The retirement plan you made together does not survive the divorce unchanged. Here is
what the plan after it can look like, and what changes the answer.
Three Hypothetical Case Studies
The plan before the divorce, and the plan after it
01
Kept the house, still retiring at 62
Before
Married at 60, with $2.6 million in 401(k)s and a paid-off $600,000 house. The plan: retire at 62, covered by a spouse’s employer health plan until Medicare.
After
In the divorce: the house, plus $900,000 of the 401(k)s. Spending drops to $55,000 a year, but the house still costs $16,000 a year to keep, and health insurance becomes three years on a marketplace plan until Medicare (assumed at $1,000 a month).
The plan made togetherMoney lasts past 95
The plan after the divorceMoney lasts to 74
How the assets work now
The house is in the settlement, but it cannot pay for groceries. It only funds retirement if it is sold.
Every dollar from the 401(k) is taxed as it comes out, now as a single filer.
The three years before Medicare fall entirely on the 401(k).
What changes the answer
Work to 65Money lasts to 82
Sell the house and rent for $26,000 a yearMoney lasts to 84
BothMoney lasts to 94
02
The equal split that wasn’t
Before
Married at 62, with $1.8 million saved: $900,000 in a 401(k), $400,000 in cash and $500,000 in a brokerage account. The plan: retire at 64.
After
Split exactly in half. One spouse takes the $900,000 401(k); the other takes the cash and the brokerage account. Each spends $60,000 a year and collects $29,000 of Social Security from 67.
The plan made togetherMoney lasts past 95
The 401(k) sideMoney lasts to 87
The cash and brokerage sideMoney lasts past 95
How the assets work now
Every 401(k) dollar is taxed as income when it comes out.
Cash is already taxed, and the brokerage account is taxed only on its growth.
The same number on the decree, and years apart in retirement.
03
The retirement date moved
Before
Married at 56, with $2 million in retirement accounts. The plan: retire at 60.
After
$1 million after the split, spending $58,000 a year, with $27,000 of Social Security from 67.
The plan made togetherMoney lasts past 95
Retire at 60Money lasts to 85
Retire at 63Money lasts to 95
Retire at 65Money lasts past 95
How the assets work now
Each extra working year adds savings and growth, and takes a year off the withdrawals.
Half the savings does not mean half the retirement. It usually means a later one.
Hypothetical illustrations, not real clients. Every age is produced by the calculator below
with its standard assumptions: 5% investment return, 2.5% inflation, federal income tax
estimated, pre-tax balances valued at a 22% blended rate and investment gains at 15%.
Bars run from the retirement age to 95. Your numbers will differ.
Try it with your own numbers
A divorce retirement calculator for a 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA, brokerage account or the house:
enter what you are being offered, piece by piece, and see what it would actually fund.
1 · What did you end up with?
The major pieces of the settlement. Enter them separately — that is the whole point.
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2 · What will retirement cost?
Three numbers. Everything else has a sensible starting point you can change.
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3 · Make this more accurateOptional — but some assets cannot be valued without it, and we will say so rather than guess.
Enter at least one piece of the settlement and what you expect to spend.
Questions people ask
Is there a 401(k) divorce calculator?
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Yes: the calculator on this page. Enter your share of each account, whether a 401(k), a traditional or Roth IRA, a brokerage account or the house, and it shows what each is worth after tax and how long the settlement lasts in retirement. It does not value a pension.
Can I retire after a divorce?
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Often yes, but usually not on the same timeline. It turns on what the settlement is worth after tax, what you spend, and when guaranteed income arrives. The tool above tests your numbers.
Is half the retirement account really half the money?
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No. A pre-tax 401(k) or traditional IRA is taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn; a Roth account of the same size is worth more. Equal balances can be materially different amounts of money.
Should I keep the house in the divorce?
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That is a decision, not a calculation, but the financial part is knowable: keeping the home takes its value out of your retirement assets and adds its taxes, insurance and upkeep to your spending. See keeping the house in a divorce.
