Estimate how much you may have, how much you may need, how much to save, and how long your money could last in retirement.
Four calculators in one — project savings, find your retirement need, find your monthly saving, and test withdrawals — with a readiness score and a downloadable plan.
No sign-in · editable assumptions · inflation-aware · downloadable spreadsheet · an educational estimate, not financial advice.
Project how large your retirement savings may grow. Educational estimate only — not financial, tax, or retirement advice. The model assumes constant returns; real markets vary.
Your timelineAge 35 → 65, to 90
When you plan to retire and how long the money may need to last. Retirement age must be greater than your current age, and life expectancy greater than your retirement age.
yrs
yrs
30 years to retirement
yrs
25 years in retirement
Savings & contributions$50,000 + $750/mo
What you have saved so far and how much you add. Your current savings compound, and your contributions are added each period and grow too.
$
Total already saved (401(k), IRA, pension, ISA, etc.).
The growth you assume before and after retirement, the inflation that erodes purchasing power, and the safe withdrawal rate that turns savings into income. Post-retirement return is usually lower because retirees de-risk.
7.0%
Historical balanced-portfolio average is ~6–8%. An assumption, not a guarantee.
5.0%
Usually lower than pre-retirement as you shift toward bonds/cash.
3.0%
Long-run average is around 2–3%.
The share of savings withdrawn in year one. ~4% is the common reference.
Income & retirement need80.0% of $80,000
Used to estimate how much annual income you'll want in retirement. Replacement income is a share of your current income; or set a desired spending figure directly. Other income (pension, Social Security, annuity, rental) reduces what your portfolio must fund.
$
Used with the replacement % to estimate retirement spending.
Most people need 70–85% of pre-retirement income.
$
Today's money. Overrides the replacement estimate when above 0.
$
Pension, Social Security, annuity, rental — today's money.
%
If set, replacement applies to your final (grown) salary.
Tax (optional)Pre-tax estimate
Apply a simplified income tax to your retirement withdrawals to see an after-tax income estimate. Real retirement tax depends heavily on account type and country.
Income basis
Visual breakdown
Retirement balance growth
Projected balance each year until retirement, with its inflation-adjusted (today's money) value.
Age
Balance
Real
36
$62,909
$61,077
37
$76,751
$72,345
38
$91,594
$83,821
39
$107,510
$95,521
40
$124,576
$107,460
41
$142,876
$119,656
42
$162,499
$132,127
43
$183,540
$144,889
44
$206,103
$157,961
45
$230,297
$171,362
46
$256,239
$185,113
47
$284,057
$199,232
48
$313,886
$213,741
49
$345,872
$228,662
50
$380,169
$244,016
51
$416,946
$259,827
52
$456,381
$276,118
53
$498,668
$292,915
54
$544,011
$310,242
55
$592,632
$328,126
56
$644,768
$346,594
57
$700,673
$365,676
58
$760,619
$385,399
59
$824,898
$405,795
60
$893,825
$426,896
61
$967,734
$448,733
62
$1,046,986
$471,342
63
$1,131,967
$494,756
64
$1,223,091
$519,014
65
$1,320,803
$544,153
Show data as a table
Age
Balance
Real
36
$62,909
$61,077
37
$76,751
$72,345
38
$91,594
$83,821
39
$107,510
$95,521
40
$124,576
$107,460
41
$142,876
$119,656
42
$162,499
$132,127
43
$183,540
$144,889
44
$206,103
$157,961
45
$230,297
$171,362
46
$256,239
$185,113
47
$284,057
$199,232
48
$313,886
$213,741
49
$345,872
$228,662
50
$380,169
$244,016
51
$416,946
$259,827
52
$456,381
$276,118
53
$498,668
$292,915
54
$544,011
$310,242
55
$592,632
$328,126
56
$644,768
$346,594
57
$700,673
$365,676
58
$760,619
$385,399
59
$824,898
$405,795
60
$893,825
$426,896
61
$967,734
$448,733
62
$1,046,986
$471,342
63
$1,131,967
$494,756
64
$1,223,091
$519,014
65
$1,320,803
$544,153
Contributions vs investment growth
How much of the balance is your own money versus investment growth, by age.
