Retirement planning / monthly spending / starting estimate
How much do I need to retire? Monthly spending table
At the common 4% starting estimate, $2,000 a month points to $600,000, $5,000 points to $1.5 million, and $10,000 points to $3 million. Each figure is a first-year withdrawal—not guaranteed income or a finished retirement plan.
Multiply the monthly amount by 300 for the common 4% starting estimate.
The shortcut works because monthly spending × 12 months × 25 equals monthly spending × 300. Use only the amount the portfolio must supply, before tax. The result is a first-year withdrawal—not guaranteed income forever.
Enter your retirement portfolio and monthly spending. The free planner compares all 24 tested approaches and shows the three that best matched your goal in our tests.
01 / Monthly spending table
Start with the spending your investments must provide.
| Monthly spending | Annual spending | At a 4% start |
|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $24,000 | $600,000 |
| $3,000 | $36,000 | $900,000 |
| $4,000 | $48,000 | $1.2 million |
| $5,000 | $60,000 | $1.5 million |
| $6,000 | $72,000 | $1.8 million |
| $8,000 | $96,000 | $2.4 million |
| $10,000 | $120,000 | $3 million |
If you want to spend $5,000 a month but Social Security or a pension reliably provides $2,000, the portfolio initially needs to cover $3,000 a month. The same shortcut points to $900,000, before tax and any years when that outside income has not started.
Do not multiply total household spending when part of it is already covered by reliable income.
02 / What the table leaves out
The same monthly spending can require different portfolios.
Retiring at 45 can require the money to last much longer than retiring at 70. Taxes can make the portfolio withdrawal larger than the amount you spend. Wanting to preserve principal can require more than simply avoiding a zero balance.
Spending flexibility matters too. A household that can pause an inflation raise or temporarily cut spending after a bad market faces a different problem from one that needs the same real amount every year.
The table gives a starting balance. It does not prove that one withdrawal rule works for your retirement.
03 / What should the money own?
Compare the investment mix and the spending goal together.
More stocks can provide more long-term growth and deeper losses. More defensive assets can soften some falls but may leave less growth for a long retirement. The useful comparison keeps your starting amount, spending, and retirement length the same while changing what the portfolio owns.
FIRE Decision Lab compares every tested portfolio with the same historical stress periods, then shows three different tradeoffs: the most reliable, the best balance of reliability and growth, and the most growth among the plans that cleared the reliability floor.
Compare portfolios for my spendingHow the estimates were calculated
The arithmetic, source, and limits
The calculation
Multiply monthly portfolio spending by 12 to get the first year's spending. Divide that annual amount by 0.04—or multiply it by 25—to get the common 4% starting estimate. Combining those steps is monthly spending × 300.
The research behind the shortcut
William Bengen's original historical study tested inflation-adjusted withdrawals over long US market periods. The familiar 25-times-spending shortcut is the inverse of a 4% first withdrawal.
What this page does not decide
It does not choose a withdrawal rate, tax plan, retirement date, Social Security strategy, healthcare budget, or portfolio for an individual. Historical results do not guarantee a future outcome. This is educational research, not personal financial advice.
Use this result
See how much you need to retire—and compare what to invest in.
Enter what you have and what you want to spend each month. Compare three portfolios against the same market history. Your financial figures stay in your browser.
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