What happens between retiring and Medicare?
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You buy your own health insurance, usually at the age it costs most, while the portfolio funds everything else. COBRA may bridge part of the gap; see health insurance after divorce.
Does this tool tell me whether the settlement is fair?
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No. It does not recommend a settlement, value a home or a pension, determine who is entitled to what, or advise when to claim Social Security. Heritage models what each version would mean for your retirement; your attorney handles the legal decisions.
What about my ex-spouse’s Social Security?
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If the marriage lasted at least ten years and you have not remarried, you may be able to claim on a former spouse’s record, and doing so does not reduce what they receive. The rules are the Social Security Administration’s; enter whatever figure applies to you in the tool.
This is an illustration, not a recommendation, a financial plan, or tax or legal advice. It does not recommend a settlement, value a home or a pension, determine who is entitled to what, or advise when to claim Social Security. Those decisions belong with your attorney, your tax adviser and your own planning conversation.
The federal income tax shown is a simplified estimate, not a tax calculation for your return. It assumes every withdrawal comes from a pre-tax retirement account and is fully taxable, treats pension income as fully taxable, and applies the IRS provisional-income rules to Social Security. It models only the income sources entered in this calculator: it does not model taxable brokerage gains, tax-exempt interest, Roth withdrawals, itemized deductions, tax credits, state income tax, Medicare premium surcharges (IRMAA), required minimum distributions, or other household income. It uses the 2026 federal tax brackets and standard deduction, indexed forward at your inflation assumption, plus the additional standard deduction for each person 65 or older. It also includes the temporary senior deduction of up to $6,000 per person 65 or older, which under current law applies only to tax years 2025 through 2028 and phases out above $75,000 of income ($150,000 on a joint return); the model removes it after 2028. On a joint return your spouse’s age is used for your spouse’s deductions.
The rules behind the after-tax figures, and their sources
26 U.S.C. §61(a); §402(a); §408(d)(1) — Distributions from a pretax retirement account are included in gross income. A pretax dollar becomes spendable only after ordinary income tax.
26 U.S.C. §408A(d)(2) — A qualified distribution from a Roth account is not included in gross income. A Roth dollar is a spendable dollar.
26 U.S.C. §1001(a); §1012(a) — On sale of a taxable asset, gain is the excess of amount realised over adjusted basis. Basis returns without tax; only the embedded gain is taxed.
26 U.S.C. §1001(a); §121 — Home equity is realised only on sale, net of selling costs. Gain may be excludable under §121, but eligibility depends on ownership, use, filing status at sale and prior use of the exclusion — it is not a property of the asset.
no tax rule applies — Cash has already been taxed. A cash dollar is a spendable dollar.
assumption, stated not sourced — The ordinary income tax rate applied to pretax withdrawals. A single blended rate stands in for a bracket calculation; `federal-income-tax.ts` computes the real one when the caller knows the full income picture.
assumption, stated not sourced; rates at 26 U.S.C. §1(h) — The long-term capital gains rate applied to embedded gain. §1(h) sets 0%, 15% and 20% brackets; 15% is the default because it covers the middle of the range.
assumption, stated not sourced — Selling costs on a home as a percentage of value — agent commission, transfer taxes and closing costs. Varies by market and by negotiation.
The projection does not model:
State income tax — Illinois exempts retirement income, but most states do not
Roth and taxable-brokerage accounts — every withdrawal is treated as fully taxable, as from a traditional IRA or 401(k)
Capital gains, dividends, itemized deductions, tax credits, and Medicare premium surcharges (IRMAA)
Investment fees and expenses
Actual market volatility — returns are assumed to be the same every year except in the optional downturn scenario
Changes in spending over retirement, including healthcare and long-term care costs
Changes to Social Security or pension benefits, and any survivor or spousal benefit rules
Required minimum distributions, Roth conversions, and other tax-timing decisions
Future changes to tax law — the temporary senior deduction is assumed to end after 2028 as currently scheduled