Retirement Budget Calculator

How to Use This Calculator

1. Enter your age at retirement and your total savings balance (all retirement accounts combined).
2. Enter each monthly income source — Social Security benefit, pension, and any other income such as part-time work or rental income.
3. Enter your estimated monthly expenses in each category. Use current-day amounts as a baseline.
4. Click Calculate Budget to see your total income, total expenses, monthly surplus or deficit, and savings runway.
5. If you have a deficit, compare the savings runway against the 4% rule safe withdrawal to understand your margin.

How to Read Your Retirement Budget

A balanced retirement budget means your monthly income covers your monthly expenses. Income sources typically include Social Security, a pension, withdrawals from savings accounts or IRAs, rental income, and any part-time earnings. Expenses in retirement shift compared to working years: housing and healthcare tend to dominate, while commuting and work-related costs drop.

If your total monthly income exceeds your expenses, you have a surplus — money that can stay invested or cover irregular costs. If expenses exceed income, the gap must be funded by drawing from savings. The calculator shows how many years your savings will sustain that withdrawal rate without investment growth factored in, which gives a conservative, worst-case floor.

The 4% Rule and Safe Withdrawals

The 4% rule is a widely cited guideline suggesting that retirees can withdraw 4% of their portfolio in year one, then adjust for inflation each year, with a high probability that the money lasts 30 years. It originated from a 1994 study by William Bengen using historical U.S. market data.

In practice, the rule is a starting point, not a guarantee. A 3% withdrawal rate offers more cushion; 5% or higher increases depletion risk, especially in low-return decades. This calculator shows your safe monthly withdrawal using the 4% rate so you can compare it against your actual planned withdrawal.

Common Retirement Budget Mistakes

• Underestimating healthcare: Medicare premiums, supplemental insurance, dental, and out-of-pocket costs often reach $500–$1,000/month for couples.
• Ignoring inflation: Fixed income sources like pensions lose purchasing power over time. Social Security has cost-of-living adjustments, but they may not keep pace with healthcare inflation.
• Forgetting irregular expenses: Home repairs, car replacements, and family travel are real but easy to omit from monthly estimates.
• Over-relying on a single income source: If Social Security is delayed or a pension is reduced, the plan breaks. A diversified income base is more resilient.

Assumptions and Limitations

• Savings runway uses no investment return (conservative floor estimate).
• No inflation adjustment applied.
• Taxes not modeled — add estimated tax costs to the Other expense field.
• 4% rule assumes a 30-year retirement horizon.
• Social Security benefit is entered manually; actual benefit varies by claiming age.