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How Long Will My Money Last?

Estimate how long your savings will last if you make regular withdrawals.
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= $30,000 per year
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Your money will last
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Adjusted for inflation and taxes
This assumes that you are starting with $250,000 in savings which earn an after-tax and inflation adjusted return of 0.0%.

Do you want to figure out how long your money will last if you withdrawal from your savings each month? Our calculator can help.

How does this calculator work?

This calculator takes your current savings, desired monthly withdrawals, estimated investment return on your savings, inflation, and your tax bracket, and tells you how many years your savings will last.

There are several factors that will influence the longevity of your savings.

Savings

This is how much money you have right now, or how much you have in your retirement account. The higher your savings, the longer your money will last.

Withdrawals

You decide how much you want to withdraw from your savings each month. If you are getting paid a pension, then this is the amount of money you want to withdraw in addition to your pension.

The more you withdraw, the fewer years your money will last. The less you withdraw, the longer your money will last.

Investment return

As you are withdrawing from your savings, your savings should be earning an investment return. If you are invested in stock market, the average rate of return is around 8%. The bond market has historically returned around 4-5%.

If you are invested 50% in stocks and 50% in bonds, a long-term average rate of return of around 6% is reasonable.

However, investing is uncertain and can be volatile. Returns can go up and down from year to year. If you want more cushion against this, then you can shift more of your portfolio to bonds.

Inflation

Inflation is the general increase in prices and the fall in the purchasing value of money. What does this mean for you? It means that the same goods and services you are consuming today will cost more in the future.

Our calculator takes into account inflation, which has historically been around 3% and subtracts this from your expected investment return. You can also choose your own inflation rate.

How to make your savings last longer

A calculator is only an estimate of how long your money would last. There are also a couple rules of thumbs on how to withdraw from your savings.

The 4% rule

The 4% rule is a rule of thumb on how much you can safely withdraw from your savings each year.

It states that you can spend 4% or less of your money every year and increase this amount by inflation each year.

If you spend more, you risk running out of money in less than 30 years. How long your money will last depends on your investment return.

The rule was developed in the early 1990s by financial planner William Bengen, and has been supported by academics and analysts. He recommended a portfolio mix of 60% stocks and 40% bonds.

The $1,000 bucks a month rule

Another rule of thumb is the $1,000 bucks a month rule.

The $1,000 bucks a month rule state: For every $1,000 per month you want to spend, you need to have $240,000 saved.

This comes out to spending 5% of your savings a year.