Realistic Retirement Calculator

Get a more accurate retirement projection by accounting for the details that matter most. This realistic retirement calculator models your financial future year-by-year, factoring in Social Security timing, pension income, part-time work, healthcare costs, taxes, and inflation. Enter your specific numbers to see your retirement readiness score, projected savings, and how long your money is likely to last.

This tool is for anyone who wants to move beyond basic savings estimates and build a more durable plan. It's perfect if you're trying to figure out how much you need to retire with greater confidence or want to test different income scenarios using the retirement income calculator. It helps answer the critical question: is my plan truly realistic?

The calculator projects your finances through two distinct phases. Before retirement, it grows your savings based on your contributions, expected salary raises, and investment returns. After retirement, it simulates withdrawals by calculating your inflation-adjusted expenses, subtracting all income sources (like Social Security and pensions), and then withdrawing the remaining amount needed from your portfolio, accounting for taxes. The results are displayed in easy-to-understand charts and a summary dashboard.

Begin with the "Basic Information" section. Enter your current age, planned retirement age, current savings balance, and how much you contribute monthly. Add your expected average annual investment return and a life expectancy for planning purposes. Most planners suggest using age 90 or 95 to reduce the risk of outliving your money.

Next, move to "Retirement Income Sources." This is where the calculator gets realistic. Add your estimated monthly Social Security benefit and the age you plan to claim it. If you have a pension, enter the monthly amount and its start age. You can also model the impact of part-time work by adding annual income and the age you expect to stop working.

Then, define your "Retirement Expenses." Enter your expected annual living expenses in today's dollars. A separate field for annual healthcare costs allows you to model this critical expense more accurately. Finally, set a long-term inflation rate assumption. You can find detailed spending estimates using our retirement expense calculator.

For an even more detailed projection, open the "Advanced Settings." Here you can specify your current effective tax rate (which impacts the after-tax value of your contributions), your expected tax rate in retirement (which affects withdrawals), and an annual raise percentage to model how your contributions might increase over time.

Current Age, Retirement Age, and Life Expectancy

These three inputs establish the timeline for your entire financial plan. The time between your current age and retirement age is your accumulation phase—the years you have left to save. The time between your retirement age and life expectancy is your distribution phase—the years your portfolio needs to fund your lifestyle. A longer retirement requires more savings.

Current Savings and Monthly Contribution

Your current savings is the starting point for the projection. Your monthly contribution is the engine of its future growth. Be sure to include all retirement accounts, such as your 401(k), Roth IRA, and taxable brokerage accounts intended for retirement.

Annual Return

This is your estimated average annual return on investments. This should be a long-term average, as markets fluctuate year to year. A common assumption for a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds is 6-8%. It's often wise to use a slightly more conservative number for planning purposes.

Social Security (Monthly) and Social Security Start Age

Your Social Security benefit is a crucial source of inflation-adjusted income. You can find your personalized estimate on the official Social Security Administration website. The age you start benefits has a major impact; claiming at 62 results in a reduced benefit, while delaying past your full retirement age (67 for most) until 70 increases it significantly. Use the Social Security break-even calculator to compare claiming strategies.

Pension (Monthly) and Pension Start Age

If you have a defined benefit pension, enter the monthly amount you expect to receive. This income reduces the amount you need to withdraw from your investment portfolio. If you don't have a pension, leave this as zero.

Part-Time Income (Annual) and Part-Time Work Until Age

Many people transition into retirement by working part-time. This "bridge income" can be powerful, as it allows your portfolio to continue growing untouched for a few more years. Enter any expected annual income and the age you plan to fully stop working.

Annual Living Expenses

This is your estimated annual spending in retirement, not including healthcare, in today's dollars. A good starting point is 70-80% of your pre-retirement income, but a detailed retirement budget provides a much more accurate figure.

Annual Healthcare Costs

Healthcare is one of the biggest expenses in retirement. This input allows you to budget for it separately. Include estimated costs for Medicare premiums, copays, and other out-of-pocket expenses. For a more detailed analysis, use the retirement healthcare cost calculator.

