What is the withdrawal rate in my plan?
Each year after you stop working, the share of that year’s opening savings you have to draw to cover what income does not. At or under 4% reads Sustainable.
For any year, the withdrawal rate is what you have to take out of your savings — everything going out, minus any income and money coming in that year — as a share of what the year started with. If income covers everything, the rate is 0%. If the year opens with nothing to draw on, there is no rate and the ledger shows a dash.
The average, and the first year
The Average withdrawal rate tile averages that rate over the years after you stop working, each year capped at 100%. If the money runs out, only the years up to that point count, and the tile says average over funded years only. Beneath it is the rate in your first year, which is the one to act on: money taken out early has no time left to recover, and once a plan is failing the rate climbs every year.
| Average rate | Status word | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| 4% or less | Sustainable | Green |
| Above 4%, up to 6% | On the high side | Amber |
| Above 6% | Too fast | Red |
| Nothing to draw on | Not applicable | None |
Retirement Tracker · The ledger
| Age | Stage | Opening savings | + Investment growth | Closing savings | Withdrawal rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Working | ₹7.22Cr | + ₹81.5L | ₹8.45Cr | 0.0% |
| 55 | Retired | ₹8.45Cr | + ₹58.2L | ₹8.73Cr | 3.5% |
| 56 | Retired | ₹8.73Cr | + ₹60.15L | ₹9.02Cr | 3.5% |
Six of the ledger’s columns, for the illustrative household. The full ledger also shows income, living expenses, loan payments, life goals and net cashflow for every year.
Six of the ledger’s columns, for the illustrative household at 54, 55 and 56. The Withdrawal rate column is the yearly rate this article describes.
- Opening savings — what each year starts with.
- Withdrawal rate — what the year takes from savings, as a share of the opening figure.
Illustrative figures — not anybody’s real plan.
Where else 4% appears
- The verdict: a plan that lasts but averages above 4% is held at Workable.
- The chart How fast you draw on your savings on the Retirement Tracker plots your rate each year against the 4% many plans aim for.
- If you have no income at all, What you spend judges your spending as a withdrawal rate on your savings, with the same 4% and 6% lines.
See this in your own plan.
Open OverviewLast reviewed 1 October 2026.