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Retirement calculator
See how large your savings could grow by retirement and whether they can pay your bills for life.
Example Nest egg at 65 $2,437,446
StockEducation Editorial Team · Updated · 17 min read · How we check our tools
The calculator
Check whether your retirement plan lasts
Output Calculated from your inputs
$—
Input-based illustration, not live market data or a forecast. Returns compound monthly at annual rate ÷ 12; contributions arrive at month-end. Spending less Social Security is inflated to retirement, then monthly withdrawals grow at inflation ÷ 12. Tax, fees, benefit rules and variable returns are excluded. Life expectancy is limited to 120. Full method.
| Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Years Until Retirement | — | Retirement Age minus Current Age |
| Planned Years In Retirement | — | Life Expectancy minus Retirement Age |
| Projected Nest Egg At Retirement | $— | Future value of savings plus contributions |
| Initial Principal (Current Savings) | $— | Starting balance today |
| Total Contributions Until Retirement | $— | Workplace + employer + IRA contributions |
| Portfolio Growth (Investment Gains) | $— | Nest egg minus principal minus contributions |
| Desired Monthly Spending At Retirement | $— | Today’s target grown by inflation to retirement |
| Estimated Monthly Social Security At Retirement | $— | User-entered estimate grown by the same inflation assumption |
| Monthly Amount Needed From Portfolio | $— | Desired spending minus estimated Social Security |
| Estimated Years Money Lasts | — | Simulated with returns and rising withdrawals |
| Balance At Life Expectancy | $— | Remaining balance at life expectancy, or the age the savings run out |
| Avg Growth Before Retirement | — | Per year |
| Avg Growth During Retirement | — | Per year |
| Avg Inflation | — | Per year |
| Year | Age | Start Balance | Contributions | Investment Gains | Withdrawals | End Balance |
|---|
Important calculator disclosure
General education only — check the assumptions before using the result.
Purpose: This calculator is a general educational tool that performs a numerical calculation from the values you enter. It does not recommend, advertise or promote a specific financial product.
Assumptions: The calculation uses the input values and assumptions displayed in the calculator. Default values are illustrative starting points, not forecasts. Change each non-statutory assumption so it matches the scenario you want to test.
Limitations: Actual market returns, prices, dividends, interest rates, fees, tax, inflation and timing may differ from the assumptions. The calculator may omit factors relevant to you. Small input changes can materially change the result, so the output is an illustration rather than a prediction.
This financial calculator is not intended to be relied on for the purposes of making a decision in relation to a financial product. You should consider obtaining advice from a financial services licensee before making any financial decisions.
You can print this page or save it electronically using your browser controls.
Can I plan my retirement with this?
Treat it as an illustration, not a plan.
This shows what happens if one set of assumptions holds for the next few decades. It will not.
It does not account for market falls, inflation, changes to your income or job, tax law changes, healthcare costs, or how long you live. It assumes steady returns, and markets do not deliver those.
Decisions this size need a licensed professional who knows your full situation.
Educational content only. Projections are estimates based on the assumptions entered and do not account for taxes, government benefits, fees, or changes in circumstances. Always consult a licensed financial adviser for personal retirement planning advice.
How to use it (three steps)
Enter your ages, savings and the monthly spending you want in today’s dollars, then press Calculate. The calculator grows your savings to retirement, then pays out your spending until your chosen age. Not sure where to start? Load an example.
- 1Enter your ages, savings and the monthly spending you want
- 2Press Calculate and read whether the money lasts
- 3Add two working years and see what it does to the result
Your result in words
Future dollarsYour result will appear here once the calculator runs.
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How much do I need to retire?
Enough to cover the gap between what you want to spend and what Social Security pays, for every year of retirement. A simple check is the 4% rule: multiply the yearly amount your savings must cover by 25. Spending $4,000 a month in today’s dollars means about $1.2 million in today’s money. In the default example, a 35 year old with $150,000 who adds $12,000 a year reaches $2,437,446 at 65. That is about $1.16 million in today’s dollars, and it lasts to age 90 with $931,197 left.
