Retirement Withdrawal Calculator
How long will my money last?
Last updated: October 2026
Your plan
= 4.00% of savings
Savings balance by age
How the calculator works
Each year starts with your withdrawal target. If you chose to keep pace with inflation, the target rises by the inflation rate every year. Any Social Security or pension income that has started is subtracted, and the rest comes out of savings at the start of the year. The remaining balance then earns the return you entered. The money "lasts" until a year comes when the balance cannot cover the withdrawal.
The sustainable withdrawal is found by searching for the largest first-year amount that, on the same rules, leaves exactly nothing after the number of years you chose.
Worked example
You retire at 65 with $1,000,000 and take $40,000 in the first year, raising it 3% a year. At a steady 5% return the money lasts about 33.6 years, to around age 98. To last exactly 30 years on the same assumptions, you could start at about $43,450, or 4.3%. Now suppose the first year returns -20% instead of 5%. The same $40,000 plan then runs out after about 23.8 years, almost a decade sooner, even though every later year returns 5%.
The 4% rule and where it stands in 2026
William Bengen's 1994 study used historical US returns to find the highest starting withdrawal that survived every 30-year retirement in his data. The answer was about 4% of the starting balance, raised each year for inflation, with 50% to 75% of the portfolio in stocks. Morningstar's research for 2026 retirees, which uses forward-looking return estimates rather than history, puts the safe starting rate at 3.9% for a 30-year retirement with a 90% chance of success. Both figures assume you keep raising withdrawals with inflation no matter what markets do. Retirees who trim spending after bad years can usually start higher.
What it does not model
Real returns vary every year, so a steady average return makes any plan look smoother than it will be. Taxes, investment fees and required minimum distributions are not included. To see what your accounts might be worth at retirement first, use the 401(k) calculator. To decide when to start Social Security, try the Social Security break-even calculator. If you have a pension offer, compare it in the pension vs lump sum calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How long will my retirement savings last?
It depends on four things: how much you take out, what the money earns, inflation, and other income such as Social Security. $1,000,000 withdrawn at $40,000 a year, raised 3% a year for inflation and earning 5%, lasts about 33 and a half years. At $60,000 a year it lasts just under 20 years.
What is the 4% rule?
It comes from a 1994 study by financial planner William Bengen. Using US market history, he found that withdrawing 4% of savings in the first year of retirement, then raising the dollar amount with inflation, survived every 30-year period he tested with a portfolio of 50% to 75% stocks. It is a starting point, not a guarantee.
What withdrawal rate is safe in 2026?
Morningstar's research for people retiring in 2026 puts the highest safe starting rate at 3.9%, assuming a 30-year retirement, inflation-adjusted withdrawals and a 90% chance the money lasts. Flexible spending rules, such as cutting back after bad years, support higher rates.
What is sequence-of-returns risk?
It is the risk that poor returns arrive early in retirement, while you are withdrawing. Losses in the first years shrink the balance just as you start drawing on it, and later gains have less money to work on. The stress test in this calculator shows what a bad first year does to how long your savings last.
Should my withdrawals rise with inflation?
If you want to keep the same standard of living, yes. A fixed $40,000 buys less each year. Social Security already rises with its annual COLA, which was 2.8% for 2026 and will be 3.6% for 2027, so the calculator raises that income with inflation too.
Does this include taxes?
No. Treat the withdrawal as the gross amount you take out. Withdrawals from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs are taxed as ordinary income, Roth withdrawals are usually tax-free, and taxable accounts owe tax only on gains. Large withdrawals can also raise your Medicare premiums through IRMAA.