Free retirement withdrawal calculator: enter your nest egg, annual withdrawal, expected return, and inflation to see how many years the money lasts, the real return, and whether it follows the 4% safe withdrawal rule. Not financial advice. Private, no sign-up, with a free JSON API.
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Enter your details above and press Calculate.
Estimate for planning only, not financial advice. Returns, inflation, and lifespan are uncertain.
How retirement withdrawal calculator works
Enter your starting nest egg, the amount you withdraw in the first year, the number of years you want the money to last, the expected annual investment return, and expected inflation. The calculator shows your withdrawal rate — the first-year withdrawal as a percentage of the nest egg.
It then simulates each year: a withdrawal is taken from the balance, the remaining balance grows by the annual return, and (by default) next year's withdrawal rises with inflation so your spending power stays roughly constant in real terms. The simulation runs until the balance is exhausted or the horizon is reached.
The result reports the real return (return after inflation), the number of years the money lasts, the balance left at the end of the horizon, and a 4% rule sanity check. The 4% rule is a common guideline suggesting you can withdraw about 4% of a balanced portfolio in the first year and adjust for inflation thereafter, with a good chance of the money lasting 30 years — but it is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 4% rule?
The 4% rule is a common retirement guideline: withdraw about 4% of your starting portfolio in the first year, then adjust that dollar amount for inflation each following year. Historically this had a high chance of lasting around 30 years for a balanced stock/bond portfolio, but it is a rule of thumb and can fail in bad market sequences, especially early in retirement.
Why does inflation matter?
If your withdrawals stay the same in dollar terms, inflation erodes what they can buy. This calculator grows your withdrawal by the inflation rate each year so your spending power stays roughly constant, which is how the 4% rule is meant to be used. You can turn this off to model fixed-dollar withdrawals.
What is the real return?
The real return is your investment return after subtracting inflation — roughly (1 + return) / (1 + inflation) - 1. It measures how fast your purchasing power grows. A 7% nominal return with 3% inflation is about a 3.9% real return, which is what matters for long-term planning.
Is this calculator financial advice?
No. It is a planning estimate that assumes constant returns and inflation, which never happen in real life. Market downturns early in retirement (sequence-of-returns risk), taxes, fees, and lifespan all change the outcome. Talk to a qualified financial advisor before making retirement decisions.
