Can I retire at 60 with $300K?
$300K at age 60 supports about
$1,000/month
($12,000/year) at a
4.0% withdrawal rate.
Across 500 simulated market histories, that
money lasts to age 90 in
94% of them. In the median outcome you'd
still have $873,982 left at
90; in a poor market (10th percentile) you'd have
$86,040.
Assumes a 7.4% blended return on a moderate
stock/bond mix, 3.0% inflation raising your withdrawal
each year, and 30 years of retirement. It does
not include Social Security, which would materially improve every number above.
Change any assumption in the calculator and the simulation re-runs.
Why a single projection isn't enough
Most calculators that answer this question grow your balance at one fixed rate and subtract
one fixed withdrawal, which produces a single tidy year your money "runs out". Real markets
don't return the average every year, and the order those returns arrive in matters enormously
— a bad first decade of retirement does far more damage than the same bad decade later, because
you're selling assets while they're down. That's sequence-of-returns risk, and a straight-line
projection cannot show it. Running 500 different market paths
gives you a probability instead of false precision.
Other scenarios
Open the full retirement planner →
Frequently asked questions
How long will my money last in retirement?
At the classic 4% rule, a portfolio is designed to last roughly 30 years — that's where
the number comes from. But the honest answer is a probability, not a duration: it depends
on what you're invested in, what returns actually arrive and in what order, and how fast
inflation raises your spending. This calculator reports it as the percentage of 500
simulated market histories in which your money survives to your life expectancy.
Can I retire at 62 with $400,000 in my 401(k)?
$400,000 supports about $1,333/month at a 4% withdrawal rate before Social Security.
Retiring at 62 means funding roughly 28 years, which is a long time for that balance to
stretch on its own — but Social Security, which most people claim between 62 and 70, is
an inflation-adjusted income floor on top of it and changes the picture substantially.
See the full simulation for this
scenario.
Who has the most accurate retirement calculator?
No calculator predicts the future, so "accurate" really means honest about uncertainty.
Tools that return one number are the least honest, because they hide the range of
outcomes. Prefer ones that show a distribution — a probability of success and a spread
between good and bad markets — and that let you see and change every assumption behind
the answer.
How much do I need to retire?
The common US rule of thumb is 25× your annual spending, which is the 4% rule stated
backwards. If you spend $60,000 a year, that's $1.5 million. Spending is the input that
matters most — it sets both the target and the withdrawal — which is why this planner
asks for your expenses in the FIRE section rather than assuming a percentage of salary.
Does this include Social Security?
Not yet. Every figure here comes from your own savings, so treat the results as
conservative — Social Security is an inflation-adjusted income floor on top, and for most
households it covers a meaningful share of retirement spending. Estimate yours at
ssa.gov.
What return and inflation assumptions does it use?
Returns come from your allocation: US stocks 10%, international 8.5%, bonds 4.5% and cash
3% nominal, with volatility of 18%, 20%, 6% and 1% respectively. Inflation defaults to 3%
and the withdrawal rate to 4%. All of them are editable — these are long-run averages, not
forecasts, and your results should be read as a range rather than a prediction.
Estimates only, not tax, investment or retirement advice. Results depend entirely on assumptions
that will not match the future exactly. Consult a licensed financial advisor before acting.
