded out of a 40-year horizon (hypothetical: $800,000.00, 5.00% return, 3.00% inflation, inflation-adjusted withdrawals)

3.00% initial rate — $24,000.00 first year

40 / 40 years

4.00% initial rate — $32,000.00 first year

33 / 40 years

5.00% initial rate — $40,000.00 first year

24 / 40 years

6.00% initial rate — $48,000.00 first year (withdrawal too large for the balance in the final comparison year)

19 / 40 years

Bars show fully funded years as a share of the 40-year horizon. Longer bars mean the withdrawal level survives longer under these constant assumptions — not that any rate is guaranteed.

✓ This calculator models

Year-by-year balances with withdrawals at the start of each year
Three withdrawal strategies: inflation-adjusted, fixed nominal, percent of portfolio
Sustainable first-year withdrawal for your chosen horizon
Other-income offset and a user-entered effective tax rate
A user-entered poor-early-returns stress path against the base path
Depletion year, partial final year and depletion age when you enter your age

✗ This calculator does not model

Sequence-of-returns variation in the base path, Monte Carlo ranges or asset allocation advice
State income taxes on retirement withdrawals (out of scope — no state is collected)
Medicare premiums, health costs or long-term care
Social Security claiming optimization or annuities
Verified required-minimum-distribution rules or early-distribution exception verdicts (see the rules panel)
Required minimum distribution logic in the projection itself

Rules context: required minimum distributions and early withdrawals

No primary source (IRS Publication 590-B, the IRS required minimum distribution pages, or IRS Topic 557) was opened, so nothing below is presented as an official figure. Every number is an editable input with a default. Before acting on any RMD or early-distribution amount, check the official body: IRS.gov.

Your age for the distribution year Prior year-end balance (USD) Uniform Lifetime Table divisor (editable, default 24.6) The real table also depends on beneficiary and spouse rules. RMD starting age (editable, default 73) Candidate start age — unverified. Confirm the age that applies to your birth year on the IRS site. Age at withdrawal for the early-tax illustration Taxable early withdrawal (USD) Additional tax rate (%, editable, default 10) Candidate rate — unverified. Exceptions exist and this tool never decides whether one applies to you.

Enter the values above and press the button to see an illustrative amount.

Informational context only: this panel cannot determine whether you must take a distribution, whether an exception to an additional tax applies, or how any amount is taxed. Those determinations belong to the IRS and a qualified tax professional. State income taxes on retirement withdrawals are not modeled anywhere on this page.

Common mistakes when projecting withdrawals

Treating the 4 percent rule as a guarantee. It is a heuristic drawn from historical research. This page labels it as a rule of thumb every time the initial-rate method appears.
Forgetting that the withdrawal comes out before the year’s return. The convention here is start-of-year withdrawal, then growth on the remainder: (B − W) × (1+r). End-of-year timing would produce different numbers.
Confusing a partial year with a full year. If the balance can fund only part of the scheduled withdrawal, the calculator reports a whole number of fully funded years plus a separate partial year — it never rounds the partial year up.
Ignoring inflation on a fixed dollar amount. A flat $48,000.00 buys less every year; that is why the inflation-adjusted and fixed-nominal rows in Comparison 1 differ by 13 funded years.
Assuming a constant return is the same as a smooth ride. One poor early sequence can empty a portfolio sooner than the average return suggests — that is sequence of returns risk in plain words. Use the stress case to see the direction of the effect; this tool does not model the full risk.
Running the projection pre-tax and then spending post-tax dollars. If your withdrawal must fund taxes, enter an effective tax rate; otherwise the plan overstates spendable income.
Reading one deterministic path as a prediction. Every number here is conditional on the return and inflation you typed in.

Frequently asked questions

How long will my money last in retirement?

It depends on the withdrawal amount, the inflation increase and the return you earn. Enter those three values above and the calculator reports the number of fully funded years, the depletion year if the balance runs out, and the ending balance. With $800,000.00, a $48,000.00 first-year withdrawal, 5.00% return and 3.00% inflation, this engine funds 19 full years and flags year 20 as the first partial year — a reproducible illustration, not a forecast.

What happens if I withdraw too much in retirement?

The balance falls faster than growth can replace it, fully funded years shrink, and the depletion year moves closer. If the first-year withdrawal exceeds the starting balance, the portfolio is insufficient immediately and the calculator says so rather than showing a negative balance. Comparison 2 shows the pattern: raising the initial rate from 4.00% to 6.00% on the same hypothetical portfolio cuts fully funded years from 33 to 19.

What is a safe withdrawal rate?

