Retirement Savings Calculator

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Retirement Savings Calculator

Estimate your retirement savings and financial future.

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Used to estimate sustainable monthly retirement income (the "4% rule").
Quick Tips
  • Starting 10 years earlier can matter more than contributing twice as much later.
  • The 4% withdrawal rule is a rough guideline, not a guarantee — your real safe rate depends on markets and how long retirement lasts.
  • Always compare the inflation-adjusted (real) numbers, not just the future dollar total.
  • Employer 401(k) matches are free money — contribute at least enough to capture the full match before anything else.

Total Retirement Savings

$1,188,181
Monthly Income
$3,961
Investment Gains
$953,181
Total Contributions
$235,000
Years to Retirement
35
AgeContributionsBalanceGains
Real Value Today
$0
Real Monthly Income
$0

Last updated: August 10, 2026

How This Retirement Calculator Works

This calculator compounds your current savings and monthly contributions month by month, at your expected annual return, until your target retirement age. It then applies the "4% rule" (adjustable in Advanced Options) to estimate a sustainable monthly retirement income, and shows both the future-dollar totals and their inflation-adjusted "real" equivalents.

The Retirement Savings Gap, in Real Numbers

The average American retiree has meaningfully less saved than financial guidance recommends — a common rule of thumb suggests having roughly 10-12 times your final salary saved by retirement age. On a $75,000 income, that's $750,000-$900,000, an amount most people underestimate because they don't fully account for how long retirement lasts (often 25-30+ years), how much healthcare costs in retirement, or how inflation compounds over decades.

Why Starting Early Beats Contributing More Later

With this calculator's own defaults — starting at age 30 with $25,000 saved and $500/month at a 7% return — the projected balance at 65 is roughly $1,188,000. Someone who instead starts the same $500/month plan at age 40 ends up with roughly $548,000 by 65 — less than half — and would need contributions of well over double that amount every month just to catch up to the early starter's balance. Ten fewer years of compounding, not a lack of effort, accounts for nearly the entire gap.

Understanding the 4% Withdrawal Rule

The 4% rule is a widely referenced guideline: withdraw about 4% of your balance in your first year of retirement, then adjust that dollar amount for inflation each year after, and historically your savings had a reasonably good chance of lasting 30 years. It's an approximation drawn from historical market data, not a guarantee — some planners now recommend a more conservative 3-3.5% given longer life expectancies and more uncertain future returns, which is why this calculator lets you adjust the withdrawal rate directly.

Nominal vs. Real: Why Two Numbers Matter

Your projected balance is shown in future, un-adjusted dollars — but a dollar decades from now buys less than a dollar today. At 3% inflation, prices roughly double every 24 years. The "Real Value Today" and "Real Monthly Income" figures convert your projection back into today's purchasing power, giving a more honest picture of what your retirement will actually feel like financially.

Don't Leave an Employer Match on the Table

If your employer offers a 401(k) match, it's effectively an immediate, guaranteed return on your own contribution — something no other investment reliably offers. Most financial guidance suggests contributing at least enough to capture the full match before directing extra savings anywhere else, since skipping it means walking away from free money before you've even started investing.

How we calculate this

Method
Future value of a growing annuity
Formula
Balance is compounded annually and contributions are added each period, then drawn down at the withdrawal rate you set
Source
Standard future-value-of-an-annuity arithmetic.
Limitations
Projections assume a constant return and constant contributions. Sequence-of-returns risk, tax treatment and inflation are not modelled.
Last reviewed

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Frequently Asked Questions

It projects your retirement balance by compounding your current savings plus monthly contributions at your expected annual return, month by month, until your retirement age. It then applies the "4% rule" (adjustable) to estimate a sustainable monthly retirement income, and adjusts both figures for inflation.

It's a widely cited retirement planning guideline suggesting you can withdraw about 4% of your retirement savings in the first year, then adjust that amount for inflation each year after, with a reasonably low risk of running out of money over a ~30-year retirement. It's an approximation based on historical market returns, not a guarantee — some planners now suggest a more conservative 3-3.5% given lower expected future returns and longer lifespans.

A common rule of thumb is 10-12 times your final salary by retirement age, though the right number depends heavily on your desired lifestyle, expected Social Security or pension income, healthcare costs, and how long you expect retirement to last. This calculator lets you see whether your current savings rate is on track for your own numbers rather than relying on a generic multiple.

