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Project how long retirement savings may last under fixed withdrawals. Test monthly spending, expected return, and withdrawal frequency to see whether your plan depletes, survives, or becomes sustainably self-funding.
Last updated: March 21, 2026
Tip: small spending changes compound dramatically. In many scenarios, cutting withdrawals by a few hundred dollars monthly can add years to portfolio life.
The tool models fixed periodic withdrawals, compounding returns, and an "infinite sustainability" condition when portfolio growth per period is at least the withdrawal amount.
A Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) is a decumulation strategy where you withdraw a fixed amount from investments at regular intervals to fund living expenses. It is one of the most common retirement income methods for portfolios invested in mutual funds, ETFs, or balanced accounts.
The key planning question is simple: will my money last? A portfolio can fail even with a decent long-term average return if withdrawals are too high, returns arrive too late, or inflation erodes real purchasing power.
SWP analysis helps you test trade-offs between lifestyle spending, portfolio size, expected return assumptions, and withdrawal timing before retirement decisions become irreversible.
This calculator compounds each period and then subtracts withdrawals:
Infinite sustainability appears when first-period growth is at least the withdrawal amount: initial × (r/f) ≥ W.
These examples use monthly withdrawals and the same period-by-period SWP logic as the calculator.
Compare how withdrawal amount and expected return change portfolio survival time.
| Monthly Withdrawal | Portfolio Life | Status |
|---|---|---|
| $2,500 | Never runs out | Sustainable |
| $3,000 | Never runs out | Sustainable |
| $3,500 | 61y 1m | 30y+ range |
| $4,000 | 35y 11m | 30y+ range |
| $4,500 | 27y 1m | High depletion risk |
| Expected Return | Portfolio Life | Total Interest Earned |
|---|---|---|
| 3% | 28y 4m | $387,700 |
| 4% | 36y 0m | $709,350 |
| 5% | 61y 1m | $1,762,724 |
| 6% | Never runs out | N/A (open-ended) |
| 7% | Never runs out | N/A (open-ended) |
Start with your actual retirement budget, then run three SWP cases: a base case, a lower-return stress case, and a lower-withdrawal contingency case. Use the gap between those outputs to decide whether to reduce spending, delay retirement, or increase portfolio targets.
Share this systematic withdrawal calculator with friends or family planning to retire soon so they can run the numbers on their own savings.
Suggested hashtags: #RetirementPlanning #SWP #FinancialFreedom #FIREmovement