What retirement withdrawal is safe?
Enter your savings, what you take out, and the return you expect. See how long the money lasts, the most you can take to reach an age, and your RMD.
- Your money lasts
- 27.1
Taking $4,000.00 a month from $1,000,000.00, raised 3% a year, at 5% a year, your money lasts 27.1 years, to age 92.1.
- It runs out at age
- 92.1
- Left at the age you chose
- $0.00
- Most you can take out each month
- $3,702.30
- Total taken out
- $1,960,758.93
- Months
- 325
Your money lasts: 27.1. Taking $4,000.00 a month from $1,000,000.00, raised 3% a year, at 5% a year, your money lasts 27.1 years, to age 92.1.
How does your balance change?
How much do you take 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
Computes how long retirement savings last with monthly withdrawals that rise each year, the most you can take to last to an age, and IRS required minimum distributions.
Example with the default inputs (Savings at the start $1,000,000.00, You take out $4,000.00, Raise it each year by 3%, Expected yearly return 5%, Your age now 65, Money should last until age 95, Take at least the required minimum distribution No): Taking $4,000.00 a month from $1,000,000.00, raised 3% a year, at 5% a year, your money lasts 27.1 years, to age 92.1.
Method: Each month, take out the withdrawal (W × (1 + raise)^year, or more to meet the RMD), then the rest grows at (1 + R)^(1/12) − 1; the RMD for a year is the balance at its start ÷ the IRS distribution period for that age.
- 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.
- Taxes on withdrawals are not included.
- The RMD uses the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table and the balance at the start of each year, and is split into 12 monthly amounts.
- This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Savings at the start $108,000.00, You take out $900.00, Raise it each year by 0%, Expected yearly return 0%, Your age now 65, Money should last until age 95 gives Your money lasts 10, It runs out at age 75, Total taken out $108,000.00, Most you can take out each month $300.00, Left at the age you chose $0.00.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: 108,000 ÷ 900 = 120 months; 108,000 ÷ 360
- Savings at the start $1,000,000.00, You take out $4,000.00, Raise it each year by 3%, Expected yearly return 5%, Your age now 65, Money should last until age 95 gives Your money lasts 27.083333, Most you can take out each month $3,702.30.Source: month by month in content.mdx; checked in Python
- Savings at the start $500,000.00, You take out $1,000.00, Raise it each year by 0%, Expected yearly return 0%, Your age now 75, Take at least the required minimum distribution yes, RMDs start at age 73 gives Your first RMD $20,325.20.Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Table III: the distribution period at 75 is 24.6; 500,000 ÷ 24.6
- Savings at the start $600,000.00, You take out $1,000.00, Raise it each year by 0%, Expected yearly return 0%, Your age now 70, Take at least the required minimum distribution yes, RMDs start at age 73, Money should last until age 80 gives Your first RMD $21,283.02, Left at the age you chose $416,651.14.Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Table III (26.5 at 73, 25.5 at 74, …); hand calculation in content.mdx
How the withdrawals are worked out
The calculator runs month by month from your age now until the money runs out or you reach age 120. The yearly return R becomes a monthly rate g = (1 + R)^(1/12) − 1. A yearly withdrawal is split into 12 monthly amounts.
In year y (y = 0 is the first year) your age is your age now + y, and the planned monthly withdrawal is W × (1 + raise)^y. Each month:
- RMD floor (only when "take at least the required minimum distribution" is on, and your age that year is at least the RMD start age): the year’s RMD is the balance at the start of the year ÷ the IRS distribution period for that age (Table III below; 2.0 for 120 and over). The month’s withdrawal is at least RMD ÷ 12.
- The withdrawal is taken at the start of the month. If what would be left is less than half a cent, the whole balance is taken instead, and that is the last withdrawal.
- The rest grows: balance = (balance − withdrawal) × (1 + g).
Most you can take out each month (when you give an age the money should last until, A, with N = A − your age years). It is the first-year monthly withdrawal W that, rising by the raise each year and taken at the start of each month, uses up the balance B in exactly N years, without RMDs:
W = B ÷ (a × S), where a = (1 − v^12) ÷ (1 − v), v = 1 ÷ (1 + g) (a = 12 at 0%), and S = (1 − q^N) ÷ (1 − q), q = (1 + raise) ÷ (1 + R) (S = N when q = 1).
