Our comprehensive retirement calculator helps you plan for a secure retirement. Enter your current savings, monthly contributions, and expected expenses to see if you're on track. Calculate how much you need to retire comfortably, find out your projected retirement income, and see how long your savings will last. Includes inflation adjustment and investment return projections.
| Age | Contrib | Balance |
|---|
+$7,500 catch-up if 50+
+$1,000 catch-up if 50+
Triple tax advantage
Input your current age and desired retirement age.
Enter total retirement savings (401k, IRA, etc.).
Enter how much you save for retirement monthly.
View if you're on track and what you'll have at retirement.
The 4% rule suggests you can safely withdraw 4% of your savings annually in retirement. This means you need 25× your annual expenses saved. Your savings grow with compound interest until retirement, then provide income through withdrawals.
Retirement Goal = Annual Expenses × 25 (4% Rule)
The 4% rule: Withdraw 4% of savings annually for ~30 years of retirement
Start early - compound interest makes a huge difference over 20-30 years
Max out employer 401(k) match - it's free money
Consider healthcare costs - often the biggest retirement expense
Social Security typically replaces 30-40% of pre-retirement income
Aim to replace 70-80% of pre-retirement income in retirement
Review and adjust your plan annually as circumstances change
Consider part-time work in early retirement for extra income and purpose
Our free retirement calculator helps you plan for a secure financial future. See how much you need to retire, whether you're on track, and what adjustments might help you reach your goals. Includes projections for investment growth, inflation, and Social Security.
Calculate how much you need to save for retirement based on your expected expenses.
Our retirement savings calculator uses the proven 4% withdrawal rule to determine your target nest egg and shows if your current savings rate will get you there.
Planning to retire early? Our FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) calculator shows when you can achieve financial independence.
Enter your savings rate and expenses to see your path to early retirement.
See how much monthly income your retirement savings will provide.
Our retirement income calculator factors in Social Security, pensions, and investment withdrawals to show your total retirement income.
Maximize your 401(k) for retirement.
Our calculator shows how employer matches and tax-advantaged growth accelerate your retirement savings.
See the impact of increasing your contribution rate.
A widely used starting point is the 25x rule: multiply your desired annual retirement spending by 25 to estimate the nest egg needed. If you want $60,000 a year from your portfolio, you target $1,500,000.
This is the inverse of the 4% withdrawal rule and assumes your investments keep pace with inflation.
Subtract expected Social Security and pension income first, since you only need your portfolio to cover the remaining spending.
The 4% rule, grounded in the Trinity Study, suggests withdrawing 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement and adjusting for inflation thereafter, with a high probability of the money lasting 30 years. On a $1,000,000 portfolio that is $40,000 the first year.
Critics note it depends on market conditions, retirement length, and asset mix, so many planners use 3-3.5% for early retirees.
It remains the most cited safe-withdrawal benchmark.
Time is the most powerful input in retirement saving because of compounding.
$500 a month invested at a 7% average return grows to roughly $566,000 over 30 years but only about $246,000 over 20 years — the last decade contributes disproportionately.
Starting early beats saving more later. This is why financial educators stress beginning retirement contributions in your twenties, even at small amounts, over waiting until income is higher.
Retirement savings grow fastest in tax-advantaged accounts. Per the IRS, the 2024 employee 401(k) limit is $23,000 (plus catch-up contributions at 50+), and the IRA limit is $7,000.
Traditional accounts give a tax deduction now and tax withdrawals later; Roth accounts use after-tax money but grow and withdraw tax-free.
Capturing a full employer 401(k) match is effectively free money and should be the first priority in any retirement plan.
Social Security provides a foundation of inflation-adjusted lifetime income.
According to the Social Security Administration, benefits replace roughly 40% of pre-retirement income for an average earner, and claiming age matters enormously: taking benefits at 62 permanently reduces them, while delaying to 70 increases them about 8% per year past full retirement age.
Estimate your benefit and subtract it from your spending need before sizing the portfolio you must build.
Two risks threaten a retirement fund:
Holding a cash buffer and a balanced asset mix, and staying flexible on withdrawals in down years, are the standard defenses against both.
Frequent mistakes include:
Some also invest too conservatively for a 30-year horizon or too aggressively near retirement.
Start early, capture the match, plan for inflation and longevity, and revisit the plan as income and markets change.
Data sourced from trusted institutions
All formulas verified against official standards.