Retirement calculator

One common shorthand is 25 times your expected yearly spending, which pairs with the 4% rule: withdraw 4% of the balance in year one, then adjust that amount for inflation. If you expect to spend $60,000 a year beyond Social Security, that points to roughly $1.5 million. The number moves a lot with retirement length, investment mix, and how much of your spending is already covered by other income, so treat it as a starting range rather than a target.

The 4% rule came from research into how much a retiree could withdraw from a stock and bond portfolio without running out over 30 years. It is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee: longer retirements, weak early returns, and high fees all push the safe number lower, while flexible spending pushes it higher. This calculator instead spends the balance down over the exact number of years you enter, which is why it can show a higher or lower monthly figure than 4%.

A frequent guideline is 15% of gross income including any employer match, starting as early as you can. What matters more than the exact percentage is starting the habit and raising it with each raise: because growth compounds, a dollar saved in your twenties does far more work than a dollar saved in your fifties. Try raising the monthly contribution in this calculator by $100 and watch what it does to the ending balance.

Because a million dollars in 35 years will not buy what a million dollars buys now. The projection shows both: the nominal balance you will literally see on the statement, and that same balance discounted by your inflation assumption so it is comparable to prices you know today. The monthly retirement income is quoted in today's dollars too, and it holds that purchasing power for the whole retirement rather than staying flat while costs rise.

That is your assumption to make, and it should reflect your actual investment mix, not a best case. The US stock market has averaged roughly 10% a year before inflation over the long run, but a portfolio holding bonds returns less, fees subtract from whatever you earn, and no average arrives on schedule. Many people run the projection two or three times at different rates to see the range instead of trusting one number.

No, and that is deliberate. Social Security depends on your earnings record and claiming age, pensions vary by employer, and the tax treatment differs between a traditional 401(k), a Roth account, and a taxable brokerage. Folding a guess for any of them into the headline number would make the estimate look more precise while being less honest. Treat the monthly income here as what your invested savings alone can support.

A 401(k) is offered through an employer, often comes with a matching contribution, and carries a higher yearly contribution limit. An IRA is one you open yourself, with a lower limit but a wider choice of investments. Both come in traditional form, where contributions reduce taxable income now and withdrawals are taxed later, and Roth form, where you contribute after tax and qualified withdrawals come out tax free. Many people use both, usually contributing enough to get the full employer match first.

Late still beats never, and the levers are the same ones in this calculator: contribute more, work a little longer, or spend a little less in retirement. Working two extra years is unusually powerful because it adds contributions and growth while removing two years of withdrawals at the same time. Catch-up contributions also let savers age 50 and over put more into a 401(k) or IRA than the standard limit allows.