Retirement Calculator
Enter your values below and click Calculate for instant results.
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Project your retirement savings and find out if you are on track. Enter your current savings, monthly contributions, expected return, and target income in retirement.
Enter your values below and click Calculate for instant results.
A retirement calculator projects how much money you'll have saved by the time you plan to retire, based on what you've already saved, what you're adding each month, how long you have to save, and what return you expect on those savings. It also helps answer the reverse question: given how much monthly income you want in retirement, how large does your nest egg need to be?
💡 The 4% Rule: financial planners often use 4% as a sustainable annual withdrawal rate from a retirement portfolio. If you need $4,000/month in retirement ($48,000/year), your target nest egg is $48,000 ÷ 0.04 = $1,200,000. This calculator applies that rule to show whether you're on track.
Time and consistency are the two most powerful factors in retirement savings. Someone who starts saving $400 a month at age 25 and earns an average 7% return ends up with significantly more at 65 than someone who starts at 35 saving $800 a month — even though the late starter contributed more total dollars. The early years of compounding are irreplaceable.
Historically, a diversified stock portfolio has returned an average of about 7% annually after inflation over long periods. That doesn't mean every year is positive — there will be down years — but over 20 to 40 years, the historical average provides a reasonable planning assumption. More conservative portfolios with more bonds might use 4–5%, while more aggressive equity-heavy portfolios might assume 8–9%.
This calculator focuses on personal savings and doesn't account for Social Security benefits, which for many people will supplement their savings meaningfully. The Social Security Administration provides an estimate of your projected benefit based on your earnings history, which you can look up at ssa.gov. Adding that projected benefit to your monthly picture can significantly change how large a personal nest egg you actually need.
If the calculator shows you falling short, there are several levers to adjust: increasing monthly contributions, working a few additional years, adjusting expected spending in retirement, or accepting a higher-return but higher-risk investment approach. Even small increases in monthly contributions compounded over many years can close significant gaps.