Retirement Calculator
See how much you could have saved by the time you retire, what yearly income that could give you alongside Social Security, and whether it meets your goal. If it falls short, you'll see how much more to save each month.
Projections assume the same return every year, contributions at the end of each month that rise once a year, and retirement income equal to your withdrawal rate times your savings plus Social Security. Taxes, fees and market ups and downs aren't included, so results are estimates, not guarantees. For a full retirement plan, consider talking with a qualified financial professional. See our terms of use.
How to use this retirement calculator
Fill in five numbers: your age, the age you plan to retire, what you've saved for retirement so far, how much goes into your accounts each month and the yearly return you expect. The results update as you type.
- Current savings: add up all your retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s, IRAs and plans from past jobs.
- Monthly contribution: include your employer's match. If you put in 6% of a $5,000 monthly paycheck and your employer adds 3%, enter $450.
- Expected return: the average yearly growth you expect before inflation. Try a cautious number and a hopeful one, such as 5% and 7%, to see a range.
Open More options to set your income goal, your expected Social Security benefit, how fast your contributions grow, inflation and your withdrawal rate. Enter the goal and Social Security in today's dollars. For your own Social Security estimate, sign in to your my Social Security account. It shows estimates for different claiming ages, so use the one for the age you plan to start.
How the calculator works
The calculator steps through every month from now until you retire:
- Your balance grows by the monthly equivalent of your annual return, and then that month's contribution is added. Contributions rise once a year by the increase you set.
- The final balance is converted to today's dollars by taking out inflation, so you can compare it with prices you know.
- Your yearly income is your withdrawal rate times that amount, plus Social Security.
- If that income falls short of your goal, the calculator finds the extra monthly saving that would close the gap.
balance = last month's balance × (1 + r) + contribution, where r = (1 + annual return)1/12 − 1
today's dollars = future balance ÷ (1 + inflation)years
yearly income = withdrawal rate × today's dollars + Social Security
Example: you're 35 with $50,000 saved, and you put $800 a month toward retirement, raising it 2% a year. At a 6% return, you'd contribute $424,579 over 32 years, and your balance would reach $1,449,030 at 67. With 2.5% inflation, that's worth $657,527 in today's dollars. A 4% withdrawal rate turns it into about $26,301 a year. Add $25,000 from Social Security and you'd have $51,301 a year, which is $8,699 short of a $60,000 goal. Saving $341 more a month, for a total of $1,141 that still rises 2% a year, would close the gap.
How much should you save for retirement?
A widely used rule of thumb from the investment firm Fidelity is to save at least 15% of your pre-tax income every year, counting any employer match. The calculator's default of $800 a month is 15% of a $64,000 salary. Fidelity also suggests these savings milestones:
| By age | Retirement savings |
|---|---|
| 30 | 1× your salary |
| 40 | 3× your salary |
| 50 | 6× your salary |
| 60 | 8× your salary |
| 67 | 10× your salary |
These targets assume you start saving at 25, retire at 67, keep more than half of your savings in stocks on average and want your savings to replace about 45% of your pre-retirement income. If you start later, retire earlier or have a pension, your numbers will differ. That's where the calculator helps.
To pick an income goal, start from what you spend now. Subtract costs that will end, such as commuting, retirement contributions and a mortgage you'll have paid off. Then add costs that may grow, such as health care and travel.
The 4% rule and its limits
The 4% rule comes from a 1994 study by financial planner William Bengen in the Journal of Financial Planning. Using U.S. stock and bond returns going back to 1926, he found that a retiree could withdraw 4% of savings in the first year, raise that dollar amount with inflation every year after, and the money would have lasted at least 30 years in every period he tested. His portfolios mixed large U.S. company stocks and intermediate-term Treasury bonds, with 50% to 75% in stocks.
Turned around, the rule tells you how big a nest egg you need. In our example, savings must supply $35,000 a year: the $60,000 goal minus $25,000 from Social Security. Here's what that takes in today's dollars:
| Withdrawal rate | Savings needed for $35,000 a year |
|---|---|
| 3% | $1,166,667 |
| 3.5% | $1,000,000 |
| 4% | $875,000 |
| 4.5% | $777,778 |
| 5% | $700,000 |
Keep the rule's limits in mind:
- It's based on past U.S. returns, and the future may be different.
