{
  "slug": "retirement-withdrawal",
  "title": "Retirement Withdrawal Calculator",
  "heading": "Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/retirement-withdrawal",
  "summary": "How long a nest egg lasts at a given withdrawal rate.",
  "description": "The 4% rule is a starting point, not a law. This runs your balance year by year against withdrawals, returns, and inflation.",
  "formula": "Each year: balance = (balance − withdrawal) × (1 + return); withdrawal grows with inflation.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=retirement-withdrawal",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "balance",
      "label": "Starting balance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1000000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "withdraw",
      "label": "Annual withdrawal",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 40000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "label": "Annual return",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 20
    },
    {
      "id": "infl",
      "label": "Inflation",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2.5,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 15
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Years the money lasts",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "verdict",
      "label": "Outlook",
      "format": "raw",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "label": "Initial withdrawal rate (%)",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalOut",
      "label": "Total withdrawn",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Starting balance: 1000000 $",
      "Annual withdrawal: 40000 $",
      "Annual return: 6 %",
      "Inflation: 2.5 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Years the money lasts: 52",
      "Outlook: Runs out after 52 years",
      "Initial withdrawal rate (%): 4",
      "Total withdrawn: $4,177,780"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter starting balance ($).",
      "Enter annual withdrawal ($).",
      "Enter annual return (%).",
      "Enter inflation (%).",
      "Read your years the money lasts on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "balance": 600000,
        "withdraw": 24000,
        "rate": 6,
        "infl": 1.5
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "balance": 1000000,
        "withdraw": 40000,
        "rate": 6,
        "infl": 2.5
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "balance": 1600000,
        "withdraw": 64000,
        "rate": 6,
        "infl": 4
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the safe withdrawal rate calculator work?",
      "a": "The 4% rule is a starting point, not a law. This runs your balance year by year against withdrawals, returns, and inflation. The underlying maths is: Each year: balance = (balance − withdrawal) × (1 + return); withdrawal grows with inflation."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "4 values: starting balance, annual withdrawal, annual return, and inflation. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the years the money lasts result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a decimal number and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Retirement Withdrawal Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/retirement-withdrawal)"
}