Retirement Calculator

A 30-year-old with $50,000 saved, contributing $10,000 a year with a 50% employer match, reaches about $1,281,578 in today's dollars by age 65. That nest egg supports $7,703 a month in retirement income but runs out at age 87 — three years short of a plan to age 90. Saving roughly $187 more per month closes the gap.

This retirement calculator projects your financial future year by year, from today through retirement, using your current savings, contributions, employer match, investment returns, Social Security, pension income, taxes, healthcare costs, and inflation. Enter your numbers and get projected savings at retirement, first-year income, a withdrawal rate, the age your money may last, and the extra monthly savings that would close a gap.

Whether you are wondering how much you need to retire, checking your retirement savings by age, or testing whether you can retire at 55 or retire at 60, this calculator gives you a clear starting point.

The calculator separates your plan into two phases. Before retirement, it projects savings growth using your current retirement balance, annual contributions, employer match, salary growth, and expected pre-retirement investment return. After retirement, it estimates annual withdrawals based on your spending target, Social Security, pension income, other income, taxes, healthcare costs, inflation, and post-retirement investment return.

The results include charts showing how your portfolio may grow and draw down, how much of your savings comes from contributions versus investment growth, and how retirement income compares with expenses year by year.

Start with your basic timeline. Enter your current age, planned retirement age, and life expectancy. These three numbers determine how many years you have to save and how many years your portfolio may need to support withdrawals.

Next, add your current retirement savings. Include balances from accounts such as a 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA, 403(b), TSP, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, brokerage account, or other long-term retirement investments. If you are not sure whether to include taxable brokerage assets, include them if you plan to use them for retirement spending.

Then enter how much you save each year. The annual contribution is this year's deposit, in today's dollars. Choose whether that amount rises with salary or stays the same. The employer match fields estimate additional savings from a workplace plan. For example, if your employer matches 50% of contributions up to 6% of salary, the calculator adds that match based on your income and annual contribution. The match rises as salary rises. Not sure how much to contribute? Try the 401(k) contribution calculator.

After that, enter investment assumptions. The pre-retirement return is used while you are still saving. The post-retirement return is used after retirement, when many people use a more conservative portfolio. The inflation rate increases future expenses and certain income streams over time.

Add retirement income sources next. Social Security, pension income, and other retirement income reduce how much your portfolio needs to cover. If you expect rental income, part-time work, annuity payments, dividends, or other recurring income, include it in the other retirement income field.

Finally, choose how to estimate retirement spending. You can use an income replacement percentage or enter a specific monthly retirement income target. The replacement method is faster. The monthly target is better if you already have a retirement budget.

Current Age, Retirement Age, And Life Expectancy

Your current age and retirement age determine your saving window. A longer saving window gives contributions and investment growth more time to compound. Your life expectancy determines how long the retirement phase lasts. A longer retirement requires more savings, lower withdrawals, more guaranteed income, or some combination of the three.

Do not treat life expectancy as a prediction of the exact age you will reach. It is a planning assumption. Many retirees plan beyond average life expectancy because running out of money late in life is one of the biggest retirement risks.

Current Retirement Savings

Current retirement savings is the amount you already have invested for retirement. This number is the starting point for the projection. A higher current balance usually has a large effect because it can compound for many years before retirement.

Include retirement assets you expect to use for future income. Do not include emergency savings, short-term cash, home equity, or college savings unless you realistically plan to use those assets for retirement spending. To see how long a specific amount might last, try how long will $1 million last in retirement or how long will $500K last in retirement.

Annual Contribution

Annual contribution is how much you add to retirement savings this year, in today's dollars. If you contribute to several accounts, combine the annual amounts. For example, someone saving $8,000 to a 401(k) and $3,000 to a Roth IRA would enter $11,000. Not sure how much to save? See how much should I save for retirement each month.

If contribution growth is set to rise with salary, that deposit increases every year at the salary growth rate. A flat contribution keeps the same dollar amount. The salary growth rate is in Advanced settings.

Small increases can matter because contributions affect the plan in two ways. They directly raise the amount saved, and they create more money that can earn investment growth over time.

Employer Match And Match Limit

Employer match estimates how much your employer contributes to your retirement plan. The match percentage is the amount your employer contributes relative to your contribution. The match limit is the maximum share of salary eligible for matching. Use the TSP match calculator if you are a federal employee.

Employer match is often one of the highest-value inputs in the calculator. If you are not contributing enough to receive the full match, the projection may understate what is possible if you increase contributions.

Investment Return Before And After Retirement

The pre-retirement return applies during the accumulation phase. This is when many people hold a growth-oriented portfolio because they have time before withdrawals begin.

