How Long Will My Money Last Calculator

Estimate how many years your retirement savings will last. This calculator projects your portfolio balance year by year to determine the age at which your money could run out, helping you answer one of the most critical retirement questions. By entering your current savings, withdrawal plans, investment returns, and other income sources like Social Security, you can see a clear projection of your financial longevity.

This tool is designed for anyone in or nearing retirement who needs to test the sustainability of their spending plan. It helps you visualize the impact of different withdrawal amounts and can be used alongside a more comprehensive retirement calculator to build a complete plan. If you're curious about specific savings goals, you can also explore articles like how long will $1 million last in retirement or how long will $500K last in retirement.

The results provide a Longevity Score, the exact age your money is projected to be depleted, and a detailed chart showing your portfolio balance over time. You'll also see a sensitivity analysis table that shows how changing your monthly withdrawal amount affects how long your money lasts, giving you a powerful way to understand the trade-offs in your retirement budget.

Start by entering your portfolio details. In the "Current Savings" field, input the total value of all the investment accounts you plan to use for retirement income. In "Annual Return," enter your expected average investment return. This should be a long-term average, not a single year's performance.

Next, define your withdrawal strategy. "Monthly Withdrawal" is the amount you plan to take from your portfolio each month to cover living expenses. "Annual Withdrawal Increase" is how much you expect to increase that withdrawal each year to account for inflation. This ensures your purchasing power stays consistent over time.

Then, add other income sources that reduce the burden on your portfolio. Enter your estimated monthly Social Security benefit and the age you plan to start receiving it. If you have a pension, rental income, or part-time work, add it to the "Other Monthly Income" field. The retirement income calculator can help you tally these sources.

Finally, open the advanced settings to fine-tune the projection. Enter your current age to set the starting point for the timeline. The "Inflation Rate" is used for a more accurate long-term projection, though the "Annual Withdrawal Increase" has a more direct impact in this specific calculator's logic.

Current Savings

This is the total amount of money you have saved for retirement that you will draw from. Include balances from your 401(k)s, 403(b)s, Traditional and Roth IRAs, and taxable brokerage accounts. A larger starting balance provides a bigger cushion and more potential for investment growth to offset withdrawals. See our guide on retirement savings by age to see how you compare to general benchmarks.

Annual Return

This is the average annual rate of return you expect your investments to generate during retirement. This is a crucial assumption. A higher return will make your money last longer, while a lower return will deplete it faster. It's often wise to use a conservative estimate, as retirees typically shift to a less aggressive portfolio to reduce risk.

Monthly Withdrawal

This is the core of your spending plan—the amount you'll pull from your savings each month. This figure should be based on your estimated retirement budget. A smaller withdrawal amount is the most powerful lever you have to make your money last longer. You can test different scenarios with the retirement spending calculator.

Annual Withdrawal Increase

This percentage reflects how much you'll increase your monthly withdrawal each year, typically to keep pace with the cost of living. A common starting point is the long-term average inflation rate, around 2.5% to 3%. This prevents your purchasing power from eroding over a long retirement.

Social Security Monthly & SS Start Age

Enter your estimated monthly Social Security benefit and the age you plan to claim it. This income is critical because every dollar from Social Security is a dollar you don't have to withdraw from your portfolio. Delaying your benefits can significantly increase your monthly payment and extend the life of your savings. Explore the trade-offs in our guide on when to take Social Security: 62 vs 67 vs 70.

Other Monthly Income

Include any other consistent income you expect in retirement. This could be from a company pension, an annuity, rental properties, or part-time work. Like Social Security, this income directly reduces the amount you need to pull from your investments.

Current Age

Your current age sets the starting point for the projection. The calculator will simulate your finances year by year starting from this age.

Inflation Rate

While the "Annual Withdrawal Increase" directly controls how your withdrawals grow, the general inflation rate is a key background assumption for financial planning. It helps frame the importance of increasing your withdrawals over time to maintain your lifestyle. Learn more about how inflation affects retirement savings.