Age
Contributions
Growth
36
$59,000
$3,909
37
$68,000
$8,751
38
$77,000
$14,594
39
$86,000
$21,510
40
$95,000
$29,576
41
$104,000
$38,876
42
$113,000
$49,499
43
$122,000
$61,540
44
$131,000
$75,103
45
$140,000
$90,297
46
$149,000
$107,239
47
$158,000
$126,057
48
$167,000
$146,886
49
$176,000
$169,872
50
$185,000
$195,169
51
$194,000
$222,946
52
$203,000
$253,381
53
$212,000
$286,668
54
$221,000
$323,011
55
$230,000
$362,632
56
$239,000
$405,768
57
$248,000
$452,673
58
$257,000
$503,619
59
$266,000
$558,898
60
$275,000
$618,825
61
$284,000
$683,734
62
$293,000
$753,986
63
$302,000
$829,967
64
$311,000
$912,091
65
$320,000
$1,000,803
Show data as a table
Age
Contributions
Growth
36
$59,000
$3,909
37
$68,000
$8,751
38
$77,000
$14,594
39
$86,000
$21,510
40
$95,000
$29,576
41
$104,000
$38,876
42
$113,000
$49,499
43
$122,000
$61,540
44
$131,000
$75,103
45
$140,000
$90,297
46
$149,000
$107,239
47
$158,000
$126,057
48
$167,000
$146,886
49
$176,000
$169,872
50
$185,000
$195,169
51
$194,000
$222,946
52
$203,000
$253,381
53
$212,000
$286,668
54
$221,000
$323,011
55
$230,000
$362,632
56
$239,000
$405,768
57
$248,000
$452,673
58
$257,000
$503,619
59
$266,000
$558,898
60
$275,000
$618,825
61
$284,000
$683,734
62
$293,000
$753,986
63
$302,000
$829,967
64
$311,000
$912,091
65
$320,000
$1,000,803
Retirement drawdown
How the portfolio is projected to decline once withdrawals begin.
Age
Balance
65
$1,229,423
66
$1,128,600
67
$1,017,706
68
$896,079
69
$763,020
70
$617,785
71
$459,592
72
$287,611
73
$100,967
74
$0
Show data as a table
Age
Balance
65
$1,229,423
66
$1,128,600
67
$1,017,706
68
$896,079
69
$763,020
70
$617,785
71
$459,592
72
$287,611
73
$100,967
74
$0
Scenario comparison
Projected savings versus estimated need in each scenario.
Scenario
Projected
Required
Conservative
$847,581
$5,930,784
Base
$1,320,803
$3,883,620
Optimistic
$1,872,654
$3,356,108
Show data as a table
Scenario
Projected
Required
Conservative
$847,581
$5,930,784
Base
$1,320,803
$3,883,620
Optimistic
$1,872,654
$3,356,108
Scenario comparison
A single set of assumptions can mislead. Conservative lowers returns and raises inflation (and caps the withdrawal rate at 3.5%); Optimistic does the reverse. Each shows real calculated values, not a fixed label.
Scenario
Assumptions
Projected corpus
Required corpus
Gap / surplus
Money lasts to
Readiness
Conservative
5.0%/3.5% · 4.0% infl · 3.5% draw
$847,581
$5,930,784
−$5,083,203
age 69
18 · At risk
Base
7.0%/5.0% · 3.0% infl · 4.0% draw
$1,320,803
$3,883,620
−$2,562,817
age 74
36 · At risk
Optimistic
8.5%/6.0% · 2.5% infl · 4.0% draw
$1,872,654
$3,356,108
−$1,483,454
age 84
59 · Major shortfall
None of these scenarios is a forecast. They are illustrations to test how sensitive your plan is to the assumptions.
Year-by-year projection
Each year’s starting balance, contributions, investment growth, ending balance, and its inflation-adjusted value. Download the full schedule from the results panel.
