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How long will your retirement savings last? — A drawdown simulator built for Korea

Unlike overseas tools such as FIRECalc, this calculator includes Korea's National Pension (NPS) — the public pension most Korean workers contribute to. Before your pension starts, you withdraw your full living costs from savings; after it starts, you withdraw only the shortfall. Compare the age your money runs out under three return scenarios.

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× ₩10,000
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Return scenario (basis for the summary and adjustment hint) All three scenarios appear in the chart and table. The one you pick drives the summary and the hint

Savings balance by age

All amounts in KRW (₩). The vertical dashed line marks the age your National Pension starts — the point where the withdrawal burden drops and the curves flatten.

Results by scenario

The withdrawal rate is the first retirement year's withdrawal (your full living costs, if the pension has not started) as a share of your savings at retirement. Calculations run in yearly steps — savings grow for a year, then that year's spending is withdrawn — and the "depletion age" is the age in the year the year-end balance first turns negative.

What this calculator does not model. This simulator assumes ① a constant return every year (real markets fluctuate, and a downturn right after retirement can pull depletion forward even at the same average return), ② no taxes or health insurance premiums (such as the shift to community-subscriber premiums after retirement), ③ no other income sources such as the Housing Pension or a retirement (severance) pension, ④ no adjustment for claiming the pension early (−6% per year) or deferring it (+7.2% per year), and ⑤ no spouse's pension or inheritance. It is not a historical backtest like FIRECalc — it simply projects the assumptions you enter, so read the results as "under these assumptions," not as a fixed future.
Does the 4% rule work in Korea? → Read the withdrawal strategy guide

How this simulator calculates

The projection runs in one-year steps from your current age to your plan-to age. Before retirement, savings grow only at the selected return. After retirement, each year you withdraw living costs adjusted for inflation — the full amount before the National Pension starts, and only the shortfall after the pension amount is subtracted once it starts. The pension is also indexed to inflation, as under the actual system. The key point is that the withdrawal burden differs greatly between the "bridge period" before the pension starts and the period after — which is why the results differ from a simple overseas 4% rule calculation. The background is covered in the withdrawal strategy guide.

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Frequently asked questions

Q. What is the 4% rule?
A rule of thumb: withdraw 4% of your savings in the first year of retirement, then adjust the amount for inflation each year. It comes from William Bengen's 1994 research and the Trinity Study, and it assumes US markets and no public pension.

Q. How is this simulator different from FIRECalc?
FIRECalc backtests against historical market returns, while this simulator is a deterministic projection using fixed 2%, 4%, and 6% return assumptions. Its Korea-specific feature is the two-phase withdrawal structure: full living costs are withdrawn before the National Pension starts, and only the shortfall after it starts.

Q. Are taxes and health insurance premiums included?
No. Post-retirement National Health Insurance premiums (as a community subscriber), pension income tax, and financial income taxes are not included, so the amount you can actually spend may be lower than calculated. Treat the results as a projection of your assumptions, not a fixed future.

Q. What is the most effective way to delay the age at which savings run out?
Reducing monthly spending has the most direct effect. The adjustment hint on the results screen shows how much you would need to cut spending to avoid running out, and delaying retirement or adjusting when you start your pension works in the same direction.