About
Bond ladder buys equal amounts of bonds maturing at staggered intervals (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 years). When 1-yr matures, reinvest in new 5-yr bond. Provides steady income + interest rate hedge + liquidity. Better than single-maturity bond for retirees.
The current US Treasury curve (as of mid-May 2026) gives a usable backdrop for sizing a ladder: 3-month T-bills around 4.55%, 1-year at 4.30%, 2-year at 4.15%, 5-year at 4.10%, 10-year at 4.25%, and 30-year at 4.60%. A 5-rung ladder of equal Treasury notes maturing in years 1 through 5 today therefore yields roughly the average of those tenors, around 4.18% nominal. Held to maturity, every rung returns face value: a ladder eliminates interest-rate price risk by definition, which is the whole point. Reinvestment risk and inflation risk remain. TIPS ladders, popularised in retirement-planning research by Wade Pfau and tools like TIPSladder.com, swap nominal Treasuries for inflation-protected ones; current 5-year TIPS real yield sits around 1.85%, locking in CPI plus that margin. For taxable accounts, municipal-bond ladders can produce after-tax yields above Treasury equivalents at top federal brackets.
Formula
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is the Bond Ladder Calculator?
It applies the standard formula. Accuracy is limited only by your input precision. For decisions with material consequences (taxes, medical, legal, structural), use the result as a starting point and verify with a qualified professional in the relevant field.
Is the Bond Ladder Calculator free to use?
Yes. 100% free, no signup, no payment, no API key. The site is funded by display ads around the tool but not inside the calculation flow.
Are my inputs saved anywhere?
No. All inputs stay in your browser tab. Closing the tab discards them. The site uses Google Analytics for traffic measurement (anonymized) but the analytics never see what you type into the form.
Can I use the Bond Ladder Calculator on my phone?
Yes. The tool is responsive and tested on iOS Safari, Android Chrome, and major desktop browsers. Touch targets meet Apple's 44pt and Google's 48dp minimum.
Does the Bond Ladder Calculator work offline?
Yes. Once the page has loaded, it works without internet. The calculation runs in JavaScript on your device.
How do I report a bug or suggest improvement to the Bond Ladder Calculator?
Email hi@3tej.com with the URL of this page and a description of what you saw vs expected. We typically respond within 72 hours.
Can I share results from the Bond Ladder Calculator?
Take a screenshot or copy the output. The page doesn't generate shareable URLs for specific calculations - inputs stay in your browser only.
Why are the results different from another bond ladder tool?
Most likely: different formula assumptions, different default values, different rounding rules, or different applicable rates. Check the methodology if both tools document it. Both can be valid for different scenarios.
Is the Bond Ladder Calculator accurate?
The Bond Ladder Calculator applies the standard formula for bond ladder. Accuracy is limited only by your input precision. For decisions with material consequences, use the result as a starting point and verify with a qualified professional or the relevant official source.
Is the Bond Ladder Calculator free?
Yes. 100% free, no signup, no payment, no API key. The site is funded by display ads that appear around the tool but not inside the calculation flow.
Are my inputs saved?
No. Inputs stay in your browser tab. Closing the tab discards them. The site uses Google Analytics for traffic measurement (anonymized) but does not see what you type into the form.
Individual bonds vs a bond fund or BulletShares ETF: which?
Individual Treasuries bought via TreasuryDirect or a brokerage cost nothing per trade and return par at maturity, full stop. Bond mutual funds and most ETFs have no defined maturity, so their share price moves continuously with rates and you can lose money holding them through a hike cycle. Defined-maturity ETFs (Invesco BulletShares, iShares iBonds) bridge the gap: each fund holds a basket of bonds maturing in one year, distributes a final NAV, and behaves like a synthetic rung. For ladders under $250k of capital they are operationally easier than buying 5-10 individual bonds.
What rung spacing should I pick?
Common choices: 1-5 year ladder for "near cash" income, 1-10 year for retirement bucket two, 1-30 year for true longevity matching. A 5-rung ladder rolls 20% of capital each year and stays near the short end of the curve, which is conservative but accepts lower yield. A 10-rung ladder captures the kink in the curve between 5 and 10 years and rolls 10% per year. Beyond 15 years, liquidity in individual issues drops sharply outside Treasuries.
How to use the Bond Ladder Calculator
The Bond Ladder Calculator is a browser-based tool that runs entirely on your device. Inputs you enter never reach a server - all calculations happen client-side in JavaScript. This means:
- Privacy: nothing is logged, sent, or stored by 3Tej. Inputs disappear when you close the tab.
- Speed: results update as you type. No network round trip.
- Offline use: once the page is cached, it works without internet.
- No signup: no account, no email, no rate limits.
Step by step
- Enter your inputs in the form above. Each field is labeled with its unit (currency, percent, kg, etc.) and the expected range.
- Read the result as it updates. The number reflects the formula commonly accepted in Bond Ladder-related calculations.
- Adjust to see sensitivity: change one input at a time and watch how the output moves. This is the fastest way to understand which variable matters most.
- Copy or screenshot the result for later reference. The page state persists for the session if your browser allows it.
When you would use this
- Quick estimates: when you need a number now and don't want to open a spreadsheet.
- Sensitivity analysis: testing how a result changes as inputs vary, before committing to a real-world decision.
- Comparison: running the same calculation with different inputs to compare options side by side.
- Learning: building intuition for how the underlying math behaves.
- Documentation: capturing a snapshot of inputs and outputs at a point in time.