Checked against Social Security · see sources
- Two halves. Save and grow, then spend while the rest keeps growing.
- Today’s dollars. Enter spending as you picture it. $4,000 today is $8,390 in 30 years at 2.5%.
- Times 25. The 4% rule: yearly spending your savings must cover, times 25.
- Spending first. $6,000 a month instead of $4,000 runs out at 83.6.
- Work longer. Retiring at 67 instead of 65 roughly doubles what is left at 90.
- Social Security. Estimated average retired-worker benefit for January 2026: $2,071 a month. Full retirement age is 67 for those born in 1960 or later.
Why $4,000 becomes $8,390What makes it lastSocial SecurityTest yourself
Part 1 of 3 · How it works
How does a retirement plan work?
Every plan has two halves. First you save and the money grows. Then you stop working and the money pays you, while what is left keeps growing.
What does this calculator do?
- It grows your current savings each month until retirement, adding your yearly contributions at the end of each month.
- It turns your monthly spending, entered in today’s dollars, into the amount you would need by then, using your inflation rate.
- It subtracts any Social Security you expect, also grown by inflation.
- From retirement on, it takes out the rest each month, raises it with inflation and grows what is left at your retirement return.
- It shows whether the money lasts to your chosen age, or the age it runs out.
Why does $4,000 a month become $8,390?
Because prices rise. At 2.5% a year for 30 years, something that costs $4,000 today costs $8,390. The calculator asks for spending in today’s dollars because that is the number you can picture, then does the conversion for you.
Start at 35 with $150,000 and add $12,000 a year, which is $6,000 from you, $3,000 from your employer and $3,000 to an IRA. At 7% a year the savings reach $2,437,446 at 65. Of that, $360,000 is new money and $1,927,446 is growth. Spending of $8,390 a month at first, rising with inflation and earning 4% on the rest, leaves $931,197 at 90.
What is the 4% rule?
A rule of thumb from 1990s research on U.S. market history: if you take out 4% of your savings in the first year of retirement and raise that amount with inflation, the money has usually lasted about 30 years. Turned around, you need about 25 times the yearly spending your savings must cover.
In the default plan the first year takes $100,683 from $2,437,446, a 4.1% withdrawal rate, which is close to the rule. Our lesson on the 4% rule covers where it works and where it breaks.
Why does the 4% rule mean multiplying by 25?
Because 4% is one twenty fifth. If your savings must hand you $40,000 in the first year and that is 4% of the pot, the pot has to be $40,000 times 25, which is $1,000,000. The rule only covers what your savings pay, not your whole budget.
That is why Social Security changes the target so much. Say you want to spend $60,000 a year and expect $20,000 from Social Security. Your savings cover the other $40,000, so you need about $1,000,000. If Social Security paid nothing, you would need $60,000 times 25, or $1,500,000. Within this 4% illustration, each $1,000 of annual income that keeps pace with inflation reduces the initial savings target by $25,000. Fixed income without inflation increases needs different treatment.
The amount you take out is meant to rise with prices each year. Inflation is usually tracked with the Consumer Price Index, which measures the average change in prices that urban consumers pay.7 That rising withdrawal is why the calculator asks for an inflation rate.
Picture your spending in today’s dollars, then let the plan convert it.
Part 2 of 3 · What makes it last
What makes a retirement plan last longer?
Small changes to a few inputs decide whether a plan runs out at 80 or leaves money at 90. Spending and retirement age matter most.
How much does my retirement age matter?
Each extra year of work does three things: one more year of contributions, one more year of growth, and one less year to pay for.
Money left at 90 in the default plan, by retirement age
How much can I spend?
Spending is the input that sinks plans fastest, because it repeats every month for decades.
Going from $4,000 to $6,000 a month turns a plan with $931,197 to spare into one that runs out more than six years early.
What about returns and inflation?
