How long will $300k last in retirement?
The blunt version: $300k alone does not fund a multi-decade retirement at typical spending — but that is the wrong test, because almost nobody retires on a portfolio alone. Pair $300k with Social Security and the picture changes completely. The calculator below shows exactly how long the money runs at your real numbers, with the benefit included; the notes after it cover why claiming age is the biggest lever you have.
Your inputs
$300K
Treat the return as after-inflation. 5% real ≈ a 60/40-to-80/20 portfolio's historical range.
How long it lasts
35.9 years
Net withdrawal of $2K/mo depletes $300K in 35.9 years at 5.0% real return.
Single-line projection, today's dollars. Methodology
This is a one-line projection.
Real retirement math has tax brackets, Social Security timing, healthcare premiums, RMDs, and Monte Carlo uncertainty. Granary models all of it against your actual accounts.
Get the full picture →The numbers behind $300k
- The 4% guideline puts $300k's sustainable draw at $12,000/year — about $1,000/month before Social Security or pensions.
- At $1,000/month of net spending (5% real return), $300k lasts 70+ (effectively indefinite) years; at $1,500/month it lasts 35.9; at $2,500/month, 13.9.
- Social Security changes the math more than returns do: a typical $2,000/month benefit reduces the draw on the portfolio dollar-for-dollar — spending $1,500/month with that benefit only pulls $0/month from savings.
- These figures are in today's dollars with returns treated as real (after inflation) — so "lasts 25 years" means 25 years of constant purchasing power, not nominal dollars.
- Sequence-of-returns risk is the wildcard a single average hides: the same average return with a crash in years 1–5 depletes a portfolio years earlier than the identical crash in years 15–20.
Strategy notes for a $300k retirement
At this size, the portfolio is not the engine of your retirement — Social Security is. The average retired-worker benefit runs around $2,000/month in 2026, and a couple with two work histories can clear $4,000; against that, the portfolio's job is to cover the gap years before claiming, absorb lumpy expenses (a roof, a car, dental work), and add a few hundred dollars of monthly margin. That reframing changes the strategy completely: the highest-leverage moves are delaying Social Security (each year from 62 to 70 raises the check 7–8% for life), keeping fixed costs low — housing is the make-or-break line — and avoiding the two classic errors, which are claiming at 62 by default and holding everything in cash where inflation grinds it down. A portfolio this size parked in a savings account loses purchasing power every year; even a conservative 40/60 allocation has historically kept pace and then some. For $300k specifically, the bracketing numbers worth memorizing: $1,000/month lasts 70+ (effectively indefinite) years on portfolio alone, and $1,500/month lasts 35.9 — your real plan lives between those lines once income is layered in.
Frequently asked questions
What monthly income does $300k generate in retirement?
Using the 4% guideline, $300k supports about $12,000 per year — $1,000/month — with historically high odds of lasting 30 years. A more conservative 3.5% rate, often recommended for retirements longer than 30 years, puts it at $875/month. Social Security and any pension add on top of that.
How long will $300k last with Social Security included?
Much longer than the headline number, because the benefit reduces your portfolio draw dollar-for-dollar. Spending $1,500/month with a typical $2,000/month benefit only withdraws $0/month from savings — nothing at all, so the portfolio never depletes. Use the "other monthly income" field in the calculator above to model your actual benefit estimate from ssa.gov.
Can $300k run out in under 10 years?
Yes — overspending does it at any portfolio size. $300k depletes inside a decade if net spending exceeds roughly $3,000/month sustained, or faster if a market crash lands in the first few years while withdrawals continue at full pace. That sequence-of-returns combination, not average returns, is what breaks retirements; a cash buffer covering 1–2 years of spending is the standard defense.
Is $300k enough to retire on at all?
It depends on spending and what else exists: Social Security, a pension, a paid-off house. At $1,000/month of portfolio spending, $300k lasts 70+ (effectively indefinite) years before any benefit is counted — and most households add $1,500–4,000/month of Social Security on top. The honest test isn't the balance, it's whether your real monthly budget minus guaranteed income stays under what the balance sustainably yields ($1,000/month by the 4% rule).