This calculator runs a year-by-year simulation to project your portfolio's longevity. It does not use a simple, single formula but instead models your financial life one year at a time for up to 50 years.

For each year in the simulation, the calculator performs the following steps:

1. Determine Income: It checks your age to see if you have started receiving Social Security or other income. It totals all non-portfolio income for the year.
2. Calculate Withdrawal: It determines the total annual withdrawal needed based on your monthly withdrawal amount, which increases each year by the "Annual Withdrawal Increase" percentage.
3. Calculate Net Withdrawal: It subtracts your non-portfolio income (Social Security, pension, etc.) from your total withdrawal need. The remaining amount is what must be taken from your savings. The calculator ensures this net withdrawal is not negative (if income exceeds expenses) and not greater than your remaining portfolio balance.
4. Apply Investment Growth: It subtracts the net withdrawal from your portfolio balance. The remaining balance then grows by your specified "Annual Return" percentage.
5. Update Balance: The result is your portfolio balance at the end of the year, which becomes the starting balance for the next year.

This process repeats until the portfolio balance reaches zero or the 50-year simulation limit is reached. The age at which your balance hits zero is your "depletion age."

The calculator uses an iterative, year-by-year process. Here are the core formulas for a single year's calculation:

Annual Withdrawal Calculation

This formula calculates the total amount of money needed for the year's spending, which increases annually.

current annual withdrawal = monthly withdrawal x 12
next year's monthly withdrawal = current monthly withdrawal x (1 + annual withdrawal increase rate)

Net Portfolio Withdrawal

This formula determines how much money needs to be pulled from your investment portfolio after accounting for other income streams.

annual income = (monthly Social Security x 12) + (other monthly income x 12)
net withdrawal = max(0, current annual withdrawal - annual income)
actual withdrawal = min(net withdrawal, starting portfolio balance)

End-of-Year Balance Calculation

This formula calculates your portfolio's value at the end of the year after withdrawals and investment growth.

balance after withdrawal = starting portfolio balance - actual withdrawal
investment growth = balance after withdrawal x annual return rate
ending portfolio balance = balance after withdrawal + investment growth

Result Metrics

A common question retirees ask is, "How much can I safely withdraw each year?" One of the most well-known guidelines is the 4% rule. Developed in the 1990s, the rule suggests that you can withdraw 4% of your initial retirement portfolio in your first year of retirement and then adjust that amount for inflation each subsequent year. Historically, this strategy has had a high probability of making a portfolio last for at least 30 years.

For example, with a $1 million portfolio, your first-year withdrawal would be $40,000. If inflation is 3% that year, your second-year withdrawal would be $41,200 ($40,000 x 1.03).

While the 4% rule is a great starting point, it's not foolproof. It was based on historical US market data and a specific portfolio allocation (typically 50-75% stocks). In an era of potentially lower future returns and longer life expectancies, some financial planners now suggest a more conservative rate, such as 3% or 3.5%. You can use the 4% rule retirement withdrawal calculator to test this strategy with your own numbers. This "How Long Will My Money Last" calculator allows you to see the direct impact of choosing a specific withdrawal rate on your portfolio's lifespan.

Longevity risk is the financial risk of outliving your savings. As medical advancements increase life expectancies, planning for a 30- or 40-year retirement is becoming more common. This calculator helps you quantify that risk by showing you a specific depletion age. If that age is 85 and you have a family history of living well into your 90s, you have identified a potential shortfall.

There are several strategies to manage longevity risk:

1. Delay Social Security: Claiming Social Security at age 70 instead of 62 can increase your monthly benefit by over 75%. This creates a larger, inflation-adjusted, government-backed income stream for life. Use the Social Security break-even calculator to analyze this decision.
2. Purchase an Annuity: An annuity is an insurance product where you pay a lump sum in exchange for guaranteed income for life. This can cover your essential expenses, reducing the pressure on your investment portfolio.
3. Use a More Conservative Withdrawal Rate: As mentioned with the 4% rule, starting with a lower withdrawal rate (e.g., 3.5%) gives your portfolio a higher chance of lasting longer.
4. Maintain a Growth-Oriented Portfolio: While it's wise to reduce risk in retirement, staying overly conservative (e.g., holding too much cash) can expose you to inflation risk. A balanced portfolio with some allocation to stocks is often necessary to provide the growth needed to sustain withdrawals over decades.