A common shortcut is 25 times your annual retirement spending — the inverse of the 4% rule. If you’ll spend $60,000 a year from your portfolio, that points to about $1.5 million. Subtract pensions, Social Security, or other income first, because those reduce what your savings have to cover. Use the “Find retirement need” mode above to estimate this from your own income, replacement target, and inflation.
How this calculator works
You enter your age, savings, contributions, expected returns, and inflation. The tool compounds your savings month by month to project a retirement balance, estimates the income that balance can safely provide, works out the corpus you actually need, solves the monthly saving to close any gap, and then draws the balance down through retirement to see how long it lasts — all from one set of assumptions, with a readiness score out of 100.
What the result means
The headline numbers are projections, not predictions. “Projected savings” is what you may accumulate; “estimated need” is what your spending implies; the gap or surplus is the difference. The readiness score blends corpus adequacy, longevity, saving pace, and withdrawal sustainability. A high score means your assumptions line up; it is not a promise, because real returns and inflation vary.
Key formula
Future value: balance = savings × (1 + r)^n + contribution × ((1 + r)^n − 1) / r, where r is the monthly return and n the number of months. Required corpus = annual income need ÷ withdrawal rate (e.g. ÷ 0.04 for the 4% rule). Inflation adjustment restates any future amount in today’s money by dividing by (1 + inflation)^years.
Common mistake
Reading the headline (nominal) balance as spending power. A seven-figure balance 30 years out buys far less than it sounds once inflation is applied — always check the inflation-adjusted figure. The other frequent error is an optimistic return: model 5–6% rather than the best case, and use a lower return after retirement than before it.
When not to rely on this result
This is an educational estimate that assumes a single, constant return. It cannot model market crashes, sequence-of-returns risk, taxes and fees in detail, healthcare or long-term-care costs, or the exact rules of your country’s pension and Social Security system. For decisions with real consequences, treat it as a starting point and consult a qualified financial professional.
What is a retirement calculator?
A retirement calculator is a planning tool that turns a handful of assumptions — your age, savings, contributions, expected investment return, and inflation — into a picture of your financial future. A basic one projects a single nest-egg number. This one is a complete planning engine: it answers four connected questions from one set of inputs — how much you may have, how much you may need, how much to save, and how long the money may last.
The point is not to predict the future precisely; no tool can. It is to make the trade-offs visible. When you can see that saving an extra hundred a month, or retiring two years later, or trimming spending, each move the gap by a concrete amount, planning stops being abstract and becomes a set of decisions you can actually weigh.
Everything here is currency-neutral and jurisdiction-neutral. Switch between US dollars, rupees, pounds, Canadian or Australian dollars, or euros, and only the formatting changes — never the math. No country’s specific pension or tax rules are baked in, so treat the result as a general projection and confirm the rules that apply to your own accounts.
How much money do you need to retire?
The cleanest way to estimate your retirement need is to start from spending, not savings. Decide how much you want to spend each year in retirement — often expressed as a percentage of your current income, because some costs (commuting, saving itself, mortgage) usually fall while others (healthcare, leisure) can rise. Most people land somewhere around 70–85% of pre-retirement income, but your own number is what matters.
Next, subtract income that does not come from your portfolio: a pension, Social Security or state pension, an annuity, or rental income. What is left is the amount your savings must generate each year. Divide that by your safe withdrawal rate — 4% is the common reference — and you have a target corpus. At 4%, that division is the same as multiplying the annual need by 25.
Two adjustments make the estimate honest. First, inflate the spending figure to the year you retire, because a dollar of spending in 30 years costs more than a dollar today. Second, sanity-check the corpus against how long it must last: a very long retirement, or a low post-retirement return, can mean you need more than the simple 25× rule suggests. The calculator does both and shows the result in future and today’s money.
What is the 4% rule?
The 4% rule is the best-known guideline for retirement spending. It comes from research by financial planner William Bengen in 1994 and the later Trinity study, which examined historical US market returns and asked how much a retiree could withdraw without running out over a 30-year retirement. The answer that survived most historical periods was about 4% of the starting balance in year one, raised with inflation each year after.