Both matter more than they look. Here is the default plan with one change at a time:
| Change | Result | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Growth before retirement 7% to 6% | Nest egg $1,907,901; runs out at 87.4 | Large |
| Inflation 2.5% to 3.5% | Runs out at 84.1 | Large |
| Growth during retirement 4% to 3% | $161,601 left at 90 | Medium |
| Social Security $0 to $2,000 a month | $3,772,926 left at 90 | Large |
| Plan to 95 instead of 90 | $34,236 left at 95 | Medium |
All figures from this calculator on October 15, 2026. Illustrations, not forecasts or recommendations.
How much difference does saving more each year make?
More than it feels like, because every extra dollar compounds for decades. In the default plan, savings of $12,000 a year reach $2,437,446 at 65. Raise that to $18,000 a year, an extra $500 a month, and the same 7% growth gets you to about $3,047,431. That is roughly $610,000 more from $180,000 of extra deposits.
There are yearly caps on how much tax advantaged room you get. For 2026, you can defer up to $24,500 into a 401(k), plus an $8,000 catch up from age 50. IRAs allow $7,500, plus a $1,100 catch up from age 50.4 Eligible participants turning 60–63 in 2026 can have a higher $11,250 workplace-plan catch-up allowance instead of $8,000, if their plan permits it. Eligibility, compensation, income and plan rules can limit contributions. This calculator treats entered contributions as deposits and does not enforce legal limits.
A practical way to do it is to raise your contribution rate by one percentage point each time you get a raise. Check that the change fits your take-home pay, expenses and plan rules.
Spend less, work a little longer or count Social Security. Test how each changes the modeled outcome; none guarantees the plan will succeed.
Part 3 of 3 · Social Security and real life
What could make your real retirement different?
The calculator uses steady returns and steady inflation. Real life is lumpier, so leave yourself a margin.
How much will Social Security pay?
It depends on your earnings record and the age you claim. The average retired worker gets about $2,071 a month in 2026.1 For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67. Claiming at 62 cuts the benefit by 30% for life, and waiting past 67 raises it until age 70.23
Your own estimate is free at my Social Security. Enter it in today’s dollars and the calculator grows it with inflation. The model starts benefits at your selected retirement age; actual claiming eligibility and timing may differ.
In the default plan, adding $2,000 a month of Social Security halves what the savings must pay at first, from $8,390 to $4,195 a month. The money left at 90 jumps from $931,197 to $3,772,926.
Why are real returns different from the calculator?
Markets do not return the same amount every year. A big fall in the first years of retirement does more damage than the same fall later, because you are selling to pay bills while prices are low. This is called sequence risk. A lower fixed return is a useful sensitivity test, but it does not model the order of real returns or the risk of early losses.
What else should I plan for?
- Taxes. Withdrawals from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs are taxed as income, so your spending target should include them.
- Healthcare. Medicare eligibility generally begins at 65, with exceptions and enrollment rules. Retiring earlier means paying for coverage until then.
- Longevity. Plan past your expected age. Try 95 and see how much margin you have.
Grow the savings side of the plan. The 401(k) calculator shows how your contribution rate and employer match build the nest egg this plan depends on.
Open the 401(k) calculator Free, no signup.How long should I plan for my money to last?
Longer than your life expectancy. The Social Security Administration’s calculator gives an average number of extra years for someone your age and sex.6 An average means many people live past it, and a plan that runs out exactly on time fails for all of them. That is why the calculator plans to 90 by default and why trying 95 is worth a minute.
Tax rules also shape withdrawals late in life. For people born in 1951–1959, required minimum distributions generally start at 73; for those born in 1960 or later, the age is 75 under current law. Some workplace-plan participants can defer while still working, and inherited-account rules differ. Roth IRAs and designated Roth workplace accounts have no lifetime RMDs for their original owner.5
So a mix of account types gives you choices. Qualified tax-free Roth withdrawals can help manage taxable income, but nonqualified withdrawals can have different treatment. This calculator treats all savings as one pot and does not model those choices, so think of its result as the starting point for that planning.
