About the Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator
What is the Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator?
The safe withdrawal rate is the share of your retirement corpus you can withdraw in the first year — and then raise with inflation every year — without running out of money over your retirement.
Enter your corpus, first-year withdrawal, portfolio return, inflation and how many years the money must last. The calculator shows your initial withdrawal rate, how long the money lasts, the balance at the end and the maximum sustainable first-year withdrawal.
How to use the Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator
- Retirement Corpus (₹) (sample: 3,00,00,000)
- First-Year Withdrawal (₹) (sample: 12,00,000)
- Portfolio Return (% per year) (sample: 8)
- Inflation (% per year) (sample: 6)
- Years the Money Must Last (sample: 30)
- Press Test Withdrawal Plan (results also refresh as you type). The result card shows the Initial Withdrawal Rate, along with Money lasts, Balance left at the end, Max sustainable first-year withdrawal and Sustainable withdrawal rate.
Formula used
Withdrawal rate = First-year withdrawal ÷ Corpus × 100
- Yearly cycle = withdraw at the start of the year, then grow the rest at the portfolio return
- Max sustainable = Corpus ÷ Σ ((1 + inflation) ÷ (1 + return))ᵏ for k = 0 … years − 1
Returns are assumed constant; real returns vary, so leave a margin of safety.
Worked example
These are the sample values already filled in the calculator above, and the result it returns for them:
| Input | Sample value |
|---|---|
| Retirement Corpus (₹) | 3,00,00,000 |
| First-Year Withdrawal (₹) | 12,00,000 |
| Portfolio Return (% per year) | 8 |
| Inflation (% per year) | 6 |
| Years the Money Must Last | 30 |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Initial Withdrawal Rate | 4% |
| Money lasts | The full 30 years |
| Balance left at the end | ₹2,19,97,768 |
| Max sustainable first-year withdrawal | ₹12,94,316 |
| Sustainable withdrawal rate | 4.31% |
Tips for using the Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator
- When returns are close to inflation, a safe rate for 30 years is near 3.3%.
- Flexible spending — cutting withdrawals in bad years — makes a higher rate safer.
- Keep 1–2 years of withdrawals in safe assets to avoid selling equity in a crash.