RETIREMENT INCOME
How Long Will My Money Last? Calculator
Use the calculator below. Official data and estimates are clearly labeled.
YOUR RESULTS
Start with your numbers. We’ll work through the rest.
A retirement balance is easier to understand when you connect it to the spending it must support. This calculator follows savings through retirement, using the amount you plan to spend, an assumed investment return and inflation. You can add Social Security to see how benefits reduce the amount needed from savings. The result is a conditional projection, not a prediction of your lifespan or investment performance. Educational, not financial advice. Your entries stay on your device.
How long will my money last in retirement?
Start with the savings you actually expect to use for retirement expenses. Keep emergency reserves or money earmarked for a separate purpose outside that balance if you do not intend to spend it. Enter a monthly or annual spending need consistently. Include the cash needed for taxes, housing, food, insurance and health care; a spending estimate that leaves out recurring bills can make a balance appear to last longer than it would.
The model takes the required withdrawal at the beginning of each year, then applies the assumed investment return to the remaining balance at year end. Spending rises by your inflation assumption in later years. If savings cannot cover a full year's required withdrawal, the result includes an estimated partial year. That fraction is a planning illustration, not a forecast of the exact month an account would run out.
A result of “Lasts 50+ years” means the balance was not exhausted within the simulation's fifty-year horizon. It does not mean the money lasts forever. Review the year-by-year table as well as the chart: a balance that remains positive but becomes small near the end may leave little room for an unexpected expense.
How long will my retirement savings last? What changes the answer
The starting return of 5% and inflation of 3% are assumptions, adjustable to your situation. They are not promised returns or future inflation forecasts. Try a lower return, higher inflation and higher spending separately to see which change matters most. Then combine less favorable assumptions. A plan that depends on every input working out favorably deserves a closer review.
This is an annual deterministic calculation: the same return applies each year. Real markets can fall early in retirement and recover later. With withdrawals, that order can affect the outcome even when an average return looks similar. Investment fees, changing spending, long-term care, taxes and emergencies are not calculated separately. Include their expected cash cost in your spending input and keep room for uncertainty.
If you would rather start with an affordable spending amount, use the retirement withdrawal calculator. If you are still adding to a workplace account, the 403(b) calculator explores how contributions and employer matching may build the starting balance.
How Social Security COLA fits in
Enter an optional monthly Social Security amount and the age when it begins. Benefits offset the spending need from that age, so savings fund the remaining gap. In this model, the entered benefit begins at the start age and grows with your selected inflation assumption after benefits start. This is a simplifying assumption; it is not a forecast of future Social Security COLAs or a claiming-age comparison.
Use a benefit estimate that fits the start age you enter, and avoid counting the same benefit twice by subtracting it from spending before also entering it here. The Social Security COLA calculator explains the published annual adjustment and the difference between a gross benefit and the amount left after Medicare deductions.
Large withdrawals, taxes and IRMAA
Money withdrawn from a traditional IRA or workplace retirement account may create taxable income. The amount you can spend can therefore be smaller than the amount taken from the account. Large taxable withdrawals can also raise Medicare income-related premiums after the income lookback. Review the 2027 IRMAA brackets alongside your withdrawal plan, especially before an unusually large distribution or Roth conversion.
This calculator does not determine taxable income, an IRMAA surcharge or an optimal distribution order across accounts. Its sustainable-withdrawal result uses an inflation-adjusted return and a beginning-of-year annuity formula to spread savings over the target period. Treat it as an amount to investigate with your tax and financial planning, with annual reviews as your balance, spending and circumstances change.
Frequently asked questions
How does a how long will my savings last calculator work?
It subtracts spending from savings, accounts for optional Social Security, and applies assumed return and inflation over successive years. Results change when any input changes; they cannot show every future expense or market outcome.
Does the calculator adjust for inflation?
Yes. Spending rises each year by your inflation input. Social Security also rises by that assumption after its start age. Actual living costs and benefit adjustments may move differently.
What if Social Security covers my spending?
The modeled withdrawal from savings is zero while benefits cover the spending need. Savings may still change with the assumed investment return. The tool does not add an unused benefit surplus to the investment balance.
Is the sustainable withdrawal guaranteed?
No. It fits the selected period under steady assumptions. Market losses, fees, taxes, emergencies or living beyond the target age can change what is affordable.
Should I use a monthly or annual withdrawal?
Use whichever is easier to estimate accurately. Monthly spending is converted into an annual amount for the same annual simulation; the model does not simulate monthly investment returns.
Sources
Educational, not financial advice. Estimates are not official. Confirm your own benefit, Medicare or tax determination with the responsible agency.