How much could you potentially withdraw from your saving each year without running out? Your retirement age, savings, and investments all influence the answer. Try this tool for a simple look at how these factors have interacted historically. This tool can help you become acquainted with the basic concepts; then you can use one of our retirement planning tools or work with a representative to develop a full plan.
The Potentially Sustainable Withdrawal Rate tool estimates the hypothetical rate at which you could have potentially withdrawn money without running out of assets before the end of an assumed retirement period. The results are based on historical data about investment performance, data on lifespan assumptions about inflation, and the retirement age and investment mix as filled in by the user.
To estimate the potentially sustainable withdrawal rate, the retirement period is assumed to last from the retirement age entered until an age that corresponds with the 75th percentile of lifespan for each gender, or a couple. For example, for a single man retiring at age 70, we assume a 20-year retirement period. For a single woman retiring at 70, we assume a 22.6-year retirement. For couples, we use a joint-and-last-survivor estimate, meaning we look at the likelihood that either spouse will still be alive. This increases the assumed length of the retirement period. For a couple, we assume a 24.5-year retirement.
The “savings at retirement” value is then adjusted using historical data. The performance of stocks, bonds, and short-term asset classes is based on the historical annual data from 1926 through the most recent year-end data available from Ibbotson Associates, Inc. Stocks (domestic and foreign), bonds, and short-term investments are represented by the S&P 500® Index,* the IA SBBI U.S. Intermediate-Term Government Bond Index, and IA SBBI U.S. 30-Day Treasury Bill Index, respectively. Annual returns assume the reinvestment of interest and dividends, no transaction costs, and no management or servicing fees.
For historical allocation performance, the tool uses these fixed investment mixes:
Conservative: Stocks, 20%; bonds, 50%; and short-term investments, 30%.
Balanced: Stocks, 50%; bonds, 40%; and short-term investments, 10%.
Growth: Stocks, 80%; bonds, 20%; and short-term investments, 0%.
The tool then estimates the hypothetical maximum rate at which one could have withdrawn assets over the retirement period in every historical market since 1926. The range of results shows the rate that could have worked in 95% of the historical periods evaluated (lower rate), and 90% of historical periods (higher rate).
This tool is educational in nature and should not be considered as the primary basis for your investment or tax-planning decisions. The primary objective of this interactive tool is to help provide you with education on how retirement savings may help to satisfy estimated income needs in retirement. The interactive tool can help to illustrate how investing strategy and retirement age impact sustainable withdrawal rates in retirement.
The results offered by the interactive tool are not intended to be investment advice or recommendations regarding your retirement planning based on your personal situation and you should not rely on the tool to make your retirement planning decisions. The tool is not a substitute for a retirement plan. We encourage you to use Fidelity Income Strategy Evaluator or work with a Fidelity representative to create a retirement income plan.
It is important to remember that the tool is not intended to project or predict the present or future value of actual investments or actual holdings in your portfolio (or a selected allocation) or actual lifetime income. Also, the tool should not be used as the primary basis for any investment or tax-planning decisions. This tool makes no assumptions about taxes and displays all results in gross (before tax) format. All calculations and results generated by the tool are for illustrative purposes only and are generated through historical market data. The analysis considers the historical performance of certain asset mixes under different market conditions. The tool assumes a level of diversity within each asset class consistent with a specific market index.
It is not possible to invest directly in an index. All indexes include reinvestment of dividends and interest income. All calculations are purely hypothetical and will not affect your actual accounts. The historical performance analysis is intended only to be one source of information that may help you assess your retirement income needs. Remember, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Performance returns for actual investments will generally be reduced by fees or expenses not reflected in these hypothetical illustrations. Returns also will generally be reduced by taxes.
Any data you have included in this interactive tool will not be stored or used in any subsequent Fidelity planning tool or calculator session.
Fidelity does not provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is general and educational in nature and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Tax laws and regulations are complex and subject to change, which can materially impact investment results. Fidelity cannot guarantee that the information herein is accurate, complete, or timely. Fidelity makes no warranties with regard to such information or results obtained by its use, and disclaims any liability arising out of your use of, or any tax position taken in reliance on, such information. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific situation.
*The S&P 500®Index, an unmanaged market capitalization–weighted index of common stocks, is a registered service mark of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and has been licensed for use by Fidelity Distributor Corporation and its affiliates.
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