Inflation Rate

Inflation erodes the purchasing power of your money over time. A 2.5% to 3% assumption is common for long-term planning. The calculator uses this rate to increase your future expenses, ensuring your plan accounts for a rising cost of living. Learn more about how inflation affects retirement savings.

Tax & Growth Settings (Advanced)

Your Current Effective Tax Rate helps estimate the after-tax value of your contributions. Your Retirement Tax Rate is critical for projecting withdrawals; since withdrawals from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs are taxed, you need to withdraw more than your spending gap to cover the taxes. See our guide on how 401(k) withdrawals are taxed. The Annual Salary Raise automatically increases your monthly contributions each year, simulating pay increases.

This calculator uses a sophisticated year-by-year cash flow projection to model your financial life.

Before Retirement (Accumulation Phase): For each year until you retire, the calculator starts with your current balance. It adds your after-tax monthly contributions (which are increased annually by your "Annual Salary Raise" percentage) and then applies the "Annual Return" to the total balance to calculate investment growth.

After Retirement (Distribution Phase): Once you reach retirement age, the logic shifts. For each year in retirement:

1. It calculates your total inflation-adjusted expenses by adding your living expenses and healthcare costs, both increased by the inflation rate.
2. It calculates your total inflation-adjusted income from non-portfolio sources like Social Security, pensions, and part-time work.
3. It determines the income gap: Total Expenses - Total Income.
4. It calculates the required portfolio withdrawal. If there is an income gap, the calculator determines the gross amount you need to withdraw to cover both the gap and the taxes on the withdrawal, using your "Retirement Tax Rate." For example, to cover a $40,000 gap with a 15% tax rate, you'd need to withdraw roughly $47,058.
5. It updates your portfolio balance. The gross withdrawal is subtracted from your balance, and then the "Annual Return" is applied to the remaining amount.

This process repeats every year until your life expectancy or until the balance reaches zero. The final readiness score is based on how long your money lasts compared to your planned retirement duration.

The calculator performs a sequential, year-by-year calculation. Here are the core formulas used for each year's projection.

Inflation Adjustment

inflation multiplier = (1 + inflation rate) ^ years from now

Pre-Retirement Annual Calculation

annual contribution for year = (monthly contribution * 12) * (1 + annual raise) ^ years from now
after-tax contribution = annual contribution for year * (1 - current effective tax rate)
investment growth = previous year balance * annual return rate
end-of-year balance = previous year balance + after-tax contribution + investment growth

Post-Retirement Annual Calculation

annual living expenses = base annual expenses * inflation multiplier
annual healthcare costs = base healthcare costs * inflation multiplier
total annual expenses = annual living expenses + annual healthcare costs

social security income = base social security benefit * 12 * inflation multiplier (if age >= start age)
pension income = base pension benefit * 12 * inflation multiplier (if age >= start age)
part-time income = base part-time income * inflation multiplier (if age < end age)
total non-portfolio income = social security income + pension income + part-time income

income gap = max(0, total annual expenses - total non-portfolio income)
gross portfolio withdrawal = income gap / (1 - retirement tax rate)
actual withdrawal = min(gross portfolio withdrawal, previous year balance)

investment growth = (previous year balance - actual withdrawal) * annual return rate
end-of-year balance = (previous year balance - actual withdrawal) + investment growth

Many basic retirement calculators completely ignore healthcare, or they lump it in with general expenses. This is a critical oversight. Healthcare costs are one of the largest and fastest-growing expenses for retirees, often rising at a rate higher than general inflation.

By providing separate inputs for annual healthcare costs, this calculator allows you to stress-test your plan against this significant financial challenge. Before you turn 65, you'll need to budget for health insurance premiums, which can be substantial. After 65, Medicare covers a large portion of costs, but you are still responsible for Part B and Part D premiums, copays, deductibles, and costs not covered by Medicare, such as dental, vision, and long-term care.

