Planning & projections
How long will retirement savings last at this withdrawal?
A calculator for the question retirees lose sleep over: how long savings last when withdrawals rise with inflation, at the return the client assumes.
Included on every plan, even the free Practitioner plan. No card needed.
How long will my retirement savings last?
Take the first-year withdrawal at the start of each year, raise it by inflation every year, and grow what remains at the assumed return. Count the years until the balance runs out. A withdrawal of about 4% of the starting balance, with a real return near zero, lasts about 25 years; higher withdrawals or lower returns shorten that.
After a market drop, or in the first year of retirement
Newly retired clients check this after the first big withdrawal, and everyone checks it after a market decline. The search is emotional, and a clear, honest answer, including what the calculator can't know, is reassuring in itself.
What the client types into a search box
“will I run out of money in retirement”
How a client works through it
Enter savings
The balance available at the start of retirement.
Enter the first-year withdrawal
The amount the client plans to take in year one.
Set return and inflation
Withdrawals rise with inflation; the balance earns the return.
See how long it lasts
Years the money lasts, ending balance and total withdrawn.
What lands in your inbox
When a client asks your firm to review the result, the request arrives as a contact record with their inputs and results attached, by email and, on paid plans, by webhook to your CRM.
Received
Savings, first-year withdrawal, return and inflation show the withdrawal rate. A rate well above 5% is a concern to address promptly. A balance that lasts beyond the maximum years suggests a client who could spend more, give more or plan for heirs.
What does 'savings last' really mean?
Savings Last is the number of years the balance can fund the rising withdrawals. If the money outlasts the Maximum Years to Model, the calculator shows the Ending Balance instead. Total Withdrawn shows how much was spent in total, which grows with inflation.
What matters most is the gap between return and inflation, the real return. When the return barely beats inflation, the balance behaves almost like cash in a drawer.
Results shown: Savings Last · Starting Balance · First-Year Withdrawal · Ending Balance · Total Withdrawn.
Withdrawals that rise with prices
A client starts with $750,000 and withdraws $50,000 in year one, about 6.7% of the balance. With 3% inflation, year two's withdrawal is $51,500 and year three's is $53,045. At a 5% return the real return is roughly 2%, and the balance runs short much sooner than a client who only looked at the first withdrawal would expect.
Why do advisers and CPAs share this question?
Withdrawal rate is the core of retirement income planning, and clients who are drawing too much often don't know it. A firm that helps them see the trade-off between spending and longevity builds a long relationship.
For CPA firms, the conversation often turns to taxes: the same spending can require different withdrawals depending on which accounts are used, and that changes how long the money lasts.
Follow-ups this request opens
- Review the withdrawal rate and spending plan
- Build a tax-efficient withdrawal order
- Consider annuitizing part of savings for guaranteed income
- Stress-test with lower returns in early years
What this calculator leaves out
- Constant return every year; sequence-of-returns risk is not modeled.
- Taxes on withdrawals are not included.
- Spending is assumed to rise exactly with inflation.
- Social Security and pensions are not included.
Platform disclaimer shown under the calculator: Estimates only. Assumes a constant return with withdrawals taken at the start of each year and rising with inflation; real markets, taxes and spending vary. Consult a financial professional.
Compliance note for firms
Longevity projections depend on assumed returns and can be hypothetical performance if an adviser presents them. Keep methodology and limitations visible. Advice on withdrawal rates should account for taxes and other income, which this tool ignores.
Not legal advice. See our disclaimer and the guide to compliance for client calculators.
Terms your client sees in the calculator
These definitions appear in the calculator's collapsible Definitions block, so clients don't have to call to ask what a label means.
- Inflation-adjusted withdrawal
- A withdrawal that rises each year by the inflation rate so it buys roughly the same amount of goods. The first-year withdrawal is the starting point; at 3% inflation, $50,000 becomes $51,500 in year two. Because withdrawals keep growing, a balance can run out even when the return is higher than the starting withdrawal rate.
- Withdrawal rate
- The first-year withdrawal as a percentage of the starting balance: $50,000 from $750,000 is about 6.7%. The higher the rate, the faster the balance is drawn down. Rules of thumb exist for sustainable rates, but they depend on assumed returns, inflation and the length of retirement, so this calculator lets you test your own figures instead.
- Real return
- The return left after inflation, approximately the nominal return minus the inflation rate. With a 5% return and 3% inflation, the real return is about 2%. Because withdrawals here rise with inflation, the real return, not the headline return, largely determines how long the savings last.
- Annual return
- The average yearly growth assumed on the balance that remains invested. The calculator holds it constant; real returns vary, and a few poor years early in retirement can shorten how long the money lasts even when the average looks fine. Testing a lower return alongside your base case shows how much margin the plan has.
- Withdrawal timing
- This calculator takes each year’s withdrawal at the beginning of the year, before that year’s growth. That is slightly more conservative than end-of-year timing, because the withdrawn money never earns that year’s return. Results can therefore differ a little from tools that withdraw at year-end or monthly.
- Sequence-of-returns risk
- The risk that losses arrive early in retirement, while withdrawals are also shrinking the balance. Two portfolios with the same average return can last very different lengths of time depending on the order of good and bad years. A constant-return model like this one cannot show that risk, so treat its result as an estimate for a steady average.
In our glossary: Real return · Withdrawal rate
How Long Will Retirement Savings Last? calculator: questions from firms and clients
Is a 4% withdrawal safe?
It is a rule of thumb based on historical returns, not a guarantee. The calculator shows how long money lasts at any rate and return the client enters.
Why do withdrawals increase each year?
To keep purchasing power steady. Without increases, spending power would fall with inflation.
Does it include market crashes?
No. It uses a constant return. Early losses would shorten the period.
Are taxes included?
No. Clients withdrawing from pre-tax accounts need to withdraw more to cover tax.
What is the maximum years setting for?
It caps the model; if money outlasts it, the calculator reports the remaining balance.
How is this different from the retirement income calculator?
The income calculator finds a level payment for a fixed period; this one tests how long a rising withdrawal lasts.
Should Social Security reduce the withdrawal?
Yes. Enter only the amount savings must cover.
Which plan includes it?
Every plan, including the free Practitioner plan, which runs up to 5 calculators at once alongside the other retirement tools. Firm (up to 50) and Network (no cap) add webhooks and white-label. See pricing.
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