Investment Path Your money, in perspective

Worked example

A first €2,000 monthly withdrawal at 60

Thirty-five years of saving from age 25, then thirty years of withdrawals from 60 to 90. The target is an inflation-adjusted first withdrawal of €2,000 a month; later percentage payouts follow the portfolio.

The answer

Monthly saving needed

€989 / month

Every month from 25 to 60, starting from nothing, with no increase over time.

Portfolio when withdrawals begin · inflation-adjusted · before a final sale
€717,241
First available portfolio withdrawal · inflation-adjusted · after estimated tax
€2,000 / month
10th-percentile portfolio left after 30 years · inflation-adjusted · before a final sale
€143,053
Assumed yearly return
7 %
Assumed inflation
2.5 %
Assumed tax rate
18.4625 %

Tax basis: 18.4625 % on realised gains, which is the German 26.375 % less the 30 percent Teilfreistellung an equity fund receives. The standard rate applies to individual shares and bonds; a fund holding at least 51 percent equities receives the exemption. The yearly Sparer-Pauschbetrag of €1,000 is applied as well.

Stress basis: percentile 10 of 1,000 simulated paths, using the same assumed average return of 7 % and 15 % annual volatility.

Open this plan and change the assumptions

Opens with these numbers, ready to change. Nothing you enter there is saved.

The saving horizon moves this number

Retiring at 60 rather than 67 removes seven years of contributions, so the same first €2,000 withdrawal costs more each month. Starting at 40 rather than 25 is harsher still because the removed years had the longest left to compound. The chosen retirement end changes the projection, not the saving required at age 60.

What the target is measured against

The €2,000 is the first spendable portfolio withdrawal after estimated tax, inflation-adjusted. The solver applies the chosen percentage rate to the portfolio at age 60; it does not deliberately deplete that portfolio by age 90.

What the retirement projection adds

The optional retirement phase keeps the 4 % percentage strategy and shows how the balance and later payouts may develop. It is a path to inspect, not an extra condition the saving solver must satisfy.

What this page is not

It is an illustration under stated assumptions, not advice and not a forecast. The return is an assumption you can disagree with, the tax is an estimate of one common German case, and no page on this site knows anything about your circumstances. How it works sets out the arithmetic and the full list of what the model leaves out.

How it works

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