Retirement Calculator
Find out how much you need to retire, what your savings will grow to, your surplus or shortfall, and the age your money runs out, with Social Security and inflation built in.
401(k), IRA, brokerage, cash
Incl. any employer match
Per year, e.g. 2–3% with raises
Per year, after fees
Usually lower (safer mix)
Before tax, incl. healthcare
In the first year of retirement that is $86,523 a year in future dollars, after 32 years of 3% inflation.
Balance grows until retirement, then falls as you withdraw the income gap each year.
| Scenario | Nest egg | Needed | Surplus / gap | Lasts to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your plan | $593,142 | $673,322 | −$80,179 | 88 |
| Retire 2 years later (69) | $647,611 | $630,554 | $17,057 | 92 |
| Save $200 more a month | $699,122 | $673,322 | $25,800 | 93 |
| Returns 1% lower | $473,365 | $749,859 | −$276,494 | 82 |
All amounts in today's dollars. "Returns 1% lower" lowers both the before- and after-retirement return. Social Security start age is kept as entered.
By the 4% rule your savings would cover 71% of the gap. The 4% rule assumes about 30 years and a cautious mix of stocks and bonds, so it can differ from the exact figure above, which uses your own 25-year horizon and 5% return.
Saving: each month balance = balance × (1 + i) + contribution, i = (1 + 7%)^(1/12) − 1; contribution rises 0% a year.
Gap (year t) = (income wanted − Social Security − pension) × (1 + 3%)^(years from now).
Need = Gap × (1 + r) × [1 − ((1 + g) ÷ (1 + r))^N] ÷ (r − g) = $86,523 × (1 + 5%) × [1 − (1.0300 ÷ 1.0500)^25] ÷ (5% − 3%) = $1,733,859.
Withdrawals come out at the start of each retirement year. Today's $ = future $ ÷ (1 + inflation)^years. Extra saving = shortfall ÷ future value of $1 a month.
Educational estimate, not financial advice. It assumes steady returns every year, ignores taxes on withdrawals and does not model market crashes (sequence-of-returns risk). Enter your income target before tax, and consider a licensed financial planner for decisions.
- →Count every account you will live on: 401(k), 403(b), IRA, Roth IRA, HSA and taxable brokerage.
- →Use a lower return after retirement (for example 4–5%) because most people shift toward bonds and cash.
- →Delaying Social Security from 67 to 70 raises your check by 24% for life, and it keeps rising with inflation.
- →Plan to age 90 or 95. Running out of money at 85 is far worse than leaving some behind.
- →Re-run this every year with your real balance; small course corrections early beat big ones late.
This tool is for informational purposes only. Always verify results with a qualified professional.
What is the Retirement Calculator?
This retirement calculator answers the two questions everyone asks: how much will I have, and how much do I need? Enter your age, the age you want to retire, how long to plan for, what you have saved across all accounts (401(k), IRA, brokerage, cash), what you add each month, the returns you expect before and after retirement, inflation, the income you want, and your expected Social Security and pension. It projects your nest egg at retirement, works out the lump sum needed to pay your income gap until your plan-until age, and shows the surplus or shortfall, the extra monthly saving that would close it, and the age your money would run out.
The method is shown on the page. Savings grow month by month at your pre-retirement return, with contributions that can rise each year. In retirement, the calculator takes the income you want in today's dollars, raises it with inflation, subtracts Social Security (which has a yearly cost-of-living adjustment) and any pension, and treats the rest as the gap your savings must fill. The amount needed is the present value of that growing gap: Need = Gap × (1 + r) × [1 − ((1 + g) ÷ (1 + r))^N] ÷ (r − g), where r is your return in retirement, g is inflation and N is the number of years. Every figure is shown both in future dollars and in today's dollars so you can compare it with prices you know.
Worked example: a 35-year-old with $50,000 saved invests $800 a month, expects 7% a year before retirement and 5% after, and 3% inflation. They want $5,000 a month in today's dollars from age 67 and expect $2,200 a month from Social Security, planning to age 92 (25 years of retirement). Savings grow to about $1,527,390 at 67, which is $593,142 in today's dollars. The income gap is $2,800 a month in today's money ($86,523 in the first year of retirement, after 32 years of inflation), and funding it for 25 years needs about $1,733,859, or $673,322 in today's dollars. That is a shortfall of about $80,179 in today's dollars; without changes the money runs out at about age 88. Saving about $151 more a month closes the gap. Retiring at 69 or adding $200 a month each turns it into a surplus, while returns 1% lower push the run-out age to 82.
Social Security is often the largest piece of retirement income. The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment was 2.8%, and SSA has announced a 3.6% increase for 2027. SSA estimates the average retired worker's benefit at about $2,094 a month before that increase and about $2,170 after it. Your own figure depends on your earnings record and claiming age: claiming at 62 cuts the benefit to 70% of your full amount if your full retirement age is 67, while waiting to 70 raises it to 124%. Get your personal estimate from your my Social Security account or SSA's Quick Calculator, or use the rough estimate helper on this page.
The extras help you act on the result. A scenario table compares retiring two years later, saving $200 more a month and earning 1% less. A 4% rule check shows the income your nest egg would support under that classic rule of thumb, and the 25× rule shows the target it implies. The chart and the year-by-year table show your balance rising until retirement and falling as you draw it down, and a share link saves every input. This is an educational projection with steady returns, not financial advice: real markets go up and down, so review your plan every year.
How to Use This Calculator
- 1Enter your current age, the age you plan to retire and the age to plan until (90 to 95 is common, because many people outlive the average).
- 2Enter your total retirement savings across all accounts, what you add each month, and how much you expect to raise that amount each year.
- 3Set the expected return before and after retirement and the inflation rate (the defaults are 7%, 5% and 3%).
- 4Enter the income you want in retirement, either as dollars a month in today's money or as a percentage of your current income.
- 5Add your expected Social Security (from your SSA statement or the rough estimate helper), the age you will claim it, and any pension.
- 6Read your nest egg, the amount you need, your surplus or shortfall and the age the money runs out, then compare the scenarios and share the link.