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Retirement Calculator

Project your retirement savings and see how long they will last. The retirement calculator grows your savings until you retire, then draws down your spending, with inflation.

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In today's money

Savings at retirement
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Estimate only. Not financial advice.

How to use the Retirement Calculator

  1. Enter your Current age, Retirement age, Life expectancy, and Current savings.
  2. Set your Monthly contribution, its yearly increase, the returns before and after retiring, Inflation, and your monthly spending in retirement in today's money.
  3. Press Calculate. You see the balance at retirement, its value in today's money, and whether it lasts to your life expectancy.

How it works

saving phase, each month:  balance = balance × (1 + r₁ ÷ 12) + contribution
spending phase, each month: balance = balance × (1 + r₂ ÷ 12) − spending
first spending = today's spending × (1 + inflation)^(years to retirement)
today's money = balance ÷ (1 + inflation)^(years to retirement)

Contributions rise once a year by your increase rate. Spending rises once a year with inflation. The money runs out when the balance reaches zero.

Examples

  • Age 30 to 65, $50,000 saved, $500 a month, 7% a year, no inflation: $1,475,835 at 65.
  • With 2.5% inflation and $4,000 a month of spending in today's money, that balance is worth $621,874 in today's money, spending starts at $9,492.82 a month, and at a 5% return the money runs out at about age 81.

The 4% rule of thumb

A common guideline says you can spend about 4% of your savings in the first year of retirement and raise it with inflation, with a good chance the money lasts 30 years. $1,000,000 supports about $40,000 a year. It is a starting point, not a guarantee, and it assumes a mix of stocks and bonds.

Limitations

  • Returns are steady every year. Real markets rise and fall, and the order of good and bad years matters.
  • Pensions, Social Security, taxes, and employer matches are not included unless you add them to contributions or subtract them from spending.
  • Results are estimates, not financial advice.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How much do I need to retire?

One rule of thumb is 25 times your yearly spending, which matches the 4% withdrawal guideline.

What return should I use?

From 1928 to 2023 the S&P 500 returned about 6.6% a year after inflation, by our compound calculation from Aswath Damodaran's yearly data. A mix of stocks and bonds has usually returned less, and many people plan with a lower rate after retiring.

Why show today's money?

Because $1 million in 35 years will buy much less than today. Dividing by inflation shows what it is worth now.

Often used together with Retirement Calculator.