Retirement Withdrawal Calculator

Once you stop earning, the question flips from accumulation to endurance: how much can you take out without running dry? The most quoted answer is the four per cent rule, which suggests withdrawing about four per cent of your starting pot in year one, then raising that dollar figure with inflation each year. On a million-dollar portfolio that is forty thousand dollars a year.

The rule is a starting point, not a law. It emerged from studying historical market data and was designed to survive the worst stretches on record. Retire early and it becomes shakier, because your money must last longer. Retire into a strong market and it may be conservative. Spend only ten years and almost any rate works; spend forty and a small difference in percentage becomes the difference between security and shortfall.

This calculator lets you vary the two forces that decide the outcome. Higher growth stretches the pot; higher inflation, combined with withdrawals that rise to keep pace, drains it faster. Watch the interaction rather than either figure alone. A portfolio earning five per cent while you withdraw a rising four per cent treads water; earn less than you withdraw and the principal shrinks every year.

The simulation here is a straight-line model: steady returns, steady inflation, no surprises. Real markets deliver shocks and sequences that no single rate captures. A poor first decade can matter more than the average over the whole period. Treat the number of years as an illustration of the trade-offs, keep a buffer, and discuss the real plan with a qualified adviser. This is not financial advice.

This calculator returns estimates for general information only. It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and it cannot replace guidance from a qualified professional who knows your circumstances. Figures such as loan payments, investment growth and retirement projections are simplified models based on the inputs and assumptions you provide, not guarantees of future results.