The results:
- Your money lasts = the months with a withdrawal ÷ 12, and it runs out at age = your age now + that. Both are left out if money is still left at age 120; then left at age 120 shows the balance.
- Left at the age you chose is the balance after 12 × N months, or $0 if it ran out before.
- Total taken out adds every withdrawal.
- Your first RMD is the RMD for the first year it applies: the balance at the start of that year ÷ the distribution period for that age.
If the age the money should last until is not more than your age now, there is no answer.
The IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (selected ages)
| Age | Distribution period |
|---|---|
| 72 | 27.4 |
| 73 | 26.5 |
| 74 | 25.5 |
| 75 | 24.6 |
| 76 | 23.7 |
| 77 | 22.9 |
| 78 | 22.0 |
| 79 | 21.1 |
| 80 | 20.2 |
| 85 | 16.0 |
| 90 | 12.2 |
| 95 | 8.9 |
| 100 | 6.4 |
| 110 | 3.5 |
| 120 and over | 2.0 |
The calculator uses every age from 72 to 120 in IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table III.
Assumptions
- The return is the same every year; real returns vary.
- Taxes on withdrawals are not included.
- This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.
Worked examples by hand
$108,000 at 0%, $900 a month, no raise, from age 65. 108,000 ÷ 900 = 120 months, so the money lasts 10 years, to age 75, and $108,000 is taken out. To last to 95 (360 months), you could take 108,000 ÷ 360 = $300 a month.
$1,000,000, $4,000 a month raised 3% a year, 5% a year, from age 65. Month by month the money lasts 325 months: 27.1 years, to age 92.1. To last to 95 (N = 30): g = 0.0040741, v = 0.9959424, a = (1 − v^12) ÷ (1 − v) = 11.73579; q = 1.03 ÷ 1.05 = 0.9809524, q^30 = 0.5616138, S = 0.4383862 ÷ 0.0190476 = 23.01528. W = 1,000,000 ÷ (11.73579 × 23.01528) = 1,000,000 ÷ 270.1024 = $3,702.30 a month in the first year.
RMD at 75 on $500,000. The distribution period at 75 is 24.6, so the RMD is 500,000 ÷ 24.6 = $20,325.20 for the year.
$600,000 at 0%, $1,000 a month from age 70, RMDs from 73. At 70, 71, and 72 you take $12,000 a year, leaving $564,000 at the start of age 73. The RMD at 73 is 564,000 ÷ 26.5 = $21,283.02, more than $12,000, so you take that. At 74: (564,000 − 21,283.02) ÷ 25.5 = $21,283.02 again; at 75: 521,433.96 ÷ 24.6 = $21,196.50; and so on. At the start of age 80, $416,651.14 is left.
Other questions people ask
How long will my retirement savings last?
It depends on how much you take out, how fast you raise it, and what the rest earns. $1,000,000 with $4,000 a month taken out, raised 3% a year, and a steady 5% return lasts about 27 years. The calculator shows the answer for your numbers, month by month.
What is the 4% rule?
It is a rule of thumb from studies of past US market returns (Bengen, 1994; the "Trinity study", 1998): taking 4% of your savings in the first year and raising it with inflation lasted at least 30 years in most historical periods. It is not a guarantee, and it assumes a mix of stocks and bonds, not a steady return.
What is a required minimum distribution (RMD)?
From a traditional IRA or 401(k), the IRS requires you to take at least a minimum each year from a set age. The RMD is the balance at the end of the previous year divided by the distribution period for your age in the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table: 26.5 at 73, 24.6 at 75, 20.2 at 80. $500,000 at age 75 means an RMD of $20,325.20.
At what age do RMDs start?
Age 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1959, and 75 if you were born in 1960 or later, under the SECURE 2.0 Act. The law was unclear for people born in 1959; IRS proposed regulations (July 2024) say 73. Your first RMD can wait until April 1 of the following year, but then you take two in that year. Roth IRA owners do not have to take RMDs.
Why does a bad year early in retirement matter so much?
When you take money out after a loss, you sell more of your savings at low prices, and that money cannot recover. This is called sequence-of-returns risk. The calculator uses one steady return, so it cannot show it; try a lower return to see a cautious case.
Does it include Social Security or taxes?
No. If Social Security or a pension covers part of your spending, enter only what you take from savings. Withdrawals from a traditional IRA or 401(k) are taxed as income, so you may need to take out more than you spend. If you were born in 1960 or later, your Social Security full retirement age is 67.