- It was built for a 30-year retirement. If you retire early, a lower rate gives your money more room.
- It assumes you never cut spending, even after a bad year.
- It ignores taxes and investment fees.
For a more cautious plan, try 3.5% in the calculator. In our example, that raises the extra saving needed from $341 to $537 a month.
Social Security: when to claim
You can start Social Security retirement benefits as early as 62, but your monthly check is permanently smaller. If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67, and claiming at 62 cuts your benefit by about 30%. For each year you wait past full retirement age, up to 70, your benefit grows by 8%. So a benefit of $2,000 a month at 67 would be about $1,400 at 62 or $2,480 at 70.
Benefits are usually raised each year to keep up with inflation through a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The COLA for 2027 is 3.6%, starting with January 2027 payments. In 2026, the average retired worker gets about $2,090 a month, or roughly $25,000 a year, which is the calculator's default.
Timing can make a big difference. Suppose the $25,000 in our example is the benefit at 67. Working until 70 and claiming then would grow savings to $752,622 in today's dollars and raise Social Security by 24%, to $31,000. Income would reach $61,105 a year, enough to beat the $60,000 goal without saving more each month.
Tax-advantaged retirement accounts
These accounts let your savings grow without yearly taxes on the gains. The limits below are for 2026. They're adjusted for inflation, so check IRS.gov for the current year.
- 401(k), 403(b) and similar workplace plans: contributions come straight from your paycheck, and many employers add a match. You can put in up to $24,500 in 2026, plus $8,000 more if you're 50 or older, or $11,250 more at ages 60 to 63. Many plans offer both pre-tax and Roth versions.
- Traditional IRA: you can deduct contributions if you qualify, and withdrawals are taxed as income.
- Roth IRA: contributions aren't deductible, but qualified withdrawals, including earnings, are tax-free. The amount you can contribute phases out at higher incomes, starting at $153,000 for single filers and $242,000 for married couples filing jointly in 2026.
The 2026 IRA limit is $7,500 a year, or $8,600 if you're 50 or older, for all your traditional and Roth IRAs combined. Withdrawals before age 59½ generally owe a 10% additional tax on top of income tax, unless an exception applies.
Inflation and sequence-of-returns risk
Inflation shrinks what each dollar buys. The Federal Reserve aims for 2% inflation over the long run, and the calculator assumes 2.5% to leave some room. At 2.5% a year, prices more than double in 32 years: spending that costs $60,000 today would cost about $132,225 when our example saver turns 67. That's why the main result is shown in today's dollars. Our compound interest calculator can adjust any other savings for inflation too.
Sequence-of-returns risk is about the order of returns. Losses early in retirement hurt more, because you sell investments at low prices to pay your bills. Picture two retirees who each start with $1,000,000 and take out $40,000 at the start of every year. Over 10 years they get the same returns in opposite order. The first has −20% and then −10% in years 1 and 2, followed by eight years of +8%. The second has eight years of +8%, then −10% and finally −20%. Without withdrawals, both would end with $1,332,670. With withdrawals, the one whose losses come first has $753,227 left after 10 years, while the one whose losses come last has $941,028.
Common ways to manage this risk include keeping a year or two of spending in cash or bonds, starting with a lower withdrawal rate and spending less after a bad year.
Frequently asked questions
What return should I use?
No one knows future returns. Stocks have historically had the highest returns and the most risk of the major types of investments, so a mix with more stocks may grow faster but swing more. Many people plan with a cautious rate and test a hopeful one. Subtract fund fees, such as expense ratios, from the return you enter.
Should I include my employer's match?
Yes. Enter everything that goes into your retirement accounts each month, from you and from your employer.
Does the calculator include taxes?
No. It compares your goal with income before taxes. Withdrawals from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs are taxed, and part of your Social Security may be taxed too, depending on your income. A higher goal gives you a cushion.
What if I plan to retire before 62?
Social Security retirement benefits can't start until 62. The calculator adds Social Security from the day you retire, so plan to cover the years before your benefit starts from savings, and enter the benefit for the age you'll claim.
How often should I check my plan?
Once a year is a good habit, and again after big changes such as a new job, a raise or a market drop.
Last reviewed: October 2026