How Long Will My Money Last Calculator
See how long your savings or retirement money will last at the withdrawal you plan, the age it runs out, and how much you can take each month to make it last to your target age.
Balance over time
Balance at the start of each year, in nominal dollars.
If returns come in different
| Annual return | Money lasts |
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Year-by-year breakdown
| Year | Age | Start balance | Withdrawn | Growth | End balance |
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This is an estimate built on steady assumptions. Real returns vary year to year, and a run of poor returns early in retirement drains savings faster than the average suggests. Taxes, fees and required minimum distributions are not included. Use it to plan, not as financial advice.
About this tool
This how long will my money last calculator shows how many years your savings can pay for a regular withdrawal, the age the money runs out, and the largest monthly amount that would last to an age you choose. You can use it for retirement savings, an IRA or 401(k) you are drawing down, money from selling a house, or any balance you plan to live on. Depending on what you are working out, it doubles as a savings withdrawal calculator, an IRA withdrawal calculator, a 401k distribution calculator or a retirement drawdown calculator. How the calculation works Each month the calculator takes your withdrawal out first, then grows what is left at your expected monthly return. Once a year it raises the withdrawal by your inflation rate, so the money you take keeps about the same buying power. It repeats this until the balance reaches zero, or for 100 years if it never does. Because the balance keeps earning while you draw on it, this is also a compound interest calculator with withdrawals. The same maths tells you how long money lasts in any account that grows and pays out at the same time, so you can use it as an investment calculator with withdrawals as well. Inflation raises the withdrawal every year while the balance paying for it shrinks, so the last few years of a plan run down quickly. A withdrawal that looks comfortable at 65 can be much larger by 80. Reading the results The large figure is how long your money lasts at the withdrawal, return and inflation you entered. Add your age and the calculator also gives the age the money runs out. The starting withdrawal rate is your first year of withdrawals as a share of your savings. It gives a quick read on whether a plan is cautious or aggressive. The green box answers the reverse question: the largest starting monthly withdrawal that makes the money last exactly to your target age, still rising with inflation each year. That makes it a retirement spend down calculator for anyone who plans to use their savings up by a certain age. The table of returns runs the same plan at returns two points below and above your estimate. The gap between its rows shows how much your answer depends on the market. Every how long will money last calculator, this one included, gives an answer that depends heavily on the return you enter. The 4% rule The 4% rule comes from a 1994 study by financial planner William Bengen. He found that withdrawing 4% of a portfolio in the first year, then raising that amount with inflation, lasted at least 30 years in every historical US market period he tested. It is a benchmark to compare your own starting rate against. It is not a guarantee, and his study assumed a particular mix of stocks and bonds. With $1 million, a 4% start is $40,000 a year. At a 4% return and 3% inflation that lasts 29 years, and at a 5% return about 34 years and 8 months. Put your own figures into the how long will my money last in retirement calculator above to see where your plan sits against the rule. What the calculator leaves out It assumes the same return every year. Real markets rise and fall, and the order matters: a fall early in retirement, while you are also withdrawing, leaves less to recover than the same fall ten years later. This is called sequence of returns risk, and it is the reason to keep a margin between your plan and the result. Taxes on withdrawals, investment fees, Social Security, pensions and required minimum distributions are not included. Allow for them separately, or lower your expected return to cover fees. If you are using a how long will retirement savings last calculator to decide when to retire, run it twice: once with your expected return and once with a lower one. Common questions How long will my money last in retirement? It depends on four numbers: what you have saved, what you take out, what the savings earn and inflation. With $500,000 earning 5% a year and 3% inflation, taking $3,000 a month lasts about 16 years and 4 months. Enter your own figures above to get your answer. How long will my retirement savings last at $3,000 a month? At a 5% return and 3% inflation, $300,000 lasts about 9 years and 2 months, $500,000 about 16 years and 4 months, $750,000 about 27 years and $1 million about 40 years and 5 months. How long will my savings last if returns are lower? Lower returns shorten it. The same $500,000 and $3,000 a month lasts 14 years at a 3% return and a little over 20 years at 7%. The table of returns in the calculator shows this for your own plan. How long will my funds last if I need them until age 95? Enter your age and set the target age to 95. Starting at 65 with $500,000, a 5% return and 3% inflation, the calculator gives about $1,851 a month. How long will money last in retirement once Social Security starts? Enter only the amount you need from savings after Social Security and any pension. A smaller withdrawal from savings makes the money last longer. What should I enter in a how long will my retirement savings last calculator if I have a pension? Take your pension away from your monthly spending first, then enter only what is left as the withdrawal. Entering your full spending would make the savings look shorter lived than they are. Can I use it as a calculator for withdrawal for retirement accounts such as an IRA or 401(k)? Yes, for planning. It does not work out taxes or required minimum distributions, so treat the result as a figure before tax. This calculator is for planning and education only and is not financial advice. For decisions about your own retirement, speak to a qualified financial adviser.
How to use
Using this how long will my savings last calculator takes about a minute. 1. Enter your current savings, meaning the amount you plan to draw down. 2. Add your age if you want to see the age the money runs out and a withdrawal that lasts to your target age. You can leave it blank. 3. Enter how much you want to withdraw, and choose monthly or yearly. 4. Set your expected annual return after fees, and the inflation rate you want your withdrawal to keep up with. 5. Set the age you want the money to last until. The results update as you type. Open the year by year breakdown to see the balance, withdrawals and growth for every year, and check the table of returns to see how sensitive your plan is. Nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere.