{ "id": "401k-withdrawal", "version": "abc2c0c30b9f", "status": "published", "name": "401k Withdrawal Calculator", "question": "Will my 401(k) withdrawal plan last?", "summary": "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.", "category": "finance", "subcategory": "retirement", "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/401k-withdrawal-calculator", "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/401k-withdrawal-calculator.md", "kind": "schedule", "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).", "assumptions": [ "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." ], "inputs": { "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema", "type": "object", "properties": { "balance": { "title": "401(k) balance", "description": "The balance when withdrawals start.", "type": "number", "x-unit": "USD", "exclusiveMinimum": 0, "maximum": 100000000000 }, "withdrawal": { "title": "Withdrawal a year", "description": "How much you plan to take out in the first year, before tax.", "type": "number", "x-unit": "USD", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 10000000000 }, "raise": { "title": "Raise the withdrawal each year by", "description": "A yearly increase in the planned withdrawal, for example for inflation.", "type": "number", "x-unit": "percent", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 20 }, "growth": { "title": "Yearly return", "description": "The yearly return on the balance after fees.", "type": "number", "x-unit": "percent", "minimum": -20, "maximum": 30 }, "born": { "title": "Year of birth", "description": "Your year of birth, for your age each year and your RMD age (73 or 75).", "type": "string", "enum": [ "1920", "1921", "1922", "1923", "1924", "1925", "1926", "1927", "1928", "1929", "1930", "1931", "1932", "1933", "1934", "1935", "1936", "1937", "1938", "1939", "1940", "1941", "1942", "1943", "1944", "1945", "1946", "1947", "1948", "1949", "1950", "1951", "1952", "1953", "1954", "1955", "1956", "1957", "1958", "1959", "1960", "1961", "1962", "1963", "1964", "1965", "1966", "1967", "1968", "1969", "1970", "1971", "1972", "1973", "1974", "1975", "1976", "1977", "1978", "1979", "1980", "1981", "1982", "1983", "1984", "1985", "1986", "1987", "1988", "1989", "1990", "1991", "1992", "1993", "1994", "1995", "1996", "1997", "1998", "1999", "2000", "2001", "2002", "2003", "2004", "2005", "2006", "2007", "2008", "2009", "2010" ] }, "start": { "title": "First withdrawal year", "description": "The year of the first withdrawal.", "type": "string", "enum": [ "2022", "2023", "2024", "2025", "2026", "2027", "2028", "2029", "2030", "2031", "2032", "2033", "2034", "2035", "2036", "2037", "2038", "2039", "2040", "2041", "2042", "2043", "2044", "2045", "2046", "2047", "2048", "2049", "2050", "2051", "2052", "2053", "2054", "2055", "2056", "2057", "2058", "2059", "2060" ] } } }, "outputs": { "lasts": { "label": "The money lasts", "description": "The age of the last withdrawal, or that money is left at 100.", "format": "text" }, "totalWithdrawn": { "label": "Total withdrawn", "description": "All withdrawals, before tax.", "format": "money" }, "endBalance": { "label": "Balance left", "description": "The balance after the last year shown (age 100 at most).", "format": "money" }, "rmdYears": { "label": "Years the RMD was more than the plan", "description": "Years in which the required minimum distribution raised the withdrawal.", "format": "integer" }, "firstRmdYear": { "label": "First RMD year", "description": "The year you reach RMD age: 73 if born 1951 to 1959, 75 if born 1960 or later.", "format": "text" } }, "defaultAnswer": { "inputs": { "balance": 500000, "withdrawal": 30000, "raise": 2.5, "growth": 5, "born": "1961", "start": "2026" }, "outputs": { "lasts": "to age 85", "totalWithdrawn": 814490.1872046185, "endBalance": 0, "rmdYears": 0, "firstRmdYear": "2036" }, "text": "Taking $30,000.00 a year from $500,000.00, the money lasts to age 85; total withdrawn $814,490.19." }, "examples": [ { "given": { "balance": 100000, "withdrawal": 25000, "raise": 0, "growth": 0, "born": "1966", "start": "2026" }, "expect": { "lasts": "to age 63", "totalWithdrawn": 100000, "endBalance": 0, "rmdYears": 0, "firstRmdYear": "2041" }, "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: four withdrawals of $25,000 at ages 60 to 63 with no return" }, { "given": { "balance": 1000000, "withdrawal": 0, "raise": 0, "growth": 0, "born": "1953", "start": "2026" }, "expect": { "firstRmdYear": "2026", "rmdYears": 28, "lasts": "past age 100", "totalWithdrawn": 898856.6842463746, "endBalance": 101143.31575362527 }, "source": "IRS Pub 590-B Table III; hand calculation in content.mdx: first RMD 1,000,000 ÷ 26.5 = 37,735.85 at 73, an RMD every year to 100" }, { "given": { "balance": 200000, "withdrawal": 10000, "raise": 0, "growth": 10, "born": "1966", "start": "2026" }, "expect": { "lasts": "past age 100", "totalWithdrawn": 1751591.7386088567, "endBalance": 633607.7256935468 }, "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: 10% of $190,000 = $19,000 of return beats the $10,000 withdrawal each year" } ], "sources": [ "Internal Revenue Service, Publication 590-B (2025), Appendix B Table III (Uniform Lifetime): https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b", "SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (Division T of Public Law 117-328), section 107 (RMD age 73 and 75): https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2617", "Internal Revenue Service, Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plan-and-ira-required-minimum-distributions-faqs" ], "related": [ "401k-withdrawal-tax", "rmd", "401k-early-withdrawal" ], "changelog": [] }