acalculator

What retirement income will I have?

Enter your savings, the age the income starts and the age it should last to. See the monthly retirement income your savings can pay, plus Social Security and any pension.

Your numbers

Returns are never guaranteed.
Your estimate is on your Social Security statement.
Your monthly retirement income
$5,702.30

Savings of $1,000,000.00 from age 65 to 95 pay about $3,702.30 a month; with other income, $5,702.30 a month.

From your savings
$3,702.30
From Social Security and pensions
$2,000.00
Per year, first year
$68,427.60
Monthly income in the last year
$13,437.84
Total taken from savings
$2,113,661.31
Months
360

Your monthly retirement income: $5,702.30. Savings of $1,000,000.00 from age 65 to 95 pay about $3,702.30 a month; with other income, $5,702.30 a month.

Where does your income come from each year?

How do your savings run down?

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

Computes the monthly income your retirement savings can pay until an age you choose, rising with inflation, plus Social Security and pensions.

Example with the default inputs (Savings at retirement $1,000,000.00, Age the income starts 65, Make it last until age 95, Yearly return 5%, Raise the income each year by 3%, Social Security $2,000.00, Pension and other income $0.00, The pension rises each year too No): Savings of $1,000,000.00 from age 65 to 95 pay about $3,702.30 a month; with other income, $5,702.30 a month.

Method: From savings: W = savings ÷ (a × S), with a = Σ_{j=0}^{11} (1 + g)^−j, g = (1 + R)^(1/12) − 1, and S = Σ_{k=0}^{Y−1} ((1 + raise) ÷ (1 + R))^k over Y years; W rises by the raise each year. Total income = W + Social Security + pension.

  • The yearly return stays the same every year. Real returns go up and down, and a bad year early on matters most.
  • Withdrawals are taken at the start of each month and rise at the start of each new year; the savings run out at the age you chose.
  • Social Security rises by the same yearly raise. The pension stays the same unless you turn on its raise.
  • Taxes on withdrawals and benefits are not included. This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Savings at retirement $300,000.00, Age the income starts 65, Make it last until age 90, Yearly return 0%, Raise the income each year by 0%, Social Security $2,000.00 gives From your savings $1,000.00, From Social Security and pensions $2,000.00, Your monthly retirement income $3,000.00, Per year, first year $36,000.00, Total taken from savings $300,000.00.Source: Social Security Administration, Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) information: benefits rise each year with prices (https://www.ssa.gov/cola/)
  2. Savings at retirement $1,000,000.00, Age the income starts 65, Make it last until age 95, Yearly return 5%, Raise the income each year by 3%, Social Security $2,000.00 gives From your savings $3,702.30, Your monthly retirement income $5,702.30, Total taken from savings $2,113,661.31.Source: Social Security Administration, Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) information: benefits rise each year with prices (https://www.ssa.gov/cola/)
  3. Savings at retirement $120,000.00, Age the income starts 70, Make it last until age 80, Yearly return 0%, Raise the income each year by 10%, Social Security $0.00, Pension and other income $1,500.00, The pension rises each year too no gives From your savings $627.45, From Social Security and pensions $1,500.00, Monthly income in the last year $2,979.50.Source: Social Security Administration, Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) information: benefits rise each year with prices (https://www.ssa.gov/cola/)

How it works

With your savings B at the age the income starts, the yearly return R, the yearly raise r, and Y = the age to last until − the starting age (in whole years):

  • The monthly rate is g = (1 + R)^(1/12) − 1.
  • From your savings (first year, per month): W = B ÷ (a × S), where a = 1 + v + … + v¹¹ with v = 1 ÷ (1 + g) (a = 12 at 0%), and S = Σ from k = 0 to Y − 1 of ((1 + r) ÷ (1 + R))^k (S = Y when r = R).
  • In year k (k = 0 first), the withdrawal is W × (1 + r)^k, taken at the start of each month; the last month’s withdrawal is W × (1 + r)^(Y − 1) too. What is left grows by g each month, and the savings reach 0 at the end of the last month (the table shows $0 there).
  • Social Security in year k is your benefit × (1 + r)^k. Pension and other income stays the same, or rises the same way when you turn on its raise.
  • Your monthly retirement income = W + Social Security + pension in the first month. Per year, first year = that × 12. Monthly income in the last year is the total in the last month. Total taken from savings adds every withdrawal.

This is the same withdrawal rule as the retirement withdrawal calculator’s “most you can take out” result.

Rules:

  • Savings are $0 to $10 billion. The starting age is 40 to 100 and the last age 41 to 120, whole years; the last age must be more than the starting age, or there is no answer.
  • The return is 0% to 30% and the raise 0% to 20%. Social Security and the pension are $0 to $100 million per month (or per year, split into 12); empty counts as $0.
  • Money shows to the cent, with halves rounded up.

Assumptions

  • The yearly return stays the same every year.
  • Withdrawals come at the start of each month and rise at the start of each year.
  • Taxes are not included. This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.

Worked examples by hand

$300,000 from 65 to 90 at 0%, no raise, $2,000 of Social Security. 25 years is 300 months, so W = 300,000 ÷ 300 = $1,000. Total = 1,000 + 2,000 = $3,000 a month, or $36,000 a year.

$1,000,000 from 65 to 95 at 5%, raised 3% a year, $2,000 of Social Security. Y = 30. W = $3,702.30 a month in the first year (the retirement withdrawal calculator’s example gives the same). Total = $5,702.30 a month.

$120,000 from 70 to 80 at 0%, raised 10% a year, a flat $1,500 pension. S = (1.1¹⁰ − 1) ÷ 0.1 = 15.9374…, so W = 120,000 ÷ (12 × 15.9374…) = $627.45. In the last year, 627.45 × 1.1⁹ + 1,500 = $2,979.50 a month.

Other questions people ask

How much monthly income will my retirement savings give me?

It depends on how long the money must last, the return it earns, and how much the income rises each year. $1,000,000 from 65 to 95 at a 5% return, rising 3% a year, pays $3,702.30 a month in the first year. With $2,000 of Social Security, that is $5,702.30 a month.

Why does my income from savings rise each year?

So it keeps up with prices. The calculator raises the withdrawal by the rate you choose at the start of each year, as Social Security raises benefits with its cost-of-living adjustment. Set the raise to 0% for a flat income.

What happens to my savings at the end?

They run out exactly at the age you choose. If you might live longer, choose a later age: the monthly income is lower, but it lasts longer.

Does my pension rise with inflation?

Many private pensions do not, so the calculator keeps the pension flat unless you turn on its yearly raise. Federal and some state pensions have cost-of-living raises.

How is this different from the 4% rule?

The 4% rule is a rule of thumb for a first-year withdrawal. This calculator works out the withdrawal that uses up your savings exactly at your chosen age with the return you enter, so it can be more or less than 4%.

Is the income before or after tax?

Before tax. Withdrawals from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs are taxed as income, and part of Social Security can be taxed. Roth withdrawals are usually tax-free.