How your money grows
Before you hand in your notice
Common questions
Why does my money grow less than my EPF dividend or expected return?
Every number here is in today's ringgit: inflation is taken out, so RM1,000 always means what RM1,000 buys today. Your money still earns the full return, but part of it only keeps up with rising prices.
For example, RM100k in EPF at 5.5% becomes RM105,500 after a year. But prices are now 3% higher, so RM105,500 buys what about RM102,400 buys today (RM105,500 ÷ 1.03). Your real spending power grew by about RM2,400, and that's what the tool shows as growth.
Why not RM2,500 (5.5% − 3%)? That RM2,500 arrives a year from now, when each ringgit is worth 3% less, so in today's ringgit it's about RM2,400.
What do "typical luck" and "bad luck" mean?
Your expected return is an average, not what you get every year. Real years go up and down around it. The tool plays out 1,000 futures, each with a different order of good and bad years.
Typical luck is the middle of those futures. Bad luck is worse than 900 of the 1,000, for example a crash just after you retire, while you're already spending.
What does "safe" mean?
A plan is safe if your money lasts to the age you chose in at least 900 of the 1,000 futures (90%). The spending budget is the most you can spend while still passing that test, without ever having to cut back.
Why does my money keep growing after I retire?
When you stop working, you stop adding money, but what you have keeps earning its return. If that yearly growth (after inflation) is bigger than what you spend, the balance still rises.
For example, RM1M growing 3.5% a year after inflation adds RM35k. If you spend RM30k a year, you end the year with more than you started.
Why does my total go up while I have nothing to spend before 55?
If your spendable money runs out before 55, EPF is still locked, so there's nothing you can use. EPF keeps earning dividends in the meantime, so your total rises even though you can't touch any of it. The red shading and dotted lines on the chart mark this gap.
Can I use my EPF before 55?
The tool treats EPF as fully locked until 55, the main age when you can withdraw it all. It ignores partial withdrawals before then, such as Akaun Fleksibel, to stay on the safe side. If you plan to use those, count them under spendable money instead.
Do EPF contributions continue after I retire?
No. Both your savings and your EPF contributions (you + employer) stop at your retirement age. After that, EPF only grows by its dividend.
What happens to my EPF at 55?
It stays in EPF and keeps earning EPF's return. From 55, each year's spending is taken from both pots in proportion to their size. For example, if 40% of your money is in EPF, 40% of that year's spending comes from EPF. The tool doesn't assume you move EPF into your own investments.
Why can a higher expected return give a lower safe budget?
Higher returns usually come with bigger ups and downs. The tool assumes each extra 1% of return above 6% adds about 3% of yearly swing, up to 20%. A bad stretch early in retirement does lasting damage while you're withdrawing, so between about 7% and 10% the extra swing can outweigh the extra return.
Why do I get enormous numbers with a high return?
Compounding is powerful: 20% a year for 50 years multiplies money more than a thousandfold. The maths is right, but very few investors have kept up returns that high for decades. Global shares have averaged about 7–10% a year, so try 7% to see a realistic picture.
What should I count as spendable money?
Everything outside EPF that you could sell or withdraw to live on: cash, FD, ASB/ASNB, Tabung Haji, stocks, ETFs, unit trusts and crypto. Leave out your home, unless you plan to sell it, and money you've set aside for something else.
Is my data saved or sent anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in this page. Your numbers are kept only in this browser, so you don't have to retype them next time. The page counts visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics, which uses no cookies and never sees your numbers.
Educational estimates, not financial advice. "Safe" means your money lasts to your chosen age in at least 900 of 1,000 simulated futures (90%). Each year's return is a random draw around the return you enter; how much it swings is inferred from that return (up to 6% is treated as steady like FD, ASB or EPF; above that, each extra 1% of return adds about 3% of yearly swing, up to 20%, about what a portfolio of growth stocks sees). Until you retire, take-home pay minus spending goes into your spendable money, and EPF gets its own monthly addition; both rise with inflation. After you retire, spending rises with inflation. EPF is treated as fully locked until 55, ignoring Akaun Fleksibel withdrawals; from 55 both pots are drawn together.