Retirement Income Calculator

Compare two Social Security claiming ages side-by-side. See year-by-year portfolio balance, the bridge-period draw before SS kicks in, and which scenario keeps your portfolio intact longer.

What this calculator models

The calculator runs two parallel year-by-year simulations from your current age through your planning horizon. Each year it computes:

• SS income: $0 before you claim; after claiming, SS benefit at the selected age (adjusted from FRA using SSA’s statutory reduction and delayed-credit formulas).
• Portfolio draw: The gap between spending and guaranteed income (SS + pension). This is what your portfolio must fund each year.
• Portfolio balance: Prior balance grows at the specified return rate, minus that year’s draw.

The chart shows both portfolio trajectories on the same scale. The table shows age, annual draw, and balance for both scenarios at key ages.

What it does not model: taxes, inflation, variable returns, or Roth conversion benefits. Think of this as a pre-tax, real-dollar directional view — useful for comparing SS claiming timing, not a plan you’d execute without an advisor.

Understanding the bridge period

The bridge is the span between your retirement date and the age you claim SS. During the bridge, all spending above pension income comes from your portfolio.

If you retire at 65 and delay SS to 70, that’s five years drawing $70,000–$90,000+/year from your portfolio before your income floor kicks in. On a $1.4M portfolio spending $85,000/year, the bridge-period draws can be $425,000+.

This creates sequence-of-returns risk: a bad market in years 1–5 can permanently impair the portfolio before SS starts. The fix isn’t to claim SS early — for most people with normal longevity, delaying to 70 is the right call. The fix is planning the bridge: a bond tent, a cash buffer, a HELOC standby line, or Roth conversion-funded spending.

The four phases of a retirement income plan

The calculator models income and portfolio balance. A complete income plan has four phases that each require different strategies:

1. Bridge period (pre-SS): Highest portfolio draw. Main risk is sequence of returns. Roth conversion window is widest here — low-income years before SS or RMDs inflate your AGI.
2. SS + portfolio (post-claim): Most retirees spend 15–25 years here. Portfolio draw drops sharply when SS starts. This is when the income plan stabilizes.
3. RMD onset at age 73 or 75 (SECURE 2.0): Required Minimum Distributions create taxable income whether you need cash or not. Without prior Roth conversions, RMDs can push you into IRMAA Medicare surcharge tiers and tax up to 85% of SS as ordinary income.
4. Age 80+: Spending often declines (Blanchett spending smile⁴), but healthcare tail risk spikes. A rigid fixed-draw model doesn’t handle this well. Dynamic strategies like Guyton-Klinger guardrails or Variable Percentage Withdrawal adapt automatically.

Related calculators and guides

Sources

1. SSA.gov — Effect of early or delayed retirement on benefits. Reduction: 5/9 of 1% per month for first 36 months before FRA; 5/12 of 1% per month for additional months. Delayed credits: 2/3 of 1% per month from FRA to 70 (8%/year).
2. Kitces — Rising equity glidepath in retirement. Bond tent / sequence-of-returns risk in the pre-SS bridge years.
3. Bengen (1994) — Determining withdrawal rates using historical data. Origin of the 4% rule and sustainable withdrawal rate research.
4. Blanchett (2014) — Exploring the Retirement Consumption Puzzle. “Spending smile” pattern showing real spending declines in early and late retirement.
5. IRS Publication 590-B — Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements. RMD rules, SECURE 2.0 age 73/75 thresholds, Uniform Lifetime Table.

Calculator uses pre-tax nominal returns. It does not model inflation, taxes, COLA on SS, or variable sequence-of-returns. SS adjustment factors verified June 2026 against SSA.gov statutory formulas. For a full plan, work with a fee-only retirement income specialist.