A die-with-zero retirement calculator
Can I retire at 70 with $2,500,000?
At age 70, $2,500,000 could sustainably support about $171,345 a year, landing near zero by 90 — 71% more than the standard 4% rule ($100,000/year), because the 4% rule is built to preserve your money indefinitely and this is built to spend it down to zero by the age you choose, on purpose. No other income or tax assumed.
$2,500,000 at different withdrawal rates
| Withdrawal rate | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| 3.0% | $75,000 | $6,250 |
| 3.5% | $87,500 | $7,292 |
| 4.0% | $100,000 | $8,333 |
| 4.5% | $112,500 | $9,375 |
| 5.0% | $125,000 | $10,417 |
| zeroleft, age 70 to 90 | $171,345 | $14,279 |
Assumes a flat 4% real return every year, no other income, and no tax — the same simplified model behind zeroleft's free calculator, not a stress-tested plan. Adjust it for your own numbers →
Balance over time, spending $171,345/year
Retiring at 70 instead of later means a longer horizon — but the math above still comes out ahead of the flat 4% rule, because the Die With Zero method spends toward a horizon on purpose rather than preserving a balance forever. The same reasoning is behind how zeroleft calculates a die-with-zero number from your full situation, and behind the trade-offs in comparing the 4% rule against spend-to-zero and other strategies.
Run this on your real numbers — assets, income, costs — and see the plan stress-tested against thousands of market scenarios.
Build your plan →Common questions
How much does $2.5M pay per month in retirement at 70?
About $8,333 a month using the standard 4% rule, or about $14,279 a month using zeroleft's age-adjusted calculation for retiring at 70 and spending it down to zero by 90.
Is $2.5M enough to retire at 70?
That depends on what you actually spend and whether you have other income, like a pension — this page assumes neither. Zeroleft's full planner takes your real numbers (assets, income, costs) and stress-tests the answer against thousands of market scenarios instead of one flat assumed return.
Why is zeroleft's number higher than the standard 4% rule?
The 4% rule is built to preserve your money indefinitely, even through a bad 30-year stretch of markets. This number is built to spend $2,500,000 down to about zero by age 90 on purpose, over the 21 years from 70 — a shorter, known horizon supports a higher sustainable draw than a rule meant to last forever.