Initial Annual Withdrawal
$40,000.00
Retirement Income Analysis
Analyze how long your retirement income will last under a fixed withdrawal rate.
Balance After Period
$974,501.32
Years Projected
30
Sustainable?
Yes
How to use the Retirement Income Analysis
The Retirement Income Analysis is free and runs entirely in your browser — no sign-up, and nothing you enter leaves your device. It opens pre-filled with a realistic example, so you can see how it works before replacing any figure with your own; the results update as you type. Press Calculate to refresh the result panel, or Reset to return to the example.
The inputs it asks for:
- Nest Egg at Retirement — a dollar amount.
- Annual Withdrawal Rate — a percentage (enter 6 for 6%).
- Expected Return — a percentage (enter 6 for 6%).
- Inflation Rate — a percentage (enter 6 for 6%).
- Years to Project — a number.
The formula
It runs your nest egg forward year by year: each year the balance earns your return, then a withdrawal is taken out, and the withdrawal itself grows with inflation. The calculator reports whether the money survives the period, or the year it runs dry:
Each year: Balance = Balance·(1 + return) − Withdrawal
Withdrawal = Withdrawal·(1 + inflation)- Withdrawal
- starts at nest egg × withdrawal rate, then rises with inflation each year
- return, inflation
- the annual investment return and the rate the withdrawal grows
Because the withdrawal is inflation-adjusted, it rises every year while the balance may not keep up — the classic sequence-of-returns risk. This is a fixed-return simulation; real markets vary year to year, and a bad early stretch is far more damaging than a bad late one.
Worked example
Using the example values — Nest Egg at Retirement $1,000,000.00, Annual Withdrawal Rate 4%, Expected Return 5%, Inflation Rate 2%, Years to Project 30 — the Retirement Income Analysis returns a Balance After Period of $974,501.32. It also reports Initial Annual Withdrawal ($40,000.00), Years Projected (30), Sustainable? (Yes).
Prefer your own numbers? Change any field above and this recomputes instantly.
Key terms
- Withdrawal rate
- The first year's withdrawal as a percentage of the starting nest egg (the "4% rule" idea).
- Sequence-of-returns risk
- The danger that poor returns early in retirement deplete a portfolio faster.
- Real (inflation-adjusted) withdrawal
- Spending that rises each year to preserve purchasing power.
Frequently asked questions
What's a safe withdrawal rate?
A common rule of thumb is around 4% of the starting balance, rising with inflation — but it's a guideline, not a guarantee, and depends on returns, horizon and how much variability you can tolerate.
Why does inflation matter so much?
Because the withdrawal grows every year. Over a long retirement, an inflation-adjusted income can far exceed the starting figure, draining the balance faster than a flat withdrawal would.
Does this model market ups and downs?
No — it uses a fixed annual return. Real sequences vary; a run of early losses (sequence risk) can deplete savings even when the average return looks fine.