A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2026 could need over $350,000 in savings just to cover healthcare expenses throughout retirement. Use our dedicated retirement healthcare cost calculator to get a more personalized estimate, and read our guide on how much healthcare costs in retirement to understand the components.

Taxes don't stop when you retire. In fact, managing them becomes even more critical. This calculator's advanced settings let you model the impact of taxes both before and after retirement.

Your Retirement Tax Rate is especially important. Most retirement savings are in tax-deferred accounts like a traditional 401(k) or IRA. This means every dollar you withdraw is taxed as ordinary income. If you need $60,000 for living expenses and your effective tax rate is 15%, you must withdraw approximately $70,600 to net $60,000 after taxes. Ignoring this "tax drag" can cause you to underestimate how quickly you'll deplete your savings.

A realistic plan involves tax diversification—having savings in tax-deferred, tax-free (Roth), and taxable accounts. This provides flexibility to manage your taxable income each year. Explore strategies like Roth conversions and learn about the best order to withdraw from retirement accounts to make your money last longer.

• Retirement Readiness Score: A high-level indicator of your plan's strength. A score over 75 suggests you're on a solid track, 50-75 means you're on the right path but could improve, and below 50 indicates a potential shortfall that requires action.
• Balance at Retirement: The projected value of your portfolio on the day you retire. This is the nest egg you'll rely on to generate income.
• Money Lasts Until: The age at which your portfolio is projected to run out. Ideally, this age is at or beyond your life expectancy.
• Annual Retirement Income: Your total income from Social Security, pensions, and part-time work in your first year of retirement.
• Annual Income Gap: The amount your first-year expenses exceed your guaranteed income. This gap must be filled by portfolio withdrawals.
• Portfolio Balance Over Time Chart: This visualizes the entire lifespan of your savings, showing the growth during your working years and the gradual drawdown in retirement. A steep decline early in retirement is a red flag.
• Retirement Income vs. Expenses Chart: This stacked bar chart breaks down where your money comes from each year in retirement (Social Security, pension, withdrawals) and compares it to your total expenses.

If your score is lower than you'd like, don't panic. You have several levers to pull:

1. Increase Your Contributions: Even a small increase in your monthly savings can have a massive impact over time due to compounding. Use the 401(k) contribution calculator to see how changes affect your balance.
2. Delay Retirement: Working just a few extra years can dramatically improve your outlook. It gives your savings more time to grow and shortens the number of years you need to fund in retirement. Test scenarios with the retirement age calculator.
3. Optimize Social Security: Delaying your Social Security benefits until age 70 can increase your monthly payment by over 70% compared to claiming at 62. This provides a larger, inflation-protected income stream for life.
4. Reduce Planned Expenses: Re-evaluating your retirement budget can make a big difference. Could you downsize your home, relocate to a lower-cost area, or spend less on discretionary categories?
5. Consider Part-Time Work: As shown in the calculator, even a modest income for the first 5-10 years of retirement can significantly reduce the strain on your portfolio.
6. Review Your Assumptions: Are your investment return expectations too high or your inflation estimate too low? Running the numbers with more conservative assumptions can create a more resilient plan. If you feel you are behind, see our guide on if it's too late to save for retirement.

1. Underestimating Life Expectancy: Planning to live only to the average age of 80 is risky. Half the population lives longer. It's safer to plan for age 90 or 95.
2. Forgetting Inflation: A $60,000 annual budget today will require over $100,000 in 20 years with 2.5% inflation. Always use an inflation-adjusted retirement calculator.
3. Ignoring Healthcare Costs: Failing to budget for rising medical expenses is one of the fastest ways to derail a retirement plan.
4. Ignoring Taxes: Assuming you can withdraw the exact amount you need without accounting for taxes on withdrawals from pre-tax accounts leads to a significant underestimation of your needs.
5. Being Too Optimistic: Using overly high investment return assumptions can make a weak plan look strong. It's better to be conservative and be pleasantly surprised.