Retirement Calculator
See how big your retirement pot could grow, what it is worth after inflation, and the monthly income a sustainable withdrawal rate could give you.
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Retirement is the biggest savings goal most people ever have, and the hardest to picture, because it sits decades away and depends on returns no one can promise. A projection won’t predict the future, but it shows whether you are roughly on track, and how much difference starting earlier, saving more or earning a slightly better return would make.
How to use the retirement calculator
- Enter your current age and the age you want to retire.
- Enter what you have saved for retirement now, across all your retirement accounts.
- Enter your monthly contribution, including any employer match.
- Enter an expected return per year before inflation, and an inflation rate.
- Enter a withdrawal rate, the share of your pot you plan to take out in your first year of retirement. 4% is a common starting point.
You get the projected balance at retirement, its value in today’s dollars, the monthly income it could support, how much of the pot you paid in yourself and how much came from growth.
How the projection works
The calculator compounds monthly, at the yearly return ÷ 12, and adds your contribution at the end of each month:
Pot = P × (1 + r)^n + C × ((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r
Pot in today's dollars = Pot ÷ (1 + inflation)^years
Monthly income = Pot in today's dollars × withdrawal rate ÷ 12P is your current savings, C the monthly contribution, r the monthly return and n the number of months until you retire. The income figure follows the idea behind the 4% rule: take that share in year one, then raise it with inflation each year.
Worked example
You are 35, plan to retire at 65 and have $50,000 saved. You contribute $600 a month and expect a 7% return, with 2.5% inflation and a 4% withdrawal rate.
- n = 30 × 12 = 360 months, r = 0.07 ÷ 12
- Your $50,000 grows to about $406,000, and the contributions to about $732,000
- Savings at retirement ≈ $1,137,807.47
- Total you contribute = 50,000 + 600 × 360 = $266,000.00
- Investment growth = 1,137,807.47 − 266,000 = $871,807.47
- In today’s dollars = 1,137,807.47 ÷ 1.025^30 ≈ $542,441.39
- Monthly income = 542,441.39 × 4% ÷ 12 ≈ $1,808.14
Growth supplies more than three quarters of the final pot. The inflation adjustment matters as much: the headline figure is over a million, but it buys what about $542,000 buys today.
Why starting early matters so much
Saving $600 a month at 7%, starting from zero and retiring at 65:
| Start at | You contribute | Savings at 65 |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | $288,000 | $1,574,888.04 |
| 35 | $216,000 | $731,982.60 |
| 45 | $144,000 | $312,556.00 |
Starting at 25 instead of 35 means paying in $72,000 more, but it ends with more than twice as much, because those early dollars compound for an extra decade.
Tips
- Take the full employer match. It is an instant return on your money that no investment reliably beats.
- Test a lower return. At 5% instead of 7%, the worked example ends with about $722,742 instead of $1.14 million. If your plan only works at the higher rate, consider saving more.
- Raise contributions with your pay. Increasing your contribution by 1% of salary each year is easy to absorb and adds up over decades.
- Recheck once a year. Enter your real balance and see whether you are ahead of or behind the plan.
Common mistakes
- Reading the nominal figure as spending power. Always look at the today’s-dollars line before deciding a pot is big enough.
- Ignoring fees. A 1% annual fee can take a fifth or more of a pot over 30 years. Subtract fees from the expected return.
- Assuming steady returns. Real markets go up and down. A crash just before or after you retire hurts most, which is why many people move part of their savings into safer assets as retirement approaches.
- Treating 4% as a guarantee. The rule was built on past US market history and a 30-year retirement. A longer retirement or lower future returns may call for a lower rate.
This calculator gives general information, not financial advice. For decisions about your own pension or retirement accounts, consider speaking to a qualified adviser.
Frequently asked questions
What return should I assume?
Many planners use 5–7% a year for a mostly-stock portfolio over decades, before inflation, and less for a cautious mix of bonds and cash. Past returns don't guarantee future ones, so try a lower rate too and see whether your plan still works.
What is the 4% rule?
It comes from US research in the 1990s, including William Bengen's 1994 study and the later Trinity study, which found that withdrawing 4% of a balanced portfolio in the first year, then the same amount adjusted for inflation, lasted at least 30 years in almost every historical period. It is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee.
Why is the result shown in today's dollars?
A million dollars in 30 years will buy much less than a million dollars today. Dividing by the cumulative inflation shows what your pot would be worth in today's prices, which is the number that tells you what lifestyle it could pay for.
Does this include Social Security or a pension?
No. It only projects your own savings. Add the income from any state pension, Social Security or workplace pension to the monthly income shown to see your total retirement income.
Are taxes and fees included?
No. Investment fees reduce your return, so subtract them from the expected return. A 7% return with 0.5% in fees is effectively 6.5%. Withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts such as a traditional 401(k) are taxed as income when you take them.