Retirement Savings Calculator

How the Retirement Savings Calculator Works

How much will you have when you retire? This calculator projects your savings using your current balance, monthly contributions and an assumed rate of return, then adjusts for inflation so you can see what the money is worth in today's dollars. That second number is the one that matters when you compare it to your current cost of living.

How to Improve Your Retirement Outlook

• Capture the full employer match — it is an immediate return on your contribution.
• Raise contributions with each raise — even 1% a year makes a difference.
• Keep fees low — low-cost index funds keep more of your growth.
• Start early — see how in our compound interest guide.

Example: A 30-Year-Old Saver

A 30-year-old with $25,000 saved, adding $600 a month until 67 at a 6.5% return could reach roughly $1.3 million by retirement. At 2.5% inflation that is worth about $530,000 in today's buying power, which is the number to compare with your current living costs.

The gap between the two numbers is why planners recommend thinking in today's dollars and adjusting contributions upward as income grows.

How to Read Your Results

The balance at retirement is your projected nest egg in future dollars. The inflation-adjusted figure and the 4% rule-of-thumb income show what that money might provide each year in today's terms. Compare that income with your expected expenses minus any Social Security or pension.

Ways to Close a Gap

• Increase monthly contributions, even by $50 or $100.
• Capture the full employer match.
• Delay retirement or Social Security by a year or two.
• Reduce planned expenses or downsize later.

How the Retirement Projection Works

The calculator grows your current retirement savings and your monthly contributions to the age you enter, using the annual return you choose converted to a monthly rate. It then divides the final balance by (1 + inflation)^years to show what that money would be worth in today's buying power, and applies the 4% rule of thumb to estimate a first-year withdrawal. The 4% guideline, drawn from historical research, suggests withdrawing about 4% of your portfolio in year one and adjusting for inflation afterward, but it is not a guarantee and some planners suggest lower rates for very long retirements.

Projection Examples at Different Ages and Savings Rates

The table uses a 6.5% return, 2.5% inflation and a retirement age of 67:

Two lessons stand out. Starting earlier makes the required monthly contribution far smaller for the same outcome, and the inflation-adjusted figure is much lower than the headline number, so always plan with both. Estimate how a workplace plan helps with the 401(k) paycheck calculator.

Step-by-Step: How to Use This Calculator

1. Enter your current age and the age you expect to retire.
2. Add all current retirement balances: 401(k), IRA and other accounts.
3. Enter your total monthly contributions, including any employer match. Learn about matches in what a 401(k) match is.
4. Choose a conservative return. Try two or three values.
5. Set inflation between 2% and 3%.
6. Compare the inflation-adjusted balance and yearly income with your expected expenses.
7. Adjust contributions or retirement age until the plan looks workable.

What to Add on Top: Social Security and Other Income

Social Security, pensions, part-time work and rental income are additional to the amounts shown. Estimate your Social Security using your account at ssa.gov and read how Social Security benefits work and when to claim. Also plan for health care costs, which typically rise in retirement, and taxes on withdrawals from traditional accounts.

Ways to Improve Your Retirement Outlook

• Increase contributions by 1% each year.
• Capture the full employer match.
• Choose low-cost funds. See index funds explained and target-date funds.
• Use tax-advantaged accounts. Compare Roth and Traditional IRAs.
• Delay retirement or Social Security if possible.
• Reduce debt before retirement. See how to get out of debt.

Retirement Planning Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming you will need much less than you earn now without checking.
• Ignoring inflation and health care costs.
• Cashing out retirement accounts when changing jobs. See how to roll over a 401(k).
• Investing too conservatively for a long horizon, or too aggressively near retirement.
• Relying on Social Security alone.

Worked Example: A 35-Year-Old Saver

Consider a 35-year-old with $25,000 saved who contributes $600 a month until 67 (32 years) and earns 6.5% a year. The current savings grow to roughly $190,000, the contributions grow to about $740,000 and the total is near $930,000. At 2.5% inflation, that is worth about $420,000 in today's dollars, and a 4% withdrawal would provide roughly $16,800 a year in today's dollars. Add Social Security and any pension to see if that fits your target spending. If it does not, raising contributions to $1,000 a month lifts the total to about $1.4 million in future dollars.

Understanding the Inputs and Results

• Current age and retirement age: together set the number of years of growth.
• Current savings: combined balances of retirement accounts.
• Monthly contribution: include your own contributions and employer match.
• Expected return: a long-term average; use conservative values.
• Expected inflation: the rate at which prices are assumed to rise.

The result shows the projected balance in future dollars, the total contributions, the investment growth and the balance in today's dollars. The 4% rule lines show a rough yearly income in both future and current dollars. Compare the current-dollar amount with your present expenses to gauge readiness.

How much you actually need to retire comfortably

A commonly cited rule of thumb suggests aiming to replace about 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income annually, though your actual number depends heavily on your expected lifestyle, health care costs, whether your mortgage will be paid off, and how long you expect to live in retirement.

The 4% rule is another common guideline: it suggests you can withdraw about 4% of your retirement savings in the first year of retirement, adjusting for inflation afterward, without running out of money over a roughly 30-year retirement, though many financial planners now suggest being more conservative given market uncertainty and longer lifespans.

Adjusting your savings rate from your paycheck

If this calculator shows you're behind on your retirement savings goal, small increases to your contribution percentage, especially if timed with a raise so your take-home pay doesn't actually decrease, can meaningfully close the gap over time thanks to compound growth.

Employer 401(k) matching is essentially free money toward your retirement goal, so if you're not currently contributing enough to capture your full employer match, that's usually the first adjustment worth making before considering other retirement savings vehicles like an IRA.

Common Retirement Account Types

• 401(k) and 403(b): employer-sponsored plans with pre-tax or Roth contributions and possible matching. See 403(b) vs 401(k).
• Traditional IRA: individual account with possible tax deduction; withdrawals are taxed.
• Roth IRA: after-tax contributions; qualified withdrawals are tax-free. See Roth vs Traditional IRA.
• SEP IRA and Solo 401(k): options for self-employed workers. See self-employed tax deductions.
• HSA: can serve as a retirement health fund. See HSA vs FSA.

How to Read the 4% Rule Sensibly

The 4% guideline is a starting point for planning, not a promise. Historically, portfolios with a mix of stocks and bonds have supported inflation-adjusted withdrawals of about 4% for 30 years in many scenarios, but markets, inflation and your own spending will vary. If you expect a retirement longer than 30 years, such as retiring before 60, consider a lower starting rate. If you have flexible spending or other income sources, you may adjust withdrawals in down markets. Use the result as a check on whether your savings plan is heading in the right direction.

Retirement Savings results at a glance

These are the calculator's results at different values of current Age, with every other input left at the example values above (the bold row is the example). Use them to see how quickly the result changes before entering your own numbers.

What changing retirement Age does

Holding everything else at the example values, here is the effect of retirement Age:

Savings benchmarks by age

These widely used rules of thumb, published by large retirement plan providers, assume you want to replace most of your pre-retirement income with savings plus Social Security. Treat them as checkpoints, not rules: someone with a pension needs less, and someone planning to retire early needs more.