How Much Can You Spend in Retirement and Still Leave the Legacy You Want?

Estimate how much you may be able to spend each year in retirement while working toward a desired legacy amount at the end of your planning horizon. This retirement spending calculator helps you compare scenarios and understand the tradeoff between spending today and preserving a legacy for the future.

Retirement Spending Calculator & Legacy Planning

Retirement Planning Is About More Than Making Your Money Last

Most retirement calculators focus on whether your savings may last through retirement.

This calculator also considers the amount you want to leave behind.

By entering a desired legacy amount, you can see how that goal may affect the amount available for retirement spending.

How the Retirement Spending & Legacy Calculator Works

1. Enter Your Retirement Assumptions
Add your age, retirement timeline, savings, contributions, expected return, inflation, legacy target, and planning horizon.

2. Review Your Estimated Retirement Outlook
See your projected retirement balance, estimated annual spending, monthly spending, and projected legacy.

3. Compare Different Scenarios
Change your assumptions and rerun the calculator to see how different choices affect retirement spending and the legacy you may leave behind.

How This Calculator Estimates Your Results

Your assumptions stay visible.
The calculator uses the values you enter for age, savings, contributions, expected return, inflation, legacy target, and planning horizon.

Results are estimates, not guarantees.
The calculator uses a deterministic model with a constant inflation-adjusted return assumption. Actual investment returns and inflation can vary from year to year.

The methodology is designed to be transparent.
The estimate projects your portfolio to retirement, then calculates an annual spending amount intended to leave approximately your selected legacy amount at the end of the planning horizon.

Results are shown in approximately today’s dollars.
Expected return is adjusted for inflation so the spending and legacy estimates are easier to interpret in current purchasing-power terms.

Learn More About Retirement Spending and Legacy Planning

How Inflation Affects Retirement Spending and Legacy Goals

Retirement Spending Basics
Learn how retirement spending estimates are affected by savings, time, return assumptions, and the length of retirement.

How Inflation Affects Retirement
Understand why inflation matters when comparing future retirement dollars with today’s purchasing power.

Understanding Withdrawal Assumptions
Learn how different withdrawal assumptions can change estimated retirement spending and ending portfolio values.

Legacy Planning Basics
Explore how a desired legacy target can affect the amount available to spend during retirement.

Important Information About This Retirement Calculator

This calculator is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not provide personalized financial, investment, tax, legal, estate-planning, or fiduciary advice. Results are estimates based on the assumptions you enter and may differ materially from actual outcomes.

Investment returns, inflation, longevity, taxes, expenses, and other real-world factors can change over time. Consider consulting qualified professionals when making significant retirement, investment, tax, legal, or estate-planning decisions.

Explore Your Retirement Spending & Legacy Scenarios

Adjust your assumptions to see how changes in savings, retirement age, expected return, inflation, and your desired legacy may affect your estimated retirement spending.