Will my 401(k) withdrawal plan last?
Enter your balance, the yearly withdrawal and a return to see how long your 401(k) lasts, year by year, with required minimum distributions from age 73 or 75.
- The money lasts
- to age 85
Taking $30,000.00 a year from $500,000.00, the money lasts to age 85; total withdrawn $814,490.19.
- Total withdrawn
- $814,490.19
- Balance left
- $0.00
- Years the RMD was more than the plan
- 0
- First RMD year
- 2036
- Years
- 21
The money lasts: to age 85. Taking $30,000.00 a year from $500,000.00, the money lasts to age 85; total withdrawn $814,490.19.
How does the balance change?
How much comes out each year?
What does each year look like?
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Plans yearly withdrawals from a 401(k) or IRA: how long the balance lasts at a steady return, with each year’s withdrawal raised to the required minimum distribution once RMDs start.
Example with the default inputs (401(k) balance $500,000.00, Withdrawal a year $30,000.00, Raise the withdrawal each year by 2.5%, Yearly return 5%, Year of birth 1961, First withdrawal year 2026): Taking $30,000.00 a year from $500,000.00, the money lasts to age 85; total withdrawn $814,490.19.
Method: Each year: withdrawal = larger of (first-year withdrawal × (1 + raise)^n) and the RMD (balance ÷ Table III factor from RMD age), at most the balance; balance = (balance − withdrawal) × (1 + return).
- Withdrawals come out at the start of each year; the rest earns the same return every year. Real returns vary, and a bad early year matters more.
- RMDs start at 73 for people born 1951 to 1959 and 75 for 1960 or later, from the balance at the start of the year and the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Pub 590-B Table III).
- Amounts are before income tax; use the 401(k) withdrawal tax calculator for the tax on a year’s withdrawal.
- The plan runs to age 100.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- 401(k) balance $100,000.00, Withdrawal a year $25,000.00, Raise the withdrawal each year by 0%, Yearly return 0%, Year of birth 1966, First withdrawal year 2026 gives The money lasts to age 63, Total withdrawn $100,000.00, Balance left $0.00, Years the RMD was more than the plan 0, First RMD year 2041.
- 401(k) balance $1,000,000.00, Withdrawal a year $0.00, Raise the withdrawal each year by 0%, Yearly return 0%, Year of birth 1953, First withdrawal year 2026 gives First RMD year 2026, Years the RMD was more than the plan 28, The money lasts past age 100, Total withdrawn $898,856.68, Balance left $101,143.32.Source: IRS Pub 590-B Table III
- 401(k) balance $200,000.00, Withdrawal a year $10,000.00, Raise the withdrawal each year by 0%, Yearly return 10%, Year of birth 1966, First withdrawal year 2026 gives The money lasts past age 100, Total withdrawn $1,751,591.74, Balance left $633,607.73.
How it works
Year n = 0, 1, 2, … starts in the first withdrawal year. Your age in year n is (first year + n) − year of birth. B is the balance at the start of the year.
- Planned withdrawal P = first-year withdrawal × (1 + raise)ⁿ.
- RMD age is 73 if born 1951 to 1959, 75 if born 1960 or later (72 before 1951). From that age, RMD R = B ÷ the Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your age (IRS Pub 590-B Table III: 26.5 at 73, 24.6 at 75, 20.2 at 80, 6.4 at 100; 2.0 from 120). Before it, R = 0.
- Withdrawal W = the larger of P and R, but no more than B. It comes out at the start of the year.
- Balance at year end = (B − W) × (1 + return).
- The plan stops when the balance reaches 0 or after age 100. If you are older than 100 in the first year, there is no answer.
Outputs. The money lasts to the age of the last withdrawal if the balance reached 0, or past age 100. Total withdrawn = sum of W. Balance left = the last year-end balance. Years the RMD was more than the plan = count of years with R > P. First RMD year = year of birth + RMD age.
Assumptions
- A steady return every year and no fees beyond it; no taxes.
- The RMD uses the balance at the start of the year as the prior December 31 balance.
Worked examples by hand
No return. $100,000, $25,000 a year, born 1966, from 2026 (age 60). Withdrawals at 60, 61, 62 and 63 empty it: lasts to age 63; total $100,000. RMDs would start in 2041 (age 75).
RMDs only. $1,000,000, no planned withdrawal, no return, born 1953, from 2026 (age 73, the first RMD year). Year 1: 1,000,000 ÷ 26.5 = $37,735.85; year 2: 962,264.15 ÷ 25.5; and so on, an RMD every year from 73 to 100 (28 years). Total withdrawn $898,856.68; $101,143.32 is left after age 100.
Return beats the withdrawal. $200,000, $10,000 a year, 10% return, born 1966. Year 1: (200,000 − 10,000) × 1.10 = $209,000, larger than before; the balance keeps growing and the RMDs from 75 stay within it. The money lasts past age 100.
Other questions people ask
How long will my 401(k) last?
It depends on the withdrawal, how fast you raise it, and the return. With no return, $100,000 at $25,000 a year lasts four years. If the return on what is left beats the withdrawal each year, the balance never runs out. The table shows each year.
What is a safe withdrawal rate from a 401(k)?
A common rule of thumb is to start near 4% of the balance and raise it with inflation, which lasted about 30 years in most past US markets. It is a guide, not a promise: returns, fees, taxes and how long you live all change the answer.
When do required minimum distributions start?
At 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1959, and at 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. Each year’s RMD is the balance at the start of the year divided by the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your age. If your plan takes out less, this calculator raises that year’s withdrawal to the RMD.
Are 401(k) withdrawals taxed?
Yes, pre-tax withdrawals are ordinary income, and before 59½ usually owe a 10% additional tax too. This plan is before tax; use the taxes on 401(k) withdrawal calculator for one year’s tax.