Retirement Calculator

Find out if you're on track for retirement. Enter your current savings, income, and contribution rate to see your projected balance at retirement — and whether it will support the income you need.

Results are projections based on the assumptions you enter. Actual results depend on investment returns, inflation, taxes, and your spending in retirement.

Include your 401(k), IRA, and any other retirement contributions.

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e.g. 50% match up to 6% of salary = enter 3% (the effective match rate).

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Historical average for a balanced portfolio is 6–8% before inflation. Use 5–6% for conservative.

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Used to calculate purchasing power of future savings in today's dollars.

In today's dollars — the calculator adjusts for inflation.

Find your estimate at ssa.gov/myaccount. Leave blank to exclude.

Planning to age 97 ( age 67 + 30 years) is a common conservative assumption.

Frequently asked questions

A common guideline is to accumulate 25× your desired annual retirement income — this is the inverse of the 4% rule. If you want $60,000/year in retirement, you need approximately $1.5 million saved. This assumes a 30-year retirement, a balanced portfolio, and no major spending surprises. Your actual number depends on Social Security, pension income, your spending in retirement, and how long you live.

How does the retirement calculator work?

Enter your age, current savings, income, and how much you're saving each month to see your projected retirement balance. The calculator compounds your savings at the expected return rate over the years until you retire.

It then estimates whether your balance will generate enough monthly income to cover your retirement expenses — factoring in Social Security if you include it, and keeping everything in today's dollars so you can think about your retirement in familiar terms.

If there's a gap between what you're on track for and what you need, the calculator shows you the specific adjustments that would close it: saving more per month, retiring slightly later, or adjusting your return assumptions.

How much should I have saved by age?

A rough benchmark: your retirement savings should equal approximately 1× your annual salary by age 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, and 8× by 60. These are starting points — your actual target depends on your retirement age, spending, Social Security benefit, and whether you have a pension.

The most useful question isn't "how do I compare to averages?" but "am I on pace for the retirement I want?" Use this calculator to find your personal number and the monthly savings rate that gets you there.

What return rate should I assume?

The S&P 500 has historically returned about 10% per year before inflation, or 7% after inflation. A diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds typically returns 6–8% nominally. We use 7% as the default — reasonable for a long-term investor in their accumulation years.

Conservative investors or those within 10 years of retirement often use 5–6% to account for a shift toward bonds. Using a lower return assumption builds in a margin of safety. If your actual returns are higher, you'll simply retire with more than projected.

Do not use a return rate higher than 8% unless you have a specific reason. Rosy return assumptions are the most common way people underestimate their retirement savings needs.