Read it as a historical guideline, not a promise. It rests on past US stock-and-bond returns over rolling 30-year windows, assumes a particular portfolio, and ignores fees and taxes. It may not hold for different countries, much longer retirements, or a future that looks nothing like the past. When returns or interest rates are low, some research suggests a starting rate nearer 3–3.5% is safer; flexible retirees who cut spending in bad years can often sustain more.
The practical use of the 4% figure is as a dial you test, not a number you trust blindly. Enter your own assumptions, check the withdrawal rate the calculator reports, and compare the base case against the conservative and optimistic scenarios. A plan that only works in the optimistic case deserves a second look.
Why inflation matters (and why post-retirement return is lower)
Inflation is the quiet force that makes retirement planning harder than it looks. At 3% a year, prices roughly double about every 24 years, so the same monthly income buys noticeably less over a long retirement. A plan that ignores inflation flatters itself: the headline balance looks large, but its purchasing power is much smaller. That is why this calculator restates every future figure in today’s money, and why a sound plan lets spending rise over time.
It also explains why the return you assume after retirement should usually be lower than before it. While you are working, you can ride out market downturns because you have years to recover, so a higher-growth, stock-heavy portfolio is reasonable. Once you are drawing the balance down, a bad year does lasting damage, so most retirees shift toward bonds and cash. That lowers the expected return — a trade of growth for stability — which the calculator captures by letting you set the two returns separately.
The combination to watch is a return that barely clears inflation. If your portfolio earns 4% while inflation runs at 3.5%, the real growth funding your withdrawals is thin, and a fixed withdrawal loses ground every year. Keeping a comfortable margin between your return and inflation is one of the most important levers in a durable plan.
How to close a retirement shortfall (and when to get advice)
If the calculator shows a gap, there are five levers, and most plans use a mix. Save more each month; retire a little later; spend less in retirement; accept a higher (and riskier) return; or add outside income such as a pension or part-time work. The most powerful single move is often delaying retirement by even two or three years, because it adds contributions, shortens the drawdown, and lets the balance compound longer all at once.
Use the modes together. “Find monthly saving” tells you exactly how much extra to put away to hit your target. The scenarios show how sensitive the plan is to weaker returns and higher inflation — if it only works in the optimistic case, build in more margin. Conservative versus aggressive assumptions is not just a number; it is the difference between a plan that survives a bad decade and one that does not.
Finally, know the limits. This tool assumes a smooth, constant return, which the real world never delivers. It cannot model a market crash in your first retirement year (sequence-of-returns risk), the full detail of your taxes, healthcare and long-term-care costs, or your country’s exact pension rules. When the stakes are high, treat the output as a well-informed starting point and talk to a qualified, ideally fee-only, financial professional.
The formulas behind the numbers
The projection runs month by month, so contribution step-ups, the two return rates, inflation, and the drawdown all apply across the schedule. Each piece uses the formulas below; the assumptions you enter are shown in full on the page and in the downloadable workbook.
Future value of savings
FV = P × (1 + r)ⁿ
Your current savings P compound at the monthly rate r (annual ÷ 12) for n months until retirement.
Future value of contributions
FV = PMT × ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1) / r
Monthly contributions PMT accumulate as an annuity; contributions can step up each year.
Required corpus
Corpus = (income need − other income) ÷ withdrawal rate
The savings needed so withdrawals fund your spending. At a 4% rate this is the 25× rule.
Inflation adjustment
real = nominal ÷ (1 + i)ʸ
Restates any future amount in today’s purchasing power, using inflation i over y years.
Required monthly saving
PMT = (target − FV of savings) ÷ annuity factor
Solves the level monthly saving that reaches your target, with a zero-return-safe guard.
Drawdown step
balanceₙ₊₁ = balanceₙ × (1 + r) − withdrawal
In retirement the balance earns r and the inflation-rising withdrawal is taken until it runs out.
