Retirement Calculator
Modify the values and click calculate
Drawdown Details
Your Money Lasts
Enter your drawdown details to simulate your portfolio.
This calculator models a self-managed portfolio drawdown -- not a guaranteed insurance annuity payout (see our Annuity Payout Calculator for that). This is an educational estimate only and is not financial advice.
Understanding Self-Managed Retirement Drawdown
Unlike the accumulation phase covered by our Savings and Investment calculators, this tool models the opposite problem: you already have a balance, and you're withdrawing from it every year while whatever remains keeps growing (or shrinking) at your expected return. This is explicitly not a fixed, guaranteed-term insurance annuity payout -- see our Annuity Payout Calculator for that scenario -- it's a simulation of a self-managed portfolio, where neither the payment nor the duration is guaranteed.
Year-by-Year Simulation
Each year, your balance grows at your expected return and then shrinks by that year's withdrawal. Because inflating withdrawals makes the math path-dependent, this calculator simulates it year by year rather than solving with a single formula.
The "4% Rule" as Context
A common rule of thumb suggests starting withdrawals around 4% of your initial balance to have a good chance of lasting 30 years. This calculator doesn't enforce or default to exactly 4% -- enter whatever dollar amount you want to stress-test.
Not a Guaranteed Annuity Payout
An insurance annuity converts uncertainty into a guaranteed payment for a guaranteed term. This calculator does the opposite: it shows you what happens if your return assumption holds, and how sensitive the outcome is if it doesn't.
Adjusting for Inflation
If you increase your withdrawal each year to keep pace with inflation, your money runs out faster than a flat withdrawal would -- toggling the inflation rate to 0 models a fixed, non-inflating withdrawal instead.
Worked Example
Suppose you retire with a $500,000 balance, withdraw $40,000 in year one, earn a 5% annual return, and increase your withdrawal 2% per year for inflation:
- Your money lasts: 17 years.
- Total withdrawn over that time: approximately $800,482.84.
By contrast, a $1,000,000 balance withdrawing a flat $20,000/year at a 7% return with no inflation adjustment never depletes within the 60-year simulation cap -- it keeps growing instead, since the withdrawal is well below the growth rate.
$500,000 Balance Scenario
- Starting Balance: $500,000.00
- Years It Lasts: 17
- Total Withdrawn: $800,482.84
Key Takeaways
- Nothing Here Is Guaranteed: Unlike an insurance annuity, both the payment and the duration depend entirely on your return assumption holding true.
- Inflation Adjustments Shorten the Runway: Increasing withdrawals each year to keep pace with inflation makes the balance deplete faster than a flat withdrawal.
- The 4% Rule Is a Starting Point, Not a Guarantee: Use it as context, then stress-test your own dollar amount against your own return assumptions.
- This Is an Estimate: Real markets don't return a fixed rate every single year -- treat this as a directional stress test, not a prediction.