The post-retirement return applies after retirement. Many retirees reduce risk because they are withdrawing money and have less time to recover from major losses. Using a lower return after retirement is usually more conservative than assuming the same return forever.

These return assumptions are averages, not guarantees. Real markets do not move in a straight line. A calculator projection is useful for planning, but it cannot predict exact investment performance.

Inflation Rate

Inflation increases future expenses. A retirement spending target that looks comfortable today may require much more money 20 or 30 years from now. The calculator adjusts future spending by the inflation rate so the projection does not treat today's dollars and future dollars as equal. Learn more in how inflation affects retirement savings.

Even a small difference in inflation can change the result. A plan that works at 2.5% inflation may look weaker at 4% inflation, especially for a long retirement.

Social Security Start Age

Social Security start age controls when Social Security income begins in the projection. Claiming earlier can provide income sooner, but monthly benefits are usually lower. Delaying can increase monthly benefits, but it requires other income or withdrawals in the meantime. See when to take Social Security: 62 vs 67 vs 70 for a detailed comparison.

Use an estimate from your Social Security account when possible, and use the estimate for the age you plan to start. The calculator treats that monthly amount as today's dollars and raises it with your inflation rate from today through retirement. It does not apply a separate reduction or increase for claiming early or late. If you are married, run separate scenarios for each spouse or use a calculator built for household Social Security planning, like the retirement calculator for couples.

Pension And Other Retirement Income

Pension income is the monthly check in today's dollars. You can let it rise with inflation or keep it fixed. Many private pensions do not have a cost-of-living adjustment, so a fixed pension is often the more cautious choice. Other retirement income can include rental income, annuity income, part-time work, royalties, or other recurring cash flow, and that income rises with inflation.

These income sources matter because they reduce the amount your portfolio needs to supply. A retiree with a strong pension and Social Security benefit may need a smaller portfolio than someone funding most expenses from savings.

Retirement Spending Target

The calculator can estimate spending with an income replacement rate or a specific monthly income target. An income replacement rate uses a percentage of your current income, such as 70% or 80%. This is useful when you do not have a retirement budget yet. For context, see what is a good retirement income.

A specific monthly target is usually better if you know your expected expenses. For example, if you estimate that housing, healthcare, food, transportation, travel, taxes, and insurance will cost $5,500 per month, enter that number instead of relying only on a rule of thumb. The retirement expense calculator and retirement spending calculator can help you build a more detailed estimate.

Healthcare Cost And Retirement Tax Rate

Healthcare costs are added on top of the spending target, so an income-replacement rate that already includes medical costs will count them twice if you also enter a healthcare amount. The monthly healthcare input is in today's dollars. It begins at the healthcare start age and rises at the healthcare inflation rate from today, which is usually faster than general inflation. If you retire before that start age, the years in between include no medical spending. For a deeper look, see how much does healthcare cost in retirement or use the retirement healthcare cost calculator.

The retirement tax rate estimates the tax drag on portfolio withdrawals. This is important because a $50,000 spending gap may require more than $50,000 in withdrawals if money comes from pre-tax accounts. Traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals are generally taxable, while Roth withdrawals may be tax-free if qualified. Learn about tax-efficient withdrawal strategies to keep more of your money.

The calculator projects one year at a time from your current age through life expectancy. Before retirement, it adds this year's contribution, a catch-up contribution when you have reached that age, and the employer match. The contribution rises with salary unless you choose a flat contribution. The catch-up amount is in today's dollars and rises with inflation. The pre-retirement return is applied to the balance at the start of the year.

At the retirement age, the projection switches to withdrawals. The balance at the start of that year, before the withdrawal, is the savings-at-retirement figure. Spending and Social Security are entered in today's dollars and raised with your inflation rate. Healthcare, when included, is added on top of spending and raised with the healthcare inflation rate from today. A pension either rises with inflation or stays at the monthly amount you entered.

The calculator subtracts Social Security, pension, and other income from that year's expenses. The portfolio has to cover what remains. If the retirement tax rate is above zero, the withdrawal is increased so the after-tax amount can pay the bill. The withdrawal cannot exceed the balance. The remaining balance then grows at the post-retirement return.

A year is fully funded when the balance can pay that tax-adjusted withdrawal. The plan is on track when every retirement year is fully funded. If it is not, the calculator solves for the extra amount you would need to save this year, with that extra amount growing the same way as your other contributions. When there are no working years left to save, it solves for a lower spending target instead.

Results can be shown in today's dollars or future dollars. Today's dollars are the default, so a balance decades away is shown in current purchasing power.

This calculator uses a year-by-year projection instead of one shortcut formula. Each year depends on your age, savings balance, contributions, income sources, expenses, taxes, inflation, healthcare costs, and expected investment return.