A diversified stock-heavy portfolio has historically averaged roughly 7-10% annually before inflation over long periods, though any given year varies widely. Many retirement calculators default to 6-7% as a moderately conservative long-run assumption — using a lower number gives a more cautious, less optimistic projection.

Compounding is exponential — money invested early has far more compounding periods ahead of it. Someone who starts contributing at 25 instead of 35 can often end up with a substantially larger balance at retirement even with smaller monthly contributions, simply because those extra 10 years let growth build on itself.

Your total balance at retirement is shown in future, inflation-inflated dollars. "Real Value Today" converts that back into today's purchasing power using your inflation rate assumption, since a dollar decades from now buys less than a dollar today. It's the more meaningful number for understanding what your retirement will actually feel like financially.

No — it only projects savings you contribute and grow yourself. If you expect Social Security, a pension, or other guaranteed income in retirement, treat this calculator's income estimate as a supplement to those sources, not your total retirement income.

No — it shows pre-tax growth and withdrawal estimates. Actual after-tax retirement income depends heavily on account type (traditional 401(k)/IRA vs. Roth vs. taxable brokerage) and your tax situation at withdrawal time, which vary too much person to person to generalize here.

A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored account, often with a matching contribution. A traditional IRA is an individual account with similar tax-deferred treatment. Roth versions of both use after-tax contributions with tax-free withdrawals in retirement. A taxable brokerage account has no special tax treatment but no contribution limits or withdrawal restrictions either. This calculator models the growth math the same way regardless of account type — the tax treatment is a separate consideration.

Generally, yes — an employer match is an immediate, guaranteed return on your contribution that's hard to beat with any other investment. Most financial guidance suggests contributing at least enough to capture the full match before directing extra savings elsewhere.

Even modest increases compound meaningfully over a long horizon — adjust the "Monthly Contribution" field and watch how the projected balance and monthly income change. Because of compounding, an increase made earlier in your working years has more impact than the same increase made later.

Yes. While starting earlier is more powerful due to compounding, contributing at any age still grows your balance and reduces reliance on other income sources. The "Late Starter" quick scenario above shows a realistic example of starting to save seriously in your mid-40s.

Inflation erodes purchasing power over time — at 3% inflation, prices roughly double every 24 years. A retirement balance that sounds large in future dollars may only have modest real purchasing power by the time you retire, which is why the "real" (inflation-adjusted) figures matter as much as the nominal ones.

Yes — adjust the "Retirement Age" field to any value between 50 and 80. Retiring earlier gives your savings less time to grow and more years to fund from withdrawals; retiring later does the opposite, often substantially increasing your projected balance and monthly income.

They're preset combinations (Young Starter, Mid-Career, Late Starter) representing common real-world starting points, so you can quickly see how the math plays out for a profile similar to yours before fine-tuning the exact numbers.

It's the difference between your total projected balance and your total contributions (your own money in) — in other words, how much of your retirement balance came purely from compound growth rather than from money you personally set aside.

They use a constant assumed annual return applied consistently, which is a simplification — real markets are volatile and returns vary year to year, sometimes significantly. Treat the results as a directional planning estimate, not a guaranteed outcome.

Many investors gradually shift toward more conservative assets (more bonds, less stock) as retirement approaches, to reduce the risk of a market downturn right before they need to start withdrawing. This calculator uses a single constant return assumption and doesn't model that kind of glide-path shift.

Yes — enter your actual current age, savings, and contribution rate, and compare the projected real (inflation-adjusted) monthly income against what you think you'll need. If it falls short, try increasing your monthly contribution or adjusting your target retirement age to see what closes the gap.

Some planners suggest a more conservative 3-3.5% for very long retirements or more cautious assumptions about future market returns, while others suggest more flexible, dynamic withdrawal strategies that adjust with market performance. Try a few different rates in the Advanced Options to see how sensitive your income estimate is to this assumption.

Yes — use "Copy Link" to get a URL that encodes your exact inputs, or export the full year-by-year breakdown as PDF, CSV, Excel, or JSON using the buttons below your results.

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Total Retirement Savings
$1,188,181
View Breakdown