How Long Will My Money Last?
See how long a savings pot lasts with regular withdrawals — or the most you can withdraw and still make it last a set number of years.
| Year | Opening Balance | Withdrawals | Interest Earned | Closing Balance |
|---|
Making a Savings Pot Last
How the calculation works
Each period your balance grows by the interest earned, then your withdrawal is taken out. As long as growth outpaces what you take, the pot keeps going; once withdrawals exceed growth, the balance falls year after year until it reaches zero.
The 4% rule
A popular guideline: withdraw 4% of your starting pot in year one, then increase that amount with inflation each year. Historically this has made a diversified portfolio last around 30 years. Test it here by setting withdrawals to 4% of your balance and an increase equal to inflation.
Why inflation matters
Rising prices erode spending power, so a fixed withdrawal buys less over time. Setting a yearly increase keeps your real income steady — but it also drains the pot faster, which is why inflation-linked withdrawals shorten how long the money lasts. Compare growth scenarios with the compound interest calculator.
Growth rate assumptions
The growth rate is the return you expect after fees while drawing down. Cash savings might earn 1–4%; a balanced investment portfolio has historically returned around 5–7% before inflation. To model a pot you are still building up instead, use the investment calculator.
Worked example
Start with £250,000 growing at 5% a year and withdraw £1,500 a month. Interest in year one is about £12,500 while you withdraw £18,000 — so the pot shrinks by roughly £5,500 that year and, repeating, lasts around 24 years before running out.
Two ways to use it
Use How long will it last? when you know your spending and want the duration. Use Max I can withdraw when you have a target number of years and want the largest sustainable withdrawal. Planning a mortgage payoff instead? See the mortgage payoff calculator.
What a Straight-Line Projection Cannot Show
The order of returns matters when you withdraw
This calculator applies the same growth rate every year. A real portfolio does not, and while that barely affects a pot left untouched, it matters a great deal once you are drawing an income. Poor returns in the first few years of drawdown force you to sell more units to fund the same withdrawal, permanently shrinking the base that later growth can work on. Two portfolios with identical average returns can run dry years apart depending purely on the order those returns arrived. Treat the result here as a central case, then re-run it two or three percentage points lower to see how much margin you have.
Other income changes the shape
Few people fund retirement from one pot alone. The State Pension starts at a fixed age and reduces what the pot must cover from that point, and workplace or defined-benefit pensions may start on different dates again. A withdrawal plan that looks unsustainable across 30 years can be entirely workable if the pot only has to carry the first eight of them at full rate. Model the pot against the shortfall it actually needs to cover, not your whole expenditure.
Pension withdrawals are usually taxable
With most UK defined-contribution pensions you can normally take up to a quarter of the pot tax-free, with the rest taxed as income when drawn. That means a £2,000 monthly withdrawal is not £2,000 in your pocket once the tax-free portion is used up. Large one-off withdrawals can also push you into a higher band for that year, and taking taxable income can restrict how much you may contribute afterwards. The figures here are gross. The take-home pay calculator gives a sense of the income-tax side.
Spending is rarely flat
The model assumes a constant withdrawal, adjusted for inflation if you set it. Real retirement spending often runs higher in the early active years, settles in the middle, then rises again if care is needed. If your plan only works on a perfectly flat withdrawal, it has less resilience than the number suggests. Testing a higher figure for the first decade is a quick way to see whether the plan survives the pattern most people actually follow.
Evidence & Methodology
How This Page Is Grounded
Method
Simulates withdrawals period by period while applying the selected return to the remaining balance.
Important limitation: A constant return cannot model sequence-of-returns risk, tax, fees or unexpected withdrawals.
Primary Sources
- Investing: an introduction MoneyHelper
- Annual return Investor.gov — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Quality Checks
Checked with zero-return, zero-withdrawal and depletion boundary cases.
See how sources are selected and corrections are handled in our Editorial & Calculation Methodology, and which automated checks this page has to pass in How We Test.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will my savings last with regular withdrawals?
It depends on three things: how much you start with, how much your savings grow each year, and how much you withdraw. If your withdrawals are smaller than the interest earned, the pot can last indefinitely. If they are larger, the balance shrinks each year and eventually runs out. Enter your figures above to see the exact number of years and months.
What is a safe withdrawal rate?
A common rule of thumb is the 4% rule: withdrawing 4% of your starting pot each year (rising with inflation) has historically lasted around 30 years. It is only a guideline — actual outcomes depend on investment returns, inflation, and how long you need the money. Use the 'Max I can withdraw' mode to find the withdrawal that lasts your target number of years.
Does this account for inflation?
Yes — set the 'Increase withdrawals yearly' field to your expected inflation rate (for example 3%) and each year's withdrawals rise by that percentage, so your spending power stays roughly constant. Leave it at 0% for a fixed withdrawal amount.
What is the difference between a nominal rate and APY?
A nominal rate is the quoted yearly rate before compounding is applied, so it is combined with the compounding frequency to work out real growth. APY (annual percentage yield) already includes the effect of compounding, so when you choose APY the compounding-frequency setting is ignored.