Retirement Calculator
Free retirement calculator. Project your retirement savings with compound growth, monthly contributions and inflation adjustment.
Your plan
Projected savings at age 65
$1,188,181
≈ $500,665 in today's money after inflation
Years to grow
35
You contribute
$235,000
Market growth
$953,181
Monthly income (4% rule)
$3,961
How to read this
- • Projected savings assumes your returns compound monthly at the annual rate you chose.
- • Today's dollars shows what that amount would feel like now, after 2.5% yearly inflation.
- • The 4% rule is a common guideline: withdraw 4% of your portfolio per year in retirement.
Retirement planning comes down to four numbers: what you have saved, what you add each month, how long that money compounds, and what it will actually buy after inflation. This calculator projects all four and tells you the balance you are on track to reach.
The most valuable thing it shows is the cost of waiting. Starting at 25 instead of 35 roughly doubles the final balance for the same monthly contribution — not because you saved twice as much, but because the first decade of compounding is the one that does the heavy lifting.
How to use the Retirement Calculator
Enter your current age and target retirement age
The gap between them is your growth window. Most US plans assume 65 or 67, the full Social Security retirement age for those born after 1960.
Enter your current savings
Add together 401(k), IRA, and any taxable investment accounts earmarked for retirement.
Add your monthly contribution
Include your employer match — it is part of the money going in, and it is the highest guaranteed return available anywhere.
Set an expected return rate
6%–7% is a reasonable long-run assumption for a diversified stock-heavy portfolio after fees. Use less if you are close to retirement and more conservatively invested.
Review the projection
Compare the nominal balance with the inflation-adjusted figure — the second is what your money will genuinely buy.
How much do you actually need?
Two rules of thumb dominate US planning. The 25× rule says you need 25 times your annual spending invested — the flip side of the 4% withdrawal rule. The 80% rule says you will need about 80% of your pre-retirement income each year, since commuting, payroll taxes and retirement contributions all stop.
| Annual spending in retirement | Target portfolio (25×) |
|---|---|
| $40,000 | $1,000,000 |
| $60,000 | $1,500,000 |
| $80,000 | $2,000,000 |
| $100,000 | $2,500,000 |
Subtract expected Social Security income first. The average benefit is roughly $1,900 a month in 2025 — about $23,000 a year, which reduces the portfolio you need by around $570,000.
The 4% rule and its limits
The 4% rule, from the 1998 Trinity Study, found that withdrawing 4% of a portfolio in year one and adjusting for inflation thereafter survived every 30-year period in the historical record.
It is a useful starting point, not a guarantee. It assumes a 50/50 to 75/25 stock-bond portfolio, ignores fees and taxes, and was built on 30-year retirements. If you retire at 50, or into a poor sequence of early returns, many planners suggest 3.25%–3.5% instead, or a flexible rule that trims spending after bad years.
Why starting early beats saving more
Three savers, each contributing $500 a month until 65, at a 7% return:
| Starts at | Total contributed | Balance at 65 |
|---|---|---|
| Age 25 | $240,000 | ≈ $1,310,000 |
| Age 35 | $180,000 | ≈ $610,000 |
| Age 45 | $120,000 | ≈ $260,000 |
The 25-year-old contributes only $60,000 more than the 35-year-old but ends with roughly $700,000 more. Compounding rewards time far more than amount.
2025 contribution limits
| Account | Limit | Catch-up at 50+ |
|---|---|---|
| 401(k), 403(b), 457 | $23,500 | +$7,500 |
| Traditional / Roth IRA | $7,000 | +$1,000 |
| HSA (individual) | $4,300 | +$1,000 at 55+ |
| HSA (family) | $8,550 | +$1,000 at 55+ |
A sensible priority order: contribute enough to get the full employer match, then max the HSA if you have one, then an IRA, then the rest of the 401(k).
Traditional or Roth?
- Traditional — contributions reduce taxable income now; withdrawals are taxed in retirement. Better if you expect a lower tax rate later.
- Roth — contributions are made from taxed income; qualified withdrawals are entirely tax-free, and there are no required minimum distributions. Better if you expect a higher rate later, which is usually the case early in a career.
- Employer match is always traditional in tax treatment, even if your own contributions are Roth.
- Holding some of each gives you flexibility to control your taxable income year by year in retirement.
What this projection cannot know
Any long projection assumes a smooth average return. Real markets deliver 20% one year and −15% the next, and the order of those returns matters — a crash in your first two years of retirement does far more damage than the same crash a decade later.
Treat the result as a direction of travel, not a promise. Re-run it once a year, and consider a fee-only fiduciary adviser as the balance grows.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I have saved by each age?
A widely used benchmark from Fidelity: 1× your salary by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60 and 10× by 67. These are guidelines, not rules — being behind is a reason to raise contributions, not to give up.
What return rate should I assume?
The S&P 500 has averaged roughly 10% nominal and about 7% after inflation over the long run. Using 6%–7% for a stock-heavy portfolio is reasonable; use less as you shift toward bonds near retirement.
Does this include Social Security?
No — it projects your own savings only. Estimate your benefit at ssa.gov and subtract that annual income from your spending target before deciding how large a portfolio you need.
What is the 4% rule?
A guideline that withdrawing 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement, then adjusting that amount for inflation, historically lasted at least 30 years. Retiring early or into weak markets argues for a lower starting rate.
Should I pay off debt or invest first?
Clear high-interest debt above roughly 7%–8% first — that is a guaranteed return no market can match. But always contribute enough to capture a full employer match first; a 50% match is an instant 50% return.
Why adjust for inflation?
At 3% inflation, $1,000,000 in 30 years buys what about $412,000 buys today. A projection that ignores inflation flatters the result badly.
What if I am starting late?
Use catch-up contributions from 50, delay retirement if you can — each extra year both adds savings and shortens the drawdown — and consider delaying Social Security to 70, which raises the benefit by about 8% a year.
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