Variable glossary
P — current savings (principal)
PMT — contribution each period
r — periodic return (annual ÷ 12)
n — number of months
i — annual inflation; y — years
Worked example
A 35-year-old has $50,000 saved and adds $750/month, expecting a 7% return before retirement and 5% after, with 3% inflation. They plan to retire at 65, expect to live to 90, earn $90,000 a year, and want to replace 80% of that income, withdrawing at 4%.
Years to retirement30 years
Projected savings at 65$1,320,803
In today’s money$544,153
Estimated retirement need$4,369,072
Est. monthly income (4% withdrawal rate)$4,403
Projected gap$3,048,269
The projected $1,320,803 falls short of the estimated need of $4,369,072 by $3,048,269, giving a readiness score of 33/100 — At risk. Switching to "Find monthly saving" shows how much extra to put away to close it.
Assumptions & limitations
This calculator does not predict markets and does not guarantee retirement success. It is an educational estimate that assumes a single, constant return. It does not include all of the following unless you enter them manually:
Sequence-of-returns risk and real market volatility (the model uses a constant return)
A market crash early in retirement, which can do lasting damage
The full detail of income, capital-gains, and estate taxes
Healthcare, long-term-care, and other lumpy late-life costs
Employer-match rules, vesting, and contribution limits
Exact Social Security, State Pension, or national pension calculations
Required minimum distributions and pension access ages
Guaranteed-income products such as annuities and their fees
It depends on how much you plan to spend, how long retirement lasts, and how much income comes from outside your portfolio. A common rule of thumb is 25 times your annual portfolio spending (the inverse of the 4% rule): if your savings need to provide $50,000 a year, that suggests roughly $1.25 million. Pensions, Social Security, annuities, and rental income all reduce that number. Use the “Find retirement need” mode to estimate it from your income, replacement target, inflation, and other income.
What is a good retirement savings target?
Targets are usually framed as a multiple of income by age — for example, having roughly 1× your salary saved by 30, 3× by 40, and 8–10× by retirement is a widely cited benchmark. These are general guideposts, not rules; the right number depends on your spending, retirement age, other income, and how long you expect retirement to last. The calculator turns your own inputs into a specific corpus target rather than a generic multiple.
Is the 4% rule still safe?
The 4% rule is a historical guideline, not a guarantee. It comes from US market data over rolling 30-year periods and held up across most of them, but it assumes a particular portfolio mix and ignores fees and taxes. Some analysts argue a lower starting rate (around 3–3.5%) is safer when returns or interest rates are low, while others note that flexible spending allows a higher rate. Use it as a reference point to test, and compare the conservative and optimistic scenarios.
Should I use pre-tax or after-tax retirement income?
It depends on your accounts. Withdrawals from traditional/pre-tax accounts (a traditional 401(k) or IRA, most workplace pensions) are usually taxed as income, so your spendable amount is lower than the gross withdrawal. Roth-type accounts are generally tax-free in retirement. The calculator shows a pre-tax estimate by default; switch on the optional tax input to see an after-tax income figure. Real retirement tax is complex and country-specific, so confirm the details with a professional.
How does inflation affect retirement planning?
Inflation quietly erodes the purchasing power of a fixed amount of money. At 3% inflation, prices roughly double in about 24 years, so a balance that looks large in future dollars buys far less than the headline suggests. That is why the calculator shows every future figure in today’s money as well, and why a sensible plan raises retirement spending over time and uses a return assumption that comfortably clears inflation.
What rate of return should I use?
Diversified portfolios have historically returned roughly 6–8% a year nominally before costs, with more conservative mixes returning less. Fees and a shift toward bonds near retirement pull that lower, so many planners model 5–6% to build in a cushion. Crucially, the return after retirement is usually lower than before it, because retirees de-risk. Treat any return as an assumption to stress-test, not a number to trust.
What is the difference between pre-retirement and post-retirement return?
Before retirement you can take more investment risk because you have time to recover from downturns, so a higher growth assumption is reasonable. In retirement, you are drawing the balance down and a bad year does more damage, so most people shift toward bonds and cash, which lowers the expected return. Using a lower post-retirement return is the more cautious and realistic assumption, and this calculator lets you set the two separately.