Timeline Formulas

The current age is a working year unless you have already reached retirement age. The retirement-age year and every later year use the withdrawal formula. The projection stops at life expectancy.

Retirement Spending Target

Income replacement uses today's income, not your expected final salary:

target monthly income = annual income x income replacement rate / 12

A specific monthly target is used directly:

target monthly income = desired monthly retirement income

Each retirement year inflates that target from today:

annual retirement spending = target monthly income x 12 x inflation factor

Pre-Retirement Savings Formula

The contribution entered is this year's deposit. When contributions rise with salary, next year's deposit grows with the salary growth rate. Catch-up contributions start at the catch-up age and are inflated from today.

catch-up = catch-up amount x inflation factor

employer match = min(salary x match limit, annual contribution) x employer match rate

annual contributions = annual contribution + catch-up + employer match

investment growth = current savings x pre-retirement return

ending savings = current savings + annual contributions + investment growth

next year's salary = current salary x (1 + salary growth rate)

next year's contribution = this year's contribution x (1 + salary growth rate)

The last contribution line applies only when contribution growth is set to rise with salary.

Retirement Withdrawal Formula

Social Security begins at the start age you enter. The monthly amount is today's dollars, inflated from today. The calculator does not apply a separate early or delayed claiming adjustment.

Social Security income = monthly Social Security x 12 x inflation factor

pension income = monthly pension x 12 x inflation factor

That pension formula applies when the pension keeps up with inflation. A fixed pension stays at monthly pension x 12 for every year.

other retirement income = monthly other income x 12 x inflation factor

Healthcare begins at the healthcare start age and uses the healthcare inflation rate from today:

healthcare cost = monthly healthcare cost x 12 x (1 + healthcare inflation rate) ^ years from today

total expenses = annual retirement spending + healthcare cost

gross portfolio withdrawal = max(0, total expenses - Social Security - pension - other income)

tax-adjusted withdrawal = gross portfolio withdrawal / (1 - retirement tax rate)

actual withdrawal = min(current savings, tax-adjusted withdrawal)

retirement growth = max(0, current savings - actual withdrawal) x post-retirement return

ending savings = max(0, current savings - actual withdrawal + retirement growth)

A retirement year is fully funded when tax-adjusted withdrawal is no larger than the savings available at the start of the year.

Result Formulas

The readiness score is 100 when every retirement year is fully funded. Otherwise it is the share of retirement years before the first shortfall:

if every retirement year is fully funded:
  readiness score = 100
else:
  readiness score = years covered / years in retirement x 100

A score of 100 means the projection pays the planned spending, taxes, and healthcare through life expectancy. A lower score means the balance cannot cover a later year. The extra monthly savings figure is the amount that closes that gap with compound growth. It is not the lifetime expense total divided by the number of months left.

There is no single retirement number that works for everyone. The amount you need depends on how much you spend, how long retirement lasts, how much guaranteed income you receive, how your investments perform, how taxes affect withdrawals, and how inflation changes future costs. For a detailed breakdown, read how much do I need to retire.

Two households with the same savings can have very different outcomes. A retiree who needs $4,000 per month and receives $3,000 from Social Security and a pension only needs the portfolio to cover the remaining gap. Another retiree who needs $7,000 per month and has little guaranteed income may need a much larger portfolio.

Rules of thumb can be useful starting points. Some planners use 70% to 80% of pre-retirement income as a spending target. Others use the 4% rule, withdrawing around 4% of the portfolio in the first year of retirement and adjusting for inflation. You can test this directly with the 4% rule withdrawal calculator. These shortcuts can help frame the problem, but they are not a replacement for a detailed projection.

The strongest retirement estimate starts with a real spending plan. Housing, healthcare, insurance, taxes, travel, food, transportation, debt, and family support can all change the amount needed. Use the calculator to compare several scenarios instead of relying on one perfect answer.

While every situation is different, these benchmarks can help you gauge where you stand. Many financial planners suggest saving a multiple of your annual salary by certain ages:

• By age 30: 1x your annual salary
• By age 40: 3x your annual salary
• By age 50: 6x your annual salary
• By age 55: 7x your annual salary
• By age 60: 8x your annual salary
• By age 67: 10x your annual salary

These are rough guidelines. Your actual target depends on your spending, income sources, and retirement age. See retirement savings by age for a more detailed breakdown, or use the retirement age calculator to find the right retirement age for your savings level.

The income replacement method estimates retirement spending as a percentage of current income. If you earn $100,000 and choose an 80% replacement rate, the calculator starts with an $80,000 annual retirement spending target before inflation adjustments.