No withdrawal rate is guaranteed. The sustainable first-year withdrawal shown by the safe withdrawal rate calculator section is the largest level amount that lasts your chosen horizon under the constant return and inflation you entered. Different returns, different inflation, or a different sequence of returns produce a different answer. The frequently cited 4 percent figure is a rule of thumb from historical research, not an official or legal rate.

How does the required minimum distribution rule interact with this projection?

The projection itself contains no required minimum distribution logic, so it never tells you whether a distribution is required. Check IRS.gov (Publication 590-B and the IRS required minimum distribution pages) for the rules that apply to you, and note that state income taxes are not modeled here.

Are there extra taxes on retirement withdrawals before a certain age?

Federal law contains an additional tax on some early distributions from retirement plans, with a list of exceptions. For the authoritative text, see IRS Topic 557 and Publication 590-B at IRS.gov. This calculator is a 401k withdrawal calculator and IRA withdrawal calculator only in the arithmetic sense (401(k) and IRA balances): it is pre-tax math on the balance you enter and models no account-specific tax rules.

Glossary

Retirement withdrawal rate: The first-year withdrawal divided by the starting portfolio balance, usually shown as a percentage. A $40,000.00 withdrawal from $1,000,000.00 is a 4.00% retirement withdrawal rate.
Inflation adjustment: Raising the scheduled withdrawal each year by an assumed inflation rate so spending power stays roughly level: W_t = W₁ × (1+g)^t−1.
Sequence-of-returns risk: The risk that poor returns arrive early, while the portfolio is being drawn down, and damage it more than the same average return delivered later. The base path here uses one constant return, so it does not model sequence risk; the stress case is an illustrative partial view. Educational context: investor education sites such as SEC Investor.gov and FINRA publish background material on withdrawal and sequence risk.
Fully funded year: A year in which the balance at the start of the year is at least the amount the strategy schedules (after the other-income offset and any entered tax rate).
Partial year: The first year in which the balance is smaller than the scheduled withdrawal. The calculator reports how much that balance can still fund instead of counting it as a full year.
Depletion year: The projection year in which the portfolio can no longer meet the scheduled withdrawal. With an age entered, the depletion age is shown alongside it.
Sustainable first-year withdrawal: The level first-year amount that exactly lasts the chosen horizon under the entered return and inflation, computed with the growing-annuity sum shown in the method section.
Percent of portfolio strategy: Taking a fixed percentage of the balance at the start of each year, so spending falls after losses and rises after gains.

The links below are official starting points the reader should open.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) — Publication 590-B (Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements), Topic 557 (Additional Tax on Early Distributions), and the required minimum distribution pages. For RMD divisors, starting age and early-distribution rules.
Social Security Administration (SSA) — benefit information; this page never computes a benefit amount.
SEC Investor.gov — investor education on retirement planning and withdrawal risk.
FINRA — retirement income and investor education material.

Changelog

2026-10-19 — Initial build.

Limitations, exclusions and assumptions

Constant return and constant inflation in the base path; no Monte Carlo simulation and no sequence-of-returns analysis beyond your entered stress window.
Withdrawals occur at the start of each year by convention; other income is treated as a constant annual offset; a user-entered tax rate is applied as a flat multiplier on the net withdrawal.
Excluded: state income taxes, Medicare and health costs, Social Security claiming optimization, annuities, asset allocation advice, qualified charitable distributions, Roth conversions, and account-specific tax rules for 401(k) or IRA distributions.
No rule on this page was verified against a primary source; figures such as RMD divisors, starting ages and early-distribution rates are editable candidates, not official values.
This is an educational estimate, not financial, tax or legal advice, and no result here is guaranteed.

Byline: Varnda Editorial Team.

Corrections: if you spot an arithmetic or wording error, use the correction channel published on the Varnda site’s about or contact page (no contact address is invented on this page). Reports of a mismatch between this page and an official source are welcome and will be treated as a review trigger under our update policy.

Privacy: the calculation runs entirely in your browser. Inputs are not transmitted, stored or shared by this page; no personal identifiers are collected.

Final summary

This retirement withdrawal calculator answers the first-screen question — how long will my retirement savings last — with funded years, a depletion year, a monthly equivalent and a sustainable first-year amount, all reproduced from the formula and inputs shown next to the result. Use the strategy comparison, the rate comparison and the stress case to test whether a plan is robust to lower returns or higher spending, then verify every regulated figure against the official body before you act.

Retirement Withdrawal Calculator: How Long Will Your Savings Last?

📈 Retirement Withdrawal Calculator: How Long Will Your Savings Last?