Realistic Retirement Calculator: How Long Will Your Savings Last?

Use the Realistic Retirement Calculator to estimate how long your savings will last. Test withdrawals, inflation, expenses, and returns to see if your retirement plan is truly sustainable.

Retirement planning can be answered with a single question: how much can you withdraw from your savings each year without outliving them?

It can be calculated with a safe withdrawal rate, which links your

Portfolio size
Expected returns
Inflation, and
Retirement duration

..into practical spending guidelines.

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Retirement Calculator Tool

How Our Retirement Calculator Works

We do not rely on static formulas. Instead, it simulates compounding, contributions, withdrawals, inflation, and income changes over time.

The model runs two phases:

1. Accumulation phase (working years)

Savings grow through investment returns and ongoing contributions. Contributions may increase over time if linked to income growth, and all balances compound annually.

2. Decumulation phase (retirement years)

Savings are drawn down to fund yearly spending, offset by Social Security and other income sources, while continuing to earn post-retirement investment returns.

The calculator performs a year-by-year simulation from today until life expectancy. Each year it:

Applies investment returns to the current balance
Adds new contributions during working years
Increases income and contributions based on growth assumptions
Adjusts retirement expenses for inflation
Adds Social Security and other income from the selected start age
Withdraws net expenses from the portfolio
Repeats compounding on the remaining balance

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See the savings benchmarks, common mistakes, and practical targets that can help keep your retirement plans on track.

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How to Fill Out Your Retirement Details

Field	How to Fill It Out
Current Age	Enter your current age in years. This is used to calculate the number of working years remaining until retirement.
Annual Pre-Tax Income	Enter your total yearly income before taxes. This value is used to estimate savings capacity and future income growth.
Current Retirement Savings	Enter your total existing retirement savings. This is the starting balance used for all future growth projections.
Monthly Contributions	Enter the amount you save for retirement each month. Fixed dollar amount per month Percentage of income
Contribution Mode	Select how your monthly contributions are calculated: Dollar mode: fixed monthly contribution Percentage mode: contribution grows with income
Monthly Spending in Retirement	Enter the amount you expect to spend each month during retirement. This defines your required income during retirement.
Spending Mode	Select how retirement spending is defined: Dollar mode: fixed spending amount Percentage mode: spending is based on income and inflation assumptions
Other Retirement Income	Enter any additional expected monthly retirement income. This reduces the amount required from savings.
Advanced Details (Optional)
Retirement Age	Enter the age at which you plan to stop working.
Life Expectancy	Enter the age you expect to live until. This determines how long retirement savings must last.
Pre-Retirement Rate of Return	Enter the expected annual investment return before retirement. This is used to project growth of savings during working years.
Post-Retirement Rate of Return	Enter the expected annual return after retirement. This is used to model portfolio growth during withdrawal phase.
Inflation Rate	Enter the expected annual inflation rate. This adjusts future spending and income requirements.
Annual Income Increase	Enter the expected yearly increase in income before retirement. This affects contribution growth when using percentage-based savings.
Social Security Start Age	Enter the age at which Social Security benefits begin.
Estimated Monthly Social Security	Enter the expected monthly Social Security benefit amount. This is included as retirement income and reduces required saving.