Plan for a longer life and lower returns than you expect. A margin is cheaper than a shortfall.
Mistakes to avoid
Three mistakes to avoid, and what to do instead
Planning to the average life expectancy
Half of people live longer than average. Plan to at least 90 or 95 so the money does not run out.
Forgetting Social Security and pensions
Guaranteed income lowers what your savings must provide. Include it, but check your own benefit estimate.
Using a single return for sixty years
Returns before and after retirement differ, and the sequence matters. Test a lower return to see the risk.
Quick check
Three quick questions and one why
1. Using the 4% rule, about how much do you need saved to cover $40,000 a year?
2. In the default plan, which change makes the money run out soonest?
3. You were born in 1975. What is your full retirement age for Social Security?
Why: why does spending sink plans faster than a lower return?
A lower return trims growth a little each year. Higher spending takes more money out every month, and that money can no longer grow, so the damage compounds. In the default plan, 1% less return during retirement still leaves $161,601 at 90, while $2,000 more spending a month runs out at 83.6.
Common questions
Retirement Calculator FAQ
How much do I need to retire?
Enough to cover the gap between your spending and Social Security for every year of retirement. A quick estimate is the 4% rule: multiply the yearly amount your savings must cover by 25. Spending $50,000 a year with $20,000 from Social Security leaves $30,000 for savings to cover, which points to about $750,000 at today’s prices. This calculator goes further, growing your spending with inflation and your savings with returns, so you can see the year the money would run out.
What is a good amount to have saved by retirement?
The right amount is tied to your spending, not to a universal number. Work out the yearly spending your savings must cover after Social Security, then multiply by 25 for a 4% rule estimate. Someone who needs savings to provide $40,000 a year is looking at about $1,000,000; someone who needs $20,000 is looking at about $500,000. Lower spending in retirement, such as from a paid off mortgage, shrinks the target a lot. Enter your figures above to test the result with inflation and returns.
Is the 4% rule still safe?
It is a rule of thumb, not a promise. It comes from 1990s research on U.S. market history, which found that a 4% first year withdrawal raised each year for inflation usually lasted about 30 years. The result depends on the returns you get, especially in the first years of retirement, and on how long you live. Retiring early, say at 55, means planning for 35 or 40 years, so many people test a lower rate. Try lower assumed returns and spending separately. A 3% investment return is not a 3% withdrawal rule; this model does not simulate volatile return sequences.
How much will Social Security pay me?
Your benefit is set by your earnings record and the age you claim. SSA estimated the average retired-worker benefit at about $2,071 for January 2026; individual benefits differ. Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Claiming at 62 cuts the benefit by 30% for life, and waiting past 67 raises it until age 70. Get your personal estimate from your my Social Security account, then enter it at today’s value; the calculator grows it with inflation.
Should I include my home in my retirement savings?
Usually not, unless you plan to sell it or downsize and live on the difference. A home you live in does not pay your grocery bills. It does lower your costs once the mortgage is paid off, and that benefit already shows up if you enter a lower monthly spending figure. If you plan to downsize later, assess the expected net proceeds separately. Adding future sale proceeds to current savings would wrongly give them investment growth before the sale; this calculator has no later lump-sum input.
What return should I use in a retirement calculator?
Use cautious numbers you could live with. The defaults are 7% a year before retirement and 4% during it, which are common teaching assumptions, not forecasts. The lower figure is an assumption for sensitivity testing; it does not simulate a safer portfolio or early market losses. Small changes matter: in the default plan, cutting growth before retirement from 7% to 6% shrinks the nest egg to $1,907,901, and the money runs out at about 87 instead of lasting past 90.
Does the calculator include taxes?
