How much will I have for retirement — and will it last?
Project your retirement nest egg and monthly retirement income. See whether your current savings rate is on track and how inflation affects your real purchasing power.
What This Calculator Does
A retirement calculator projects how much you'll have saved by your target retirement age and how much sustainable monthly income that nest egg can produce. It accounts for compound growth while you save and a more conservative return after you stop working.
How It Works
Your current savings and monthly contributions are compounded at your pre-retirement return until your retirement age. The resulting balance is then drawn down over your retirement years using a standard annuity formula at your post-retirement return. Inflation is applied to translate that future income into today's purchasing power.
Why It Matters
Most people dramatically underestimate how much they'll need. A common rule of thumb (the 4% rule) suggests you need roughly 25× your annual spending. This calculator gives you a concrete number to aim at and shows whether your current savings rate gets you there.
Inputs
Results
Retirement Nest Egg
$1,320,803.12
Projected balance at retirement
This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only.
Insights
Your nest egg
Check the 4% rule
How Retirement Is Calculated
Your current savings and monthly contributions are compounded at your pre-retirement return until your retirement age. The resulting balance is then drawn down over your retirement years using a standard annuity formula at your post-retirement return. Inflation is applied to translate that future income into today's purchasing power.
Accumulation: nestEgg = currentSavings*(1+r1)^m + monthlyContribution*[((1+r1)^m -1)/r1], r1=preRetirementReturn/100/12, m=(retirementAge-currentAge)*12. Decumulation: monthlyRetirementIncome computed as the level payment an annuity of value nestEgg can sustain over yearsInRetirement at postRetirementReturn: income = nestEgg*r2 / (1-(1+r2)^-drawMonths), r2=postRetirementReturn/100/12, drawMonths=yearsInRetirement*12 (this fully depletes the balance, not perpetual withdrawal). investmentGrowth = nestEgg - totalContributions (currentSavings + monthlyContribution*m). inflationAdjustedIncome = monthlyRetirementIncome / (1+inflationRate/100)^yearsToRetire. Where: currentAge, retirementAge, currentSavings, monthlyContribution, preRetirementReturn (%), postRetirementReturn (%), yearsInRetirement, inflationRate (%). Assumptions: monthly compounding both phases; retirement income is a finite annuitized drawdown that fully exhausts the nest egg over yearsInRetirement (not a perpetual 4%-rule style withdrawal); inflation adjustment only discounts once by years-to-retirement, not applied year-by-year during retirement; negative/zero years-to-retire floored at 0.
Key Takeaways
- •Aim to save 15% of gross income (including any employer match) for a comfortable retirement
- •Always contribute enough to get the full 401(k) employer match — it's a 100% return
- •Shift toward more conservative investments as you approach retirement, but don't go too conservative too early
- •Healthcare is the biggest unexpected expense — budget for it explicitly
- •Social Security typically replaces 30–40% of pre-retirement income for average earners
- •Delaying retirement by even 2–3 years dramatically improves sustainability
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