Savings Withdrawal Calculator
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Savings Withdrawal Help
You will find the savings withdrawal calculator to be very flexible. While it is most frequently used to calculate how long an investment will last assuming some periodic, regular withdrawal amount, it will also solve for the " Starting Amount", "Annual Interest Rate" or "Regular Withdrawal Amount" required if you want to dictate the duration of the payout. That is, if the withdrawals must last for say 25 years, it will calculate one of these other three values.
Enter any three values and enter a "0" (zero) for the one unknown value.
A note or two about "Compounding Frequency". Selecting he "Exact/Simple" option sets the calculator so it will not compound the interest. Also, the exact number of days between withdrawal dates is used to calculate the interest for the period. The "Daily" option uses the exact number of days between dates, but daily compounding is assumed. (The interest earned each day is added to the principal amount each day.) The "Exact/Simple" compounding option is the most conservative setting. That is, using it will result in the lowest future value. Daily compounding will result in nearly the greatest future value (except for "Continuous Compounding".
The other compounding frequencies are based on periods of time other than days. Each period is assumed to be of equal length for the purposes of interest calculations. That is, assuming a balance of $10,000, the interest earned for January will be the same interest earned for February given the same interest rate.
Join the conversation. Tell me what you think.
Gene says:
is there a calculator that let’s you calculate withdrawl by percentage of the total balance?
Over 2 to 3 decades a retiree will probably not put the same amount of money every month due to inflation costs, but may want to stick a 3 to 4% withdrawal rate.
Thank you.
Karl says:
There isn’t if I understand you. For I wonder if that’s what you actually want? This means the income is declining. Start at $1,000,000 and take out 5% the income is $50,000 of course but when the balance is at $100,000, the income has dropped to $5,000.
The Ultimate Financial Calculator will let you make the initial $50,000 withdrawal and then INCREASE it by say 2% for an inflation adjustment.
Gene says:
Thanks for the reply. Sorry if there is confusion in my question. Was just wanting withdrawl based only on percentage and not a set value. Wanted to see actual takehome was while not not touching the principle. e.g. if account grows 8% a year and inflation is 3%. Wanted to withdraw just 3%, leaving account to grow 2% above inflation a year. 8-3-3=2
Karl says:
Thanks for the clarification. I think that sounds pretty interesting. I’ll add it to my TODO list.
Gene says:
Thanks a bunch!
Gustavo Martinez says:
Hey just wondering what equation is being used for this question? Like PV annuity or something.
Karl says:
The calculator answers many questions, not just one. Notice it will solve for several unknowns. It does use PV of an annuity among others. Beyond that, I never get into the details of the equations.
Mark says:
Would be more helpful if assumptions as to inflation could also be factored in.
Karl says:
This investment calculator supports an inflation rate.
Set the cash flow type to "Income" for a withdrawal from the investment.
Hope this helps.
Joel Ellis says:
In using the Saving Withdrawal calculator I get a NaN response in the number of withdrawals field. I assume this indicates the money would never run out based on the related inputs. Is this correct. Really nice set of calculators. Thanks
Karl says:
Thank you.
NaN is geek speak for NOT A NUMBER and the user should never see such a result. It does seem that when the withdrawal amount is less then the interest earned that that the calculator however does show NaN. Can you provide your inputs though so that I can confirm this for your case?
Joel Ellis says:
PV=5,000,000
Withdrawal amt=10,000 monthly
Interest Rate=5%
Begin Date=12/21/2021
Karl says:
Thanks for sending the details, Joel. Yes, in this case, the NaN indicates the principal amount (PV) would never be depleted. In fact, it will continue to grow. (5% = $250,000 income. 10,000 monthly withdrawal will only deplete $120,000 of course.)
You may be interested in looking at another calculator. I suggest you try this investment calcultor if you are ever interested in factoring in taxes and / or inflation. Set the cash flow type to "Income".
Joel Ellis says:
Thank you
Nils Fenske says:
How does it solve for unknown interest rate? Came here to answer this question: If you invest $200,000 today and withdraw $40,000 a year for seven years, what rate of interest are you earning? and was able to but would like to know the specific equation or steps. Thanks
Karl says:
Hi Nils, I’m glad the calculator gave you the answer that you needed. I limit my support to helping people find the right calculator or to answering questions about what calculator to use to solve a problem.
rachel says:
I cannot find in WordPress Plugins, is there a direct download for these two calculators please:
Savings Calculator
Calculate Interest Earned
Savings Withdrawal Calculator
With Printable Savings Withdrawal Schedule
Thank you so much!
Rachel
Karl says:
Here’s the link to the savings calculator plugin.
I’m sorry, but I don’t have a withdrawal calculator plugin.
Kaz says:
Is there a calculator where you can put in an amount lets say 500.000$ and you get 5% in interest rate but you take it out in 10 years?
Try to explain it a bit more;
Day 1: you put in 500.000$ and at the end of the next month you get 1/120(120 months in 10 years) of that. So the withdrawals are not set the calculator always takes 1/(of remaining months) of the total sum?
In Sweden we have a type of savings where you get 5% annually and the saving duration is 10 years. This means that you can take out all of you money in 10 years, 120 months or wait like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or as long as you want and take out your money monthy. Example; put in 500.000$ and wait 3 years with no withdrawals get 5% every year and take out your money monthly for 7 years (10 years total)
This calculator gives you just how much you will get in average monthly during 10 years.
Karl says:
The Ultimate Financial Calculator may do what you want in a round about way.
If you try it, set the "Schedule Type" to "Savings". Then where you have "Cash Flow Options", you can set for a percent step withdrawal. The calculation you’ll need to do on the side is to figure out if you want to withdrawal 1/120 of the balance, what percentage decrease is this for each month. That is, calculate what the 1/120 amount is and then what the decreasing step percentage should be.
Granted, it is a roundabout way of doing what you need. I’ll look at adding this feature in a future release.
Bill Anderson says:
Karl,
Have you created the savings withdrawal calculator yet as a plug in. This is great work and exactly what I need for a project I am working on my site.
Karl says:
Hi Bill,
Thanks for the compliment. No, I have not created a plugin version of this calculator. I’m quite bogged down on making improvements to this site. So it will be a while, if ever.
Bill Anderson says:
Thanks Karl.
I am willing to pay for this when you get time. I am working on two sites and bogged down as well. Great products.
Karl says:
🙂
I’ll be in touch.
I was just looking at your site. You’ve got a lot of content. It could be quite a distraction for me this late in the day if I let it!
Pat Sturgis says:
Why do I repeatedly get “NaN” inserted in the Number of Withdrawals field, where I have inserted a “0,” with the other 3 fields filled with values? The calculator worked once, with a different interest rate, but hasn’t worked since. I have tried changing browsers, re-booting.
Karl says:
"NaN" means "not a number". A user should never see that. It means the calculator is not show an appropriate message.
Without knowing your specific inputs, I can’t tell you what the exact reason is you are seeing NaN. However, I can make a guess.
My guess is, you increased the interest rate and now the amount being withdrawn is less then the amount earned in interest for the period. Which means the number of periods is infinite. You can test my guess by reducing the interest rate a bit (say by 0.5 at a time).
If you give me your exact inputs, I’m also happy to let you know the reason.
BobA says:
Where is the money “stored” to earn the interest? Stocks, cash savings, combo. I am completely ignorant on this subject.
Karl says:
If your question is, where should you invest the money, I’m afraid I’m not qualified to provide investment advise. I am happy to answer any questions you have about what calculator to use, or how to use a calculator.