tools / finance
Retirement Savings Calculator
Estimate your retirement savings with monthly contributions, compound growth, and a target retirement age.
years
years
$
$
%
$
Estimated at Retirement
$1,188,181
$188,181 above your target
$235,000
Total Contributed
+$953,181
Investment Growth
35 yrs
Years to Retirement
$396/mo
Monthly Needed for Target
Savings milestones
Age 35
$71,237
Age 40
$136,784
Age 45
$229,705
Age 50
$361,432
Age 55
$548,171
Age 60
$812,898
Age 65
$1,188,181
FAQ
- How much do I need to retire?
- A common rule of thumb is the 25x rule: multiply your expected annual expenses by 25 to get your target nest egg. This is based on the 4% safe withdrawal rate — the idea that you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually with a low chance of running out of money over a 30-year retirement.
- What annual return should I use?
- The S&P 500 has historically returned about 10% per year nominally, or ~7% after inflation. 7% is a commonly used planning assumption for a diversified stock portfolio over a long time horizon. Use a lower number (5–6%) for a more conservative estimate or a mixed stock/bond portfolio.
- Does this account for inflation?
- This calculator uses nominal (before-inflation) returns. To get real purchasing power, use a real return rate (subtract estimated inflation from your expected return). If you expect 7% nominal returns and 3% inflation, use 4% as your rate for inflation-adjusted projections.
- What is the 4% rule?
- The 4% rule suggests you can safely withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one of retirement, then adjust that amount for inflation each year, with a high probability of the money lasting 30 years. A $1,000,000 portfolio would support $40,000/year in withdrawals under this rule.
ABOUT THIS TOOL
Enter your current retirement savings, a planned monthly contribution, an expected annual return, and the age you plan to retire, and the calculator projects your total balance at retirement using compound growth. It also works in reverse, solving for the monthly contribution needed to hit a specific target by a specific age. Because returns compound on both your contributions and previous gains, starting earlier has an outsized effect — a dollar contributed in your twenties has decades longer to grow than the same dollar contributed in your forties. The projection is only as reliable as the assumed rate of return, which real markets never deliver as a smooth, guaranteed line year after year.
HOW TO USE
- Enter your current retirement savings balance.
- Enter your planned monthly contribution.
- Enter an expected average annual rate of return.
- Enter your current age and target retirement age.
- Review the projected balance at retirement.
- Switch to solving for the required monthly contribution if you have a specific target amount instead.
COMMON USE CASES
- Someone in their twenties or thirties checking whether their current 401(k) contribution rate is on pace for retirement.
- Deciding how much of a raise should go toward increased retirement contributions versus other goals.
- Comparing the projected outcome of retiring at 62 versus 67 with the same contribution rate.
- Estimating how much an employer match effectively adds to total monthly contributions.
- Checking how a more conservative expected return assumption changes the retirement timeline.
TIPS & COMMON MISTAKES
- Starting a decade earlier often matters more than contributing a larger amount later, purely due to compounding.
- Include any employer matching contribution in the monthly amount, since it's part of the real account growth.
- Expected return is an assumption, not a guarantee — run the calculation at a couple of different rates to see a range rather than trusting one fixed number.
- This tool projects raw account growth without inflation, so consider running the resulting balance through an inflation calculator to see its future purchasing power.
MORE QUESTIONS
- What rate of return should I assume for the projection?
- Long-term market averages are commonly used as a rough planning assumption, but actual annual returns vary widely and are never guaranteed. It's more useful to test a conservative and an optimistic rate side by side than to anchor on a single assumed number.
- Does this account for taxes on withdrawals?
- No, it projects the account's raw growth. Tax treatment depends on the account type — traditional accounts are typically taxed on withdrawal while Roth accounts generally aren't — so factor that in separately based on where the money is held.
- How much does retiring five years earlier actually cost in the projection?
- It means fewer years of contributions and compounding growth, plus more years the balance needs to last. Run both target ages through the calculator and compare the projected balances directly to see the real gap.
- Why do two people who contribute the same total amount end up with different balances?
- Timing matters more than the total contributed. Money put in earlier in the timeline compounds for longer, so someone who front-loaded contributions will generally end up with more than someone who contributed the same total amount later.
RELATED GUIDES
How Much Do You Need to Save for Retirement?
How to estimate your retirement number, the 4% rule, contribution rates, account types, and what to do if you're starting late.
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