Introduction
When you retire or stop working, you need to know how long your savings will last. This How Long Will My Money Last calculator helps you find out. Enter your total savings, how much you plan to take out each month, your expected investment return, and your tax bracket. The calculator will show you how many years and months your money can support you.
You can also switch modes. Instead of asking how long your money will last, you can ask how much you can withdraw each period to make your savings last a set number of years, if your investments earn the same return every year. This is useful when you want to plan your retirement withdrawals around a specific goal, like making your nest egg last 25 or 30 years.
The tool accounts for taxes on your investment gains and lets you add a yearly increase to your withdrawals to keep up with inflation. You will see a full breakdown of your balance over time, a chart, and a step-by-step explanation of the math behind the results. Use it to build a clearer picture of your retirement spending plan and make smarter choices with your money.
How to Use Our How Long Will My Money Last Calculator
Enter details about your savings, withdrawals, and expected returns below. The calculator will show you how long your money will last or how much you can withdraw each period.
Calculation Mode: Pick "How long will it last?" to find out when your savings run out. Pick "How much can I withdraw?" to find the most you can take out over a set time frame.
Current Savings Balance: Enter the total amount of money you have saved right now. This is your starting balance.
Withdrawal Amount: In duration mode, enter how much money you plan to take out each period. This can be monthly, quarterly, or annually based on the frequency you choose.
Desired Duration: In withdrawal mode, enter how many years and months you want your money to last. The calculator will then solve for the right withdrawal amount.
Withdrawal Frequency: Choose how often you plan to take money out: monthly, quarterly, or annually.
Before-Tax Annual Return: Enter the yearly return you expect your savings to earn before taxes. You can set this from −12% to 12%. Use a negative number to test how your money holds up in a bad market.
Federal Marginal Tax Bracket: Enter the tax rate you pay on your investment growth. The calculator uses this to figure out your after-tax return. Enter 0% for money in a 401(k) or IRA, since growth there is not taxed each year.
Annual Withdrawal Increase: Enter the percentage by which your withdrawal grows each year. This helps account for inflation or rising cost of living over time.
How Long Will My Money Last?
When you stop working, your savings become your paycheck. Every month you pull money out, and that pile gets smaller. The big question is: will your money last as long as you need it to? This calculator helps you find the answer.
How Retirement Savings Run Out
Your savings don't just sit still. While you take money out, the balance left behind can still earn interest. Your money lasts longer when your investments grow faster than you spend. It runs out sooner when you withdraw too much or earn too little.
Four things control how long your money lasts:
- How much you have saved. A bigger starting balance gives you more runway. Accounts like a 401(k), Roth IRA, or traditional IRA all contribute to this total.
- How much you take out. Smaller withdrawals stretch your money further.
- What your money earns. A higher return on your investments helps your balance last longer. In a taxable account, taxes eat into that return, so what matters is your after-tax return, the growth you actually keep. Earnings in a 401(k) are taxed as income when you take them out, unless they are qualified Roth distributions.3 Earnings in a traditional IRA are generally not taxed until they are distributed, and qualified Roth IRA distributions are tax free.4 For money in these accounts, use 0% as your tax bracket.
- How fast your withdrawals grow. A bigger yearly increase uses up your savings sooner.
Why Withdrawal Increases Matter
Prices go up over time. This is called inflation. Something that costs $4 today would cost about $5 in eight years if prices rose 3% a year. To keep up, you may need to pull out a little more each year. This calculator lets you add a yearly increase to your withdrawals so your plan stays realistic.
Two Ways to Use This Calculator
You can use it in two modes. In duration mode, you enter how much you plan to withdraw and the calculator tells you how many years and months your savings will last. In withdrawal mode, you enter how long you want your money to last and the calculator tells you the most you can take out each period if your investments earn the same return every year.
What Is a Safe Withdrawal Rate?
A safe withdrawal rate is the amount you can pull from your savings each year without running out of money too soon. One guideline is the 4% rule, from a 1994 study by financial planner William Bengen. This rule says you can withdraw about 4% of your savings in the first year of retirement, then adjust for inflation each year after that.1 In the historical test behind it, which used a portfolio kept at half stocks and half intermediate-term Treasuries, a first-year withdrawal of 4 percent never exhausted a portfolio in under 33 years.1 The safe rate in that test depended on how long the money had to last and how much of the portfolio was in stocks.1 This calculator does not run that historical test. It shows how long your money lasts, or how much it can pay out, if your investments earn the same return every year. Real returns rise and fall, and a market drop with high inflation early in retirement can make savings run out years sooner than the average return suggests.1