How long will your money last? Enter your nest egg and what you plan to take each year, and see the age it runs out, or whether it never does.
At a 4.5% withdrawal rate
32 years
Your money runs out at about age 97.
Most you can take to last 30 years
$46,262
…to last 40 years
$38,489
Monthly now
$3,750
Balance, today's dollarsAge →
Steady returns every year. Markets aren't steady; see the Monte Carlo calculator for the range.
Ask about your result
An AI reads the numbers above and explains what they mean for you, in plain English. It only runs when you press the button.
0/400
Explainer: same average return, very different retirement
Two retirees start with $1,000,000 and take $50,000 a year (5%, raised with inflation). They get exactly the same ten yearly returns, averaging 4.8%, repeated for 30 years. The only difference is the order.
Crash earlyCrash lateAge →
Losing 15% and then 8% while withdrawing leaves nothing: it runs dry after 20 years. The withdrawals sold shares cheaply at the bottom, and there were fewer shares left to recover.
This is why the first five to ten years of retirement matter most, and why many retirees hold a cash or bond buffer to avoid selling stocks in a downturn.
Choosing a withdrawal rate
Rate
From $1M, year one
Typical use
3%
$30,000
Very long or early retirements
3.5%
$35,000
40-year horizons, cautious planners
4%
$40,000
Classic 30-year "4% rule"
5%+
$50,000+
Shorter horizons or flexible spending
The 4% rule assumes a fixed real withdrawal and a roughly 50–75% stock allocation. Research since then (including Morningstar's yearly safe withdrawal studies) has put the "safe" starting rate anywhere from about 3.3% to 4% depending on bond yields and valuations. Spending flexibly, such as skipping inflation raises after a down year, lets you start higher.
Remember RMDs: from 73 or 75 the IRS forces a minimum withdrawal from Traditional accounts. Check yours with the RMD calculator.
Questions people ask
How long will my money last in retirement?
It depends on your balance, how much you take each year, your returns and inflation. At 5% returns and 2.5% inflation, a 4% first-year withdrawal (raised each year with inflation) lasts about 38 years; a 6% withdrawal lasts about 21 years. Enter your numbers above.
What is the 4% rule?
It comes from William Bengen's 1994 research and the 1998 Trinity study: withdraw 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement, then raise that dollar amount by inflation each year. Historically, with a stock and bond mix, this lasted at least 30 years in almost every US period tested. It is a starting point, not a guarantee.
What is a safe withdrawal rate?
For a 30-year retirement, 3.5% to 4% is the range most research calls "safe" based on US history. For a 40 to 50-year retirement (early retirees), many planners use 3% to 3.5%. Flexible spending, such as cutting back after bad years, lets you start higher.
What is sequence-of-returns risk?
It is the danger of bad market years coming early in retirement, while you are withdrawing. Losses on a bigger balance plus withdrawals can shrink the portfolio so much that later good years can't repair it. The explainer below shows two retirees with the same average return but opposite orders.
Should I withdraw a fixed amount or a percentage?
A fixed inflation-adjusted amount gives steady income but can run out. A fixed percentage of the current balance never runs out but your income swings with the market. Guardrail strategies sit in between.