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Retirement Savings Calculator

Updated January 2026

A retirement calculator answers the most important question in financial planning: are you saving enough? Project your savings through your working years and see how long your nest egg will last in retirement.

How to Use This Calculator

Enter your current age, desired retirement age, current retirement savings, and your monthly contribution amount. Set your expected annual return and how much you expect to spend annually in retirement. Adjust the safe withdrawal rate (4% is the standard guideline from the Trinity Study). Click Project Retirement to see your savings at retirement, your sustainable annual income, how long your savings will last, and your total contributions.

How It's Calculated

This is a two-part calculation:

1. Accumulation phase — The same future value formula projects growth from now until retirement:

FV_at_retirement = Current_Savings × (1+r/n)^(n×t) + PMT × [((1+r/n)^(n×t) −1)/(r/n)]

2. Sustainability check — Uses the safe withdrawal rate (default 4%) to calculate how much you can safely withdraw each year. If your annual spending is less than the ongoing investment returns, your savings can last indefinitely.

Frequently Asked Questions

The most common rule of thumb is to aim for 10–12 times your annual pre-retirement income saved by age 67. Another popular guideline is the 25x rule: multiply your desired annual retirement spending by 25 (based on the 4% withdrawal rule). For example, if you need $50,000 per year in retirement, you'd need $1.25 million saved. Your actual number depends on your lifestyle, healthcare costs, Social Security benefits, and life expectancy.
The 4% rule is a retirement spending guideline developed from the "Trinity Study." It suggests that withdrawing 4% of your retirement portfolio in the first year, then adjusting for inflation each subsequent year, should make your savings last at least 30 years. For a $1 million portfolio, that's $40,000 in the first year. The rule is a guideline, not a guarantee — many retirees adjust based on market conditions and their actual spending needs.
Inflation is one of the biggest threats to retirement security. At 3% average inflation, the purchasing power of your savings is cut in half every 24 years. A $1 million nest egg today might feel like $500,000 in 24 years. That's why most retirement calculators show both nominal (raw) and real (inflation-adjusted) values, and why retirees typically need to keep some growth-oriented investments in their portfolio even after retirement.
You can afford to retire when your savings, combined with Social Security, pensions, and other income sources, can support your desired lifestyle for your expected lifespan. A common target is having 80% of your pre-retirement income available annually. Enter your savings, contribution rate, expected returns, and desired retirement age into this calculator to see if you're on track — and what adjustments you might need to make.

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