How do I know if I am on track?
The readiness score out of 100 is the quickest signal: it blends how your projected savings compare with your estimated need, whether the money lasts your full retirement, how your current saving compares with what is required, and how sustainable your withdrawal rate is. A score of 75 or above generally means your assumptions line up; below that, the calculator shows the size of the gap and what would close it. It is a guide, not a guarantee.
Why does life expectancy matter?
Life expectancy sets how many years your savings must fund. A retirement that lasts 35 years needs a larger corpus, or a lower withdrawal rate, than one that lasts 20. Many people underestimate it: averages hide the fact that a healthy 65-year-old has a meaningful chance of living into their 90s. Planning to a longer life expectancy is the cautious choice, which is why the calculator runs the drawdown all the way to the age you set.
How do I close a retirement shortfall?
There are five levers: save more each month, retire a little later, spend less in retirement, earn a higher (riskier) return, or rely on more outside income such as a pension. Small changes compound — delaying retirement by even two or three years both adds contributions and shortens the drawdown. Use the “Find monthly saving” mode to see exactly how much extra saving would close your gap, then test the scenarios to see which lever moves the needle most.
Can this calculator replace a financial advisor?
No. It is an educational planning tool that assumes a constant return and uses the figures you enter. It does not account for the ups and downs of real markets, sequence-of-returns risk, your full tax situation, healthcare costs, or the specific rules of your pension and Social Security. Use it to understand the trade-offs and frame good questions, and speak with a qualified, ideally fee-only, financial professional before making major retirement decisions.
Does this calculator include Social Security or a pension?
Only if you enter them. Put your expected annual pension, Social Security, annuity, or rental income into the “Other annual retirement income” field, and the calculator subtracts it from your spending need so your portfolio only has to fund the remainder. It does not calculate your Social Security benefit for you — get that estimate from your national provider (for example ssa.gov in the US) and enter it.
How CalculatorMatters checks this calculator
Engine simulates accumulation and drawdown and is checked against worked examples computed by hand (1,300+ automated assertions)
The downloadable Excel workbook is formula-driven and proven cell-by-cell against the engine (4,700+ formula cells, 0 mismatches)
The readiness score and status label are calculated from your numbers — never a hard-coded “healthy” label
Future values are always shown in today’s money too, so inflation is never hidden
Sources are investor-education and government references (SEC/Investor.gov, FINRA, SSA)
Results are educational estimates from your assumptions; no income is guaranteed and no product is recommended
Last reviewed: June 2026 · Method: month-by-month accumulation and drawdown simulation with a formula-driven workbook.
Reviewed by the CalculatorMatters Editorial Team. This is educational information, not financial, tax, or retirement advice, and no income is guaranteed. Found an error? corrections@calculatormatters.com.
Sources & references
This calculator uses standard retirement-planning math; the references below are investor-education and government sources we cross-check against. External links open in a new tab.
Compound Interest CalculatorU.S. SEC — Investor.gov · Government reference for how savings compound, which we cross-check our projection growth against.
Retirement planningFINRA · Regulator guidance on retirement saving, accounts, and taking income.
Retirement planner & benefit estimatesU.S. Social Security Administration · Official source for estimating Social Security retirement income to enter as other income.
The 4% rule and the Trinity studyWikipedia (encyclopedic overview) · Plain-language background on safe withdrawal rates and the origin of the 4% rule.
This calculator is for educational planning only. It does not provide financial, tax, investment, pension, or retirement advice, and it does not guarantee any outcome. Actual results vary with market performance, inflation, taxes, fees, healthcare costs, life expectancy, withdrawal behaviour, and personal circumstances. Consider speaking with a qualified financial professional before making retirement decisions.
Built and maintained by Calculator Matters, an independent calculator project. Method checked against published formulas and primary sources · Last reviewed June 2026 · How we calculate · Found an error? corrections@calculatormatters.com