— Retirement & FIRE
How Long Will My Money Last Calculator
See how long your savings last in retirement. Enter corpus, withdrawals, return, and inflation to get depletion age and years covered, with options for pension income, fees, large expenses, inheritance, or preserving a legacy.
Your money lasts
19 yrs 4 mos
- Money runs out at age
- 84
- Monthly withdrawal
- $4,000
- Total withdrawn
- $1,173,168.18
Try: $750k, $4,000/month, + $20k pension, With 1% investment fees, Leave a $200k legacy, With 15% tax on withdrawals, De-risking glide path 7% → 4%
— Year-by-year drawdown
| Age | Withdrawal | Growth | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | $48,000 | $35,100 | $737,100 |
| 66 | $49,200 | $34,395 | $722,295 |
| 67 | $50,430 | $33,593 | $705,458 |
| 68 | $51,691 | $32,688 | $686,456 |
| 69 | $52,983 | $31,674 | $665,146 |
| 70 | $54,308 | $30,542 | $641,381 |
| 71 | $55,665 | $29,286 | $615,001 |
| 72 | $57,057 | $27,897 | $585,842 |
| 73 | $58,483 | $26,368 | $553,726 |
| 74 | $59,945 | $24,689 | $518,470 |
| 75 | $61,444 | $22,851 | $479,877 |
| 76 | $62,980 | $20,845 | $437,742 |
| 77 | $64,555 | $18,659 | $391,846 |
| 78 | $66,169 | $16,284 | $341,962 |
| 79 | $67,823 | $13,707 | $287,846 |
| 80 | $69,518 | $10,916 | $229,244 |
| 81 | $71,256 | $7,899 | $165,887 |
| 82 | $73,038 | $4,642 | $97,492 |
| 83 | $74,864 | $1,131 | $23,760 |
| 84 | $23,760 | $0 | $0 |
— Depletion curve
Download— How it works
Each year the balance grows at your return (net of fees, and able to glide to a lower figure over time) and you take out the withdrawal, raised by inflation and any step-up — grossed up for tax on withdrawals. Other income reduces the draw; one-time expenses and lump sums adjust the balance. The money lasts until it hits your floor.
Counting the years
Each year your remaining balance earns a return, and you take out your withdrawal — which rises with inflation so your spending power holds. As long as the withdrawal is bigger than the growth, the pot shrinks; the calculator counts the years until it’s gone and reports the age you’d reach it. If your return outruns your withdrawals, the balance grows instead and the money never runs out.
Worked example — $750,000, withdrawing $4,000 a month, 5% return, 2.5% inflation: That’s a 6.4% draw to start — the savings last about 19 years, running dry around age 84. Add a $20,000 pension and the draw on savings drops, stretching them well past 30 years.
What stretches it, and what shortens it
Other income is the great extender: a pension, Social Security, annuity or rent covers part of your spending, so you pull less from savings each year. A lump sum — an inheritance or the proceeds of downsizing — adds to the pot at the age you choose. Working against you: inflation lifts every future withdrawal, an extra step-up models rising care costs, a one-time expense (a medical bill, a new roof) takes a chunk in a single year, and fees quietly shave your return — the calculator shows how many years a fee costs you.
Leaving a legacy, and the big caveat
If you’d rather not spend the pot to zero, set a legacy figure — the money then “lasts” until the balance falls to that floor, which you keep. As with every drawdown tool here, the projection uses a single, steady return, so it ignores sequence-of-returns risk: a market slump in the early years, when the balance is largest, does far more damage than the same slump later. Treat a result that only just lasts with caution, stress-test it with a lower return, and revisit it as things change.
— Reader questions
How long will my savings last?
It depends on your balance, withdrawals and return. $750,000 withdrawn at $4,000 a month (rising with inflation) at a 5% return lasts roughly 19 years. Lower the withdrawal, add other income, or earn a higher return and it lasts longer.
How do I make my money last longer?
Withdraw less, work in other income (a pension, annuity or part-time work reduces the draw), keep fees low, and avoid large one-off hits. Each of these pushes the depletion age out — try them in the advanced options.
Do investment fees really matter?
Yes — a 1% fee comes straight off your return and can cost several years of longevity on a long drawdown. Enter a fee and the calculator shows exactly how many years it costs.
What if I want to leave an inheritance?
Set a legacy figure. The money is then treated as lasting until the balance falls to that amount, which you preserve rather than spend — so the years shown are how long until you reach your floor, not zero.
How do taxes on withdrawals affect how long my money lasts?
They shorten it. If you want to spend a certain amount and your withdrawals are taxed, you have to pull more from savings to net it — so the pot drains faster. Enter a tax rate and the calculator grosses up the draw and shows the pre-tax amount you’d withdraw.
Can I model a portfolio that gets safer over time?
Yes — set a later-years return and the number of years to glide to it. The return moves from your starting figure to the lower one over that period (a typical de-risking path), which usually lowers growth in later years and brings depletion a little sooner.
Is this guaranteed?
No — it assumes a steady (or smoothly gliding) return, so it ignores sequence-of-returns risk. A bad run of markets early in retirement can deplete savings faster than the average implies. Use it as a planning guide and keep a margin of safety.