📘 Overview: Plan Your Savings Withdrawal Timeline
The Savings Withdrawal Calculator helps you estimate how long your current savings will last when you make recurring withdrawals each month. It factors in interest accumulation, monthly withdrawal amounts, and even optional recurring contributions to simulate a wide range of real-world financial scenarios.
Whether you’re planning for retirement, budgeting your emergency fund, or modeling investment withdrawals, this tool provides a dynamic forecast of how your balance changes over time.
Use this calculator to:
- 📆 Estimate how many years/months your savings will last
- 📉 Visualize your balance decline or growth over time
- 💵 Explore how adjusting withdrawal or interest affects the outcome
📐 Formula & Methodology
This calculator uses monthly compounding interest and iterative math to simulate balance changes over time. The primary formula applied at each step is:
Monthly Rate = (Annual Interest Rate ÷ 12) ÷ 100
New Balance = (Previous Balance + Monthly Contribution) × (1 + Monthly Rate) − WithdrawalThe cycle continues until:
- The balance reaches zero, or
- The specified number of months (if selected) is completed
Results are typically shown in:
- 📆 Duration until depletion (years and months)
- 💰 Final balance if withdrawals stop earlier
- 📈 Optional graph of remaining balance over time
📊 Example Calculation
- Initial Savings: $100,000
- Monthly Withdrawal: $1,000
- Annual Interest Rate: 5% (monthly ≈ 0.4167%)
- Monthly Contribution: $0
➤ Result: Your savings will last approximately 10 years and 9 months.
📌 Use Cases
- 🧓 Retirement withdrawal planning from pension or savings
- 🆘 Forecasting how long an emergency fund will support you
- 💸 Modeling business or project funding drawdowns
- 📈 Simulating investment withdrawal strategies
- 💡 Testing how interest or contributions affect sustainability
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Does this assume a fixed interest rate?
Yes, the calculator assumes a constant annual interest rate compounded monthly. If your returns vary significantly, use this as a baseline or average-case scenario.
Can I model both withdrawals and deposits?
Absolutely. You can enter a positive monthly contribution amount to simulate continued income, part-time work, or investment returns reinvested monthly.
What happens if interest is higher than withdrawals?
In that case, your savings won’t deplete. Instead, the calculator will project your balance growth over time, showing a sustainable financial trajectory.
Can I stop withdrawals after a certain number of months?
Yes. You can enter a maximum number of months to limit the calculation period. Otherwise, the tool will continue until the savings run out.
Does it support different compounding frequencies?
By default, the tool uses monthly compounding, but future versions may include quarterly or annual options.
Is this calculator suitable for retirement planning?
Yes, this is one of its most common uses. You can test different savings levels, interest rates, and monthly expenses to estimate how long your retirement funds will last.
What if my savings run out before the term ends?
The calculator will stop as soon as your balance hits zero and report the number of months your savings lasted.