Safe Withdrawal Rate (4% Rule) Calculator
Safe withdrawal rate (SWR) is the headline number for retirement planning: the percentage of your portfolio you withdraw each year. The 1998 Trinity Study popularised the 4% rule — over a 30-year retirement, starting at 4% of the portfolio (then inflation-adjusted) historically survived most market scenarios. Enter your nest egg and rate to see annual / monthly / weekly / daily income, and compare common SWRs side by side.
Please enter a valid number
Annual income
—
Monthly income
—
Weekly income
—
Daily income
—
Common withdrawal-rate comparison
Same nest egg at different SWRs — annual and monthly amounts.
| Rate | Annual | Monthly | Years of principal (0% real return) |
|---|
4% rule comes from the 1998 Trinity Study; actual outcomes depend on market returns, inflation and withdrawal flexibility. For reference only.
Formula
Annual income = Principal × SWR% Monthly = Annual ÷ 12 Weekly = Annual ÷ 52 Daily = Annual ÷ 365.25 Years of principal @ 0% real return = 100 ÷ SWR%
- · The 4% rule comes from the Trinity Study (Cooley, Hubbard & Walz, 1998), which analysed 30-year retirement success rates on US stock / bond portfolios from 1926–1995.
- · SWR is the percentage you withdraw in *year one*; subsequent years are inflation-adjusted, not recalculated against current portfolio value (a different strategy).
- · 3% / 3.5% is conservative and suits very long retirements (30+ years); 4% is the canonical benchmark (~95% success over 30 years); 5% is aggressive and may deplete the portfolio in bad sequences.
- · This calculator does not simulate market volatility or sequence-of-returns risk — it is a simple ratio tool, not a Monte Carlo projection.
- · "Years of principal" assumes 0% real return (portfolio just keeps up with inflation). Real-world positive returns typically extend the horizon significantly.
- · Modern alternatives include Guyton-Klinger guardrails, Vanguard dynamic spending and the Bond Tent — all flexible variants that can raise success rates above static 4%.
Frequently asked
Does the 4% rule guarantee you will not run out of money?
No. In the Trinity Study, 4% had ~95% historical success over a 30-year retirement — but ~5% of starting years (notably 1966 and 2000 cohorts) ran out due to sequence-of-returns risk. For 40–50 year horizons many planners drop to 3–3.5%. If you can trim spending in bad years, you can stay at 4% with a cushion.
Which withdrawal rate is right for me?
Rough guide: 30-year retirement → start at 4%; 40+ years (early FIRE) → 3–3.5%; retiring in your 70s with a shorter horizon → 5% can work. Flexibility matters too: if you can cut spending 10–15% in bad years or have a side income (part-time work, rent, pension/Social Security), a higher SWR becomes safer. Rigid spending with no backup income argues for a lower rate.
How does inflation affect the number this tool shows?
The widget shows nominal year-one withdrawal only. In practice you take SWR in year one and then raise each year by CPI — so at 3% inflation, year-two withdrawal is 3% higher than year-one. The 4% rule preserves *real* purchasing power across 30 years, but the nominal dollar figure grows. To reason about real terms, work with real (post-inflation) portfolio returns when projecting.
How is SWR different from "just live off the interest"?
Living off interest assumes you only spend yield and never touch principal — this requires yield ≥ spend ÷ portfolio, which most stock/bond yields (2–4%) cannot meet. SWR allows you to spend yield *plus* part of the appreciation, letting long-term growth refill the bucket. A key Trinity Study finding: an all-stock portfolio rarely fully drained over 30 years, so a 4% withdrawal (including some principal) is sustainable.
Related tools
Mortgage Monthly Payment Calculator
Enter property price, down payment, term and rate — get monthly payment, total interest and total payable.
Hong Kong Stamp Duty Calculator
Compute Ad Valorem Stamp Duty (AVD) on residential property at the latest rates.
Hong Kong Salaries Tax Calculator
Estimate Hong Kong salaries tax using both the progressive bands and the 15% / 16% two-tier standard rate (Year of Assessment 2024/25).
Hong Kong MPF Contribution Calculator
Hong Kong MPF contributions for employees, employers and self-employed persons using the statutory 5% rate with the $7,100 minimum and $30,000 maximum relevant income thresholds.
Compound Interest Calculator
Project the future value of a principal plus regular monthly or yearly contributions at a given annual rate, with total interest earned.
CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) Calculator
Compute the compound annual growth rate from a start value, end value and number of years — useful for comparing long-term growth.
ROI (Return on Investment) Calculator
Compute total profit, ROI % and annualised return from initial cost, final value and holding period — useful for comparing investments.
Inflation / Purchasing Power Calculator
Project the future purchasing power of an amount given an annual inflation rate and time horizon — and the nominal amount needed to keep up.
Markup & Margin Calculator
Convert between cost, selling price, markup % and gross margin % — handy for retail pricing and SMB profit analysis.
Break-Even Point Calculator
From fixed costs, variable cost per unit and selling price, find the units needed to cover all costs — plus break-even revenue, contribution margin, target-profit volume and margin of safety.
APR ↔ APY Calculator (Nominal vs Effective Annual Rate)
Convert a nominal annual rate (APR) at any compounding frequency to the effective annual yield (APY), or solve the inverse — essential for comparing credit-card, savings-account and mortgage rates.
Rule of 72 Calculator (Doubling Time)
Quickly estimate how many years to double your money at a given compound rate, or what rate is needed to double in a target period — with the exact logarithmic answer alongside.
Loan Payoff Time Calculator
From balance, monthly payment and APR, compute how many months until the loan is paid off, the total interest paid, and the minimum payment that just covers interest.
Savings Goal Calculator
Given goal amount, current savings, monthly deposit and APR, see how many months it takes to hit the target.
Annuity Payment Calculator
Enter principal, annual rate and number of periods to compute the fixed annuity payment (PMT formula) — essential for retirement-income planning.
Net-to-Gross Salary Calculator (Hong Kong)
Enter the after-tax salary you want to take home and the calculator works back to the gross figure you need to offer (HK MPF and salaries-tax aware).
Rental Yield Calculator
Enter property price, monthly rent and yearly expenses (rates, management, insurance, vacancy) to see both gross and net rental yield (%).
Dividend Yield Calculator
Enter annual dividend per share, share price, EPS and amount invested to compute dividend yield (%), payout ratio (%) and projected yearly income.
Sales Tax / VAT Calculator
Enter a price and a tax rate to compute the gross total and tax amount, or work backwards from a tax-inclusive price to the net amount.
Hong Kong Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio Calculator
Enter property value and loan amount to get the LTV ratio, the required down-payment, and a live check against HKMA caps and the HKMC mortgage insurance ceilings.
Present Value (PV) Calculator
Discount a future amount back to today using an annual rate, horizon and compounding frequency — get the present value, discount factor and effective annual rate.
Real Interest Rate (Fisher Equation) Calculator
Use the Fisher equation to strip inflation from a nominal rate and find the real return, with the common r ≈ i − π approximation alongside.
Debt-to-Income (DTI) Ratio Calculator
Enter monthly debt payments and gross monthly income to compute your DTI ratio against the standard lender bands (36% / 43% / 50%).