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Thanks! I like the idea of a chart for annual rates of return.

The withdrawal rate is a little tricky. The withdrawal rate is the percentage of your retirement nest egg you will be spending each year. If you decrease your withdrawal rate you will need to save a bigger lump sum to compensate for the smaller amount of income you are generating. Therefore it will take longer for you to retire.

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It would be helpful to see at what age you will run out of money for a given withdrawal rate. Without that it's difficult to know what rate of withdrawal to enter.

The calculator assumes you never want to draw down your nest egg -- ie your savings will only grow larger. It also assumes you will spend the same amount in retirement that you spend now. Your rate of withdrawal is pretty much a wild guess as it depends on your rate of return, taxes in the future and inflation in the future. Historically 4% has been a good bet. See this article for a summary of this topic:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/05/29/how-much-do-i-need...

and this article for more in depth writing:

http://financialmentor.com/free-articles/retirement-planning...

Oh I see, because you've fixed retirement expenses to equal working expenses. Thanks for the clarification

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