Longevity Score: This gives you a quick snapshot of your plan's health. A score of 100 means your money is projected to last to at least age 95. A lower score indicates the percentage of your expected retirement that is funded before your money runs out.

Years Money Lasts & Depletion Age: These are the key outputs. They tell you exactly how long the simulation ran before your balance hit zero and the age you would be at that point. If the result is "30+ Years" or your depletion age is over 95, it means your money outlasted the calculator's 50-year projection, which is a very strong outcome.

Total Withdrawn & Total Income: These figures summarize the money flows over the projection period. "Total Withdrawn" is the cumulative amount taken from your portfolio. "Total Income" is the cumulative amount received from Social Security and other sources. A high income-to-withdrawal ratio is a sign of a resilient plan.

Effective Withdrawal Rate: This shows your first year's total withdrawal as a percentage of your initial savings. It's a quick way to compare your plan against guidelines like the 4% rule. A rate above 5% is often considered high-risk.

Portfolio Balance Chart: This visual shows the trajectory of your savings. In a sustainable plan, the balance may stay flat or decline very slowly for many years before falling more steeply later in life. A sharp, immediate decline is a warning sign.

Withdrawal Sensitivity Analysis: This table is one of the most powerful features. It shows how small changes to your monthly withdrawal amount can have a huge impact on your depletion age. Use it to find a spending level that aligns with your longevity goals.

If the calculator shows your money running out too soon, don't panic. You have several levers to pull to improve your outlook.

• Reduce Monthly Withdrawals: This is the most direct way to extend your portfolio's life. Even a reduction of a few hundred dollars per month can add years to your projection. Use the sensitivity table in the results to see the impact.
• Delay Social Security: If you are not yet collecting, consider waiting until a later age. The increased monthly benefit will reduce how much you need to withdraw from your savings for the rest of your life.
• Work Part-Time: Earning even a small amount of income in early retirement can dramatically reduce the strain on your portfolio, allowing it to grow for a few more years before you begin significant withdrawals.
• Consider an Annuity: Allocating a portion of your savings to an immediate annuity can create a reliable income floor to cover essential expenses.
• Adjust Your Investment Strategy: If your portfolio is too conservative, a slightly higher allocation to equities might provide the growth needed to sustain your withdrawals. Conversely, if your assumed return is too aggressive, using a more realistic number will give you a more accurate picture.
• Lower Expenses: Look for ways to reduce your core expenses, such as downsizing your home, relocating to a lower-cost area, or paying off high-interest debt before you retire. A detailed retirement budget can reveal opportunities to save.

1. Underestimating Life Expectancy: Many people plan for an average lifespan, but a 65-year-old couple today has a high probability that at least one of them will live past 90. Planning for your money to last until age 95 or even 100 is a safer approach.
2. Forgetting About Inflation: A $4,000 monthly withdrawal might feel comfortable today, but its purchasing power will be cut in half in 25 years at 3% inflation. Always factor in an annual increase to your withdrawals.
3. Ignoring Taxes: This calculator models pre-tax withdrawals. If your savings are in a Traditional 401(k) or IRA, your withdrawals will be taxed as ordinary income. This means you may need to withdraw more than your spending need to cover the tax bill. Learn more about how 401(k) withdrawals are taxed.
4. Using Unrealistic Investment Returns: Hoping for 10% annual returns every year in retirement is not a sound strategy. It's better to use a conservative, long-term average (e.g., 4-6%) to build a more resilient plan.
5. Failing to Account for Healthcare Costs: Healthcare is one of the biggest and fastest-growing expenses in retirement. Use the retirement healthcare cost calculator to get a better estimate of this specific expense.