Would Your Portfolio Have Survived?
See how your retirement plan would have held up in every historical period since 1926 — including the Great Depression, stagflation era, dot-com crash, and 2008 financial crisis.
Returns shown are approximate 60/40 (stocks/bonds) portfolio real (inflation-adjusted) returns. Individual results will vary based on asset allocation.
Year-by-year results
Worst starting year
1929
Survived but ended with only $2.25M
Best starting year
1975
$19.75M remaining after 30 years
Notable historical periods
| Period | Outcome |
|---|---|
Great Depression Starting 1929 | Survived · $2.25M |
Post-WWII Boom Starting 1945 | Survived · $5.31M |
High Inflation Era Starting 1966 | Survived · $5.79M |
Oil Crisis Starting 1973 | Survived · $7.15M |
Stagflation Peak Starting 1980 | Survived · $14.43M |
Get your personalized retirement date
The backtester shows historical odds. Our main calculator adds your savings, contributions, and Social Security to give you a precise retirement timeline.
Calculate my retirement date →Data source & methodology
Returns are approximate 60/40 (US stocks/bonds) portfolio real (inflation-adjusted) annual returns, 1926–2025. Stock returns based on S&P Composite Index / S&P 500 total returns. Bond returns based on 10-year US Treasury yields. Data sourced from NYU Stern (Damodaran) and Federal Reserve (FRED). Inflation adjustment uses CPI-U. 2025 return is a preliminary estimate. This is for educational purposes only.