No. It works with your spending number as entered. Withdrawals from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs are taxed as ordinary income, so add an allowance for tax to the monthly spending figure. Qualified withdrawals from Roth accounts are tax free. RMDs generally start at 73 for people born in 1951–1959 and at 75 for those born in 1960 or later, with account-specific exceptions. These withdrawals can affect taxable income. A rough fix is to gross up spending by your expected tax rate.
Can I save or share my retirement plan?
Yes. Save my numbers keeps your inputs in this browser on this device. Copy link to these numbers creates a link that opens the calculator with the same inputs, and nothing else is stored or sent. The calculator does not connect to your accounts or fetch market data, and it uses one steady return each year. Real markets rise and fall, so rerun the plan once a year with your actual balance and contributions.
You know what makes a plan last. Now learn to invest the savings.
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Your retirement plan on one card, and where to go next
- Step 1 · DoneHow a retirement plan works
See it on one card
- Two halves. Save and grow, then spend while the rest keeps growing.
- Today’s dollars. Enter spending as you picture it. $4,000 today is $8,390 in 30 years at 2.5%.
- Times 25. The 4% rule: yearly spending your savings must cover, times 25.
- Spending first. $6,000 a month instead of $4,000 runs out at 83.6.
- Work longer. Retiring at 67 instead of 65 roughly doubles what is left at 90.
- Social Security. Estimated average retired-worker benefit for January 2026: $2,071 a month. Full retirement age is 67 for those born in 1960 or later.
- 2Step 2 · NowBuild the savings
See how your contribution rate and employer match build the nest egg.
Open the 401(k) calculator Free, no signup. - 3Step 3Follow the learning pathThe learning pathFree
Learn the rest in the right order
Lessons, videos, tools and quizzes, ordered so each step builds on the last, from market basics to building a portfolio.
Start the learning path
Want the full sequence? See the course outline →
Sources and assumptions
- Social Security Administration: 2026 Cost of Living Adjustment fact sheet. Benefits rose 2.8% for 2026; the average retired worker benefit is about $2,071 a month.
- Social Security Administration: Benefit reduction for early retirement. Full retirement age is 67 for people born in 1960 or later, and claiming at 62 reduces benefits by 30%.
- Social Security Administration: Delayed retirement credits. Benefits increase for each year you wait past full retirement age, up to age 70.
- IRS: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500. Sets the 2026 limits: $24,500 for 401(k) plans with an $8,000 catch up at 50, and $7,500 for IRAs with a $1,100 catch up.
- IRS: Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs. RMD start ages depend on birth year and account rules; original Roth account owners have no lifetime RMDs.
- Social Security Administration: Life expectancy calculator. Estimates the average number of additional years a person can expect to live, by sex and date of birth.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index. The CPI measures the average change over time in prices paid by urban consumers.
Method: savings grow monthly at the yearly growth rate divided by 12, with yearly contributions spread across the months and added at month end. Monthly spending and Social Security, entered in today’s dollars, are grown to retirement at the inflation rate. During retirement the calculator withdraws spending minus Social Security each month, raises it monthly at inflation divided by 12, and grows the balance at the retirement rate. The default example is age 35, retirement at 65, planning to 90, $150,000 saved, $6,000, $3,000 and $3,000 in yearly contributions, 7% growth before retirement, 4% during it, 2.5% inflation, $4,000 of monthly spending and no Social Security. The scenario examples use the calculator’s documented fixed-rate assumptions. They are illustrations, not personalized estimates or forecasts. Results exclude taxes, fees and changing returns. All amounts are in U.S. dollars.
Page history. October 24, 2026: V11 layout and expanded guide integrated; the working monthly model, controls and mobile text-size repair retained.
StockEducation provides general education, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Results are illustrations based on the assumptions you enter, not forecasts or promises of any return. Investing involves risk, including the loss of money you invest.
Sources and reference material
Primary sources and original reference material for the concepts discussed on this page.
- Investor.gov: Compound interest calculator and assumptions
- Investor.gov: Asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing
- IRS: Retirement plan definitions
References added 14 October 2026.