This method is convenient, but it can be too broad. It may overstate needs for someone who will pay off a mortgage, move to a lower-cost area, or have lower taxes in retirement. It may understate needs for someone with high healthcare costs, rent, debt, family support, or major travel plans.

The monthly spending method is more direct. It asks how much income you want each month in retirement. This is often better for people who have already built a retirement budget.

Use income replacement for a quick estimate. Use monthly spending when you want a more realistic plan. If the two methods produce very different results, that is a sign to review your expected retirement expenses more carefully.

The retirement readiness result says whether every retirement year can be paid for under the assumptions you entered. It is a planning summary, not a guarantee. Use the Today's dollars and Future dollars switch to read the same projection in current purchasing power or in inflated future prices. Today's dollars are the default.

Savings at retirement is the portfolio balance when retirement starts, before the first withdrawal. It includes current savings, later contributions, employer match, catch-up contributions, salary growth, and investment growth.

Monthly retirement income is the income during the retirement-age year. It can include portfolio withdrawals, Social Security, pension income, and other income. Social Security is included only if benefits have already started.

The withdrawal rate is that first retirement year's withdrawal divided by the balance at retirement. A high rate is harder to sustain if markets fall early. Learn more in the 4% rule explained.

If the plan runs out of money, the result names an extra monthly contribution in today's dollars. That amount rises with your contribution rule and is the figure that keeps every later year funded. It is not a lifetime expense total divided by the months you have left.

The savings chart is the balance at the end of each year. The point just before the retirement marker is the nest egg. The contributions chart shows cumulative deposits and cumulative investment growth, not a single year's deposit. The income chart is the first retirement year. The cash flow chart compares income and expenses after that. The healthcare chart is medical spending added on top of the spending target.

If the results are weaker than expected, start with the inputs you can control. Increasing annual contributions is often the most direct improvement. Even a modest increase can compound over many years. If you feel behind, read is it too late to save for retirement — the answer is almost always no.

Capturing the full employer match is another high-impact step. If your employer offers a match and you are not contributing enough to receive it, that is usually worth reviewing.

Retiring later can improve the plan in several ways. It gives your savings more time to grow, shortens the withdrawal period, and may increase Social Security benefits if you delay claiming. Use the retirement age calculator to see how different retirement ages change your outcome.

Reducing retirement spending also has a large effect. Lower spending reduces annual withdrawals and can make a portfolio last longer. This does not always mean cutting lifestyle. It may mean paying off debt, relocating, optimizing taxes, or planning healthcare more carefully.

You can also improve the plan by increasing guaranteed income. Pension income, delayed Social Security, annuity income, rental income, or part-time work can reduce pressure on the portfolio.

Tax planning can help as well. Roth conversions, withdrawal sequencing, and managing taxable income may reduce future tax drag. Use conservative assumptions when testing returns, inflation, and healthcare costs. A plan that works under conservative assumptions is usually more durable.

The first common mistake is ignoring inflation. Retirement can last 25 to 35 years or more. A spending target that works today may not work decades from now. Use the inflation-adjusted retirement calculator to see the difference inflation makes.

Another mistake is using the same investment return before and after retirement. Many retirees hold a more conservative portfolio after they stop working. A lower post-retirement return may produce a more realistic estimate.

Many users also forget taxes. If most savings are in traditional retirement accounts, withdrawals may be taxable. That means the portfolio may need to withdraw more than the spending gap. Learn how 401(k) withdrawals are taxed in retirement.

Healthcare is another frequent blind spot. Medicare does not eliminate all healthcare costs, and pre-Medicare retirees (those retiring before age 65) may face especially high insurance premiums from the ACA marketplace or COBRA. Even after age 65, Medicare Part B premiums, Part D drug coverage, Medigap or Medicare Advantage costs, dental, vision, and long-term care can add up to thousands per year. See how much does healthcare cost in retirement.

Overestimating Social Security can also distort the plan. Use your actual Social Security estimate when possible. If you are decades from retirement, test a lower benefit scenario to see how sensitive the plan is. Learn more about how much you will get from Social Security.

Finally, do not treat one calculator result as final. Retirement planning is a moving target. Update the projection when income, savings, expenses, market values, tax law, health, or retirement goals change.

The best time to plan is now. Enter your numbers in the calculator above, review your results, and test different scenarios. Try adjusting your retirement age, savings rate, or spending target to see how small changes affect your long-term outlook.

If you want to go deeper, explore the retirement planning guide for beginners, build a detailed retirement budget, or browse all retirement calculators to find tools for specific questions like Roth conversions, RMDs, or Social Security timing. To see savings, income, expenses, taxes, and withdrawals in one projection, try the retirement budget calculator.