Savings Withdrawal Calculator

For savings accounts, CDs, money market funds or any pot you draw on regularly. Enter the balance, the monthly withdrawal and the interest rate to see how many years it lasts.

Savings vs. investments: set the rate honestly

High-yield savings accounts and money market funds paid 4–5% through 2023–2025, which made a $100,000 cushion feel like it could fund $400 a month forever. Those rates float with the Federal Reserve and can halve within a year. For money you will draw on for more than a few years, either use a lower rate (2–3%) or test what happens if rates drop after year two. CDs lock a rate but only for their term.

How the calculator works

Each month the balance earns one month of return, then the withdrawal is taken out. Every 12 months the withdrawal is increased by the inflation rate so your spending power stays level. If you enter a tax rate, each withdrawal is grossed up so the after-tax amount you keep matches the number you typed. The calculator stops when the balance hits zero, or after 100 years if it never does.

The "to last 20 / 25 / 30 years" figures are solved by bisection: the largest starting withdrawal that still survives that horizon under the same return and inflation assumptions.

When savings should fund withdrawals

• A bridge to Social Security or a pension. If you retire at 62 but want to delay Social Security to 67–70 for the higher benefit, savings fund the gap. This calculator tells you exactly how much you need in the bridge account.
• A sabbatical or career break. Set inflation to 0 for a short horizon and enter your monthly budget.
• An inheritance or windfall. The "to last N years" boxes show what a lump sum converts to as monthly income.
• Emergency fund drawdown during unemployment. Enter your monthly essential spending and see how many months of runway you have.

Choosing realistic inputs

• Annual return. 4–5% is a conservative planning number for a balanced portfolio; 6–7% is closer to long-run history for 60/40; cash and CDs are 3–5% today but fall when rates fall.
• Inflation. The Federal Reserve targets 2%; the 30-year U.S. average is about 2.5%. Healthcare inflation runs higher, so retirees with large medical costs should test 3–3.5%.
• Withdrawal. Use what you actually spend, minus guaranteed income (Social Security, pension, annuity). That net gap is what savings must cover.

Keep the withdrawal and the account matched

Money you will spend within two years belongs in cash or short CDs, where a stock market fall cannot touch it. Money you will not need for ten or more years can sit in a diversified portfolio where the expected return is higher. Splitting one pot into those two layers — and refilling the cash layer from the investment layer in good years — is the simplest way to make savings last longer without taking on risk you cannot afford.

SavingsLast calculators are educational estimates. They assume a constant average return and steady inflation; real markets are volatile and sequence-of-returns risk can shorten how long money lasts. Nothing here is financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions.