Retirement calculator

Your savings at retirement, how long they last, the shortfall and the monthly saving needed, with every assumption labelled and editable.

Your age now

Retirement age

Plan for the money to last to age

Retirement savings now

You save each month

Employer match

Of what you save: 50 = 50 cents on each 1 you save.

Your retirement projection

Savings at retirement: $1,018,059; $485,352 in today's money
Needed at retirement: $1,740,218; To last to age 90
Shortfall: $722,159
Money lasts to age: 78 years 6 months; Before your plan age

To close the gap, save about $995 a month instead of $500 (with the same employer match), or retire later, spend less, or plan for a lower return.

In the first year of retirement you would draw $83,903 (the income you want minus pensions, raised by 2.5% inflation a year until then). You pay in $180,000 and your employer $90,000 before retiring.

Savings balance by age

Balance at the end of the year
Top of the last bar: $0

Income and assumptions

Income you want a year in retirement

In today's money, before tax.

Pensions and Social Security a year

In today's money; paid from retirement.

Inflation a year

Return before retirement

Yearly, after fees.

Return in retirement

Usually lower: a safer mix.

Currency

Year by year

Retirement savings year by year
Age	Paid in	Growth	Withdrawn	Balance
35	$9,000	$3,245	$0	$62,245
36	$9,000	$3,980	$0	$75,224
37	$9,000	$4,758	$0	$88,983
38	$9,000	$5,584	$0	$103,567
39	$9,000	$6,459	$0	$119,026
40	$9,000	$7,386	$0	$135,412
41	$9,000	$8,370	$0	$152,782
42	$9,000	$9,412	$0	$171,193
43	$9,000	$10,517	$0	$190,710
44	$9,000	$11,687	$0	$211,397
45	$9,000	$12,929	$0	$233,326
46	$9,000	$14,244	$0	$256,571
47	$9,000	$15,639	$0	$281,210
48	$9,000	$17,117	$0	$307,327
49	$9,000	$18,685	$0	$335,012
50	$9,000	$20,346	$0	$364,357
51	$9,000	$22,106	$0	$395,464
52	$9,000	$23,973	$0	$428,437
53	$9,000	$25,951	$0	$463,388
54	$9,000	$28,048	$0	$500,436
55	$9,000	$30,271	$0	$539,707
56	$9,000	$32,627	$0	$581,334
57	$9,000	$35,125	$0	$625,459
58	$9,000	$37,772	$0	$672,231
59	$9,000	$40,579	$0	$721,810
60	$9,000	$43,554	$0	$774,364
61	$9,000	$46,707	$0	$830,070
62	$9,000	$50,049	$0	$889,120
63	$9,000	$53,592	$0	$951,712
64	$9,000	$57,348	$0	$1,018,059
65	$0	$38,915	$83,903	$973,072
66	$0	$37,071	$86,000	$924,142
67	$0	$35,067	$88,150	$871,059
68	$0	$32,896	$90,354	$813,602
69	$0	$30,549	$92,613	$751,538
70	$0	$28,017	$94,928	$684,627
71	$0	$25,290	$97,301	$612,615
72	$0	$22,357	$99,734	$535,238
73	$0	$19,208	$102,227	$452,219
74	$0	$15,832	$104,783	$363,268
75	$0	$12,218	$107,403	$268,083
76	$0	$8,352	$110,088	$166,347
77	$0	$4,224	$112,840	$57,731
78	$0	$477	$58,208	$0

A projection with steady returns and inflation; real markets go up and down, and taxes, fees and changes to your pay are not modelled. Contributions stay the same each month; withdrawals rise with inflation. This is an estimate to help you plan, not financial advice: lenders, card issuers and investments set their own terms, fees and rounding. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.

How it works

This retirement calculator projects what your savings will be worth when you retire, how much you need to fund the income you want, and how long the money lasts. It works month by month from your age, current savings, monthly contribution and employer match, and your own assumptions for returns and inflation. With the defaults (35 years old, $50,000 saved, $500 a month plus a 50% match, 6% returns) the projection is $1,018,059 at 65, which is $485,352 in today’s money.

If the savings fall short, it shows the gap and the monthly saving that would close it; if they are more than enough, it shows the margin. A year-by-year table, a chart and a CSV download show the whole path, saving and then drawing down.

It is generic: it does not know your country’s pension rules, taxes or account types, so enter your pensions and Social Security as income, and keep the assumptions cautious. Every figure here is an estimate to help you plan, not financial advice: lenders, card issuers and investments set their own terms, fees and rounding.

How the retirement projection is calculated

Returns are yearly effective rates turned into monthly ones: r = (1 + return)^(1/12) − 1. Until you retire, each month the balance grows by r and your contribution plus the employer match is added. Contributions stay the same every month (raise them yourself if your pay rises).

From retirement, each month the income you want minus pensions is withdrawn at the start of the month, and the rest keeps growing at the retirement return. Both incomes are in today’s money, so they are raised by inflation until you retire and by inflation every year after that.

The amount needed at retirement is the present value of those withdrawals up to the plan-to age: Σ withdrawal ÷ (1 + r)^month. The shortfall is that amount minus the projected balance, and the monthly saving needed is the contribution that makes the two equal. Taxes and fees are not modelled.

The assumptions drive the answer: a 1-point lower return or a few years’ earlier retirement can change the result by hundreds of thousands. Try a pessimistic case too.
Enter returns after fees. A retirement return a little lower than the saving return reflects a safer mix of investments.

How much to save a month to reach $1 million by 65

Starting from nothing, saving at the end of every month with no employer match, before tax:

Monthly saving needed to have $1,000,000 at age 65, by starting age and yearly return (USD)
Start at age	At 5% a year	At 7% a year	At 9% a year
25	$675	$405	$237
30	$902	$584	$371
35	$1,226	$855	$588
40	$1,707	$1,277	$945
45	$2,464	$1,970	$1,565
50	$3,776	$3,214	$2,727
55	$6,478	$5,846	$5,271

Starting ten years earlier roughly halves the monthly amount: most of the final balance comes from growth, not from what you pay in.

How long does $1 million last?

Withdrawing a yearly income that rises with 2.5% inflation, with the rest earning 4% a year:

How long savings last by pot size and yearly withdrawal (4% return, 2.5% inflation)
Savings	Withdraw $40,000 a year	$50,000 a year	$60,000 a year	$80,000 a year
$500k	13 years 11 months	10 years 11 months	8 years 11 months	6 years 7 months
$750k	22 years 1 month	17 years 1 month	13 years 11 months	10 years 2 months
$1 million	31 years 5 months	23 years 11 months	19 years 3 months	13 years 11 months
$1.5 million	55+ years	39 years 11 months	31 years 5 months	22 years 1 month

The "4% rule" (withdraw 4% of your savings in the first year, then raise it with inflation) comes from US historical returns; it is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee.

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How to use it

Enter your age, the age you want to retire and the age the money should last to.
Enter what you have saved for retirement, what you save each month and your employer’s match.
Enter the income you want in retirement and any pension or Social Security, both in today’s money.
Adjust the returns and inflation, then read the projection, the shortfall and the monthly saving needed.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I need to retire?

Enough to fund the income you want, minus pensions and Social Security, for as long as you expect to live. A common shortcut is 25 times the yearly income you need from savings (the 4% rule); this calculator works it out month by month with your own return and inflation assumptions and shows the amount needed at retirement.

What return should I assume?

Use a cautious figure after fees. Diversified stock portfolios have averaged more over long periods, but many planners use 5% to 7% a year before retirement and 3% to 5% after it, when the mix is usually safer. Try a lower rate to see how sensitive your plan is.

How is the employer match handled?

As a percentage of what you save: with a 50% match, every $100 you save adds $150 to your balance. Plans usually cap the match at a share of your salary; enter the match you actually receive.

Does it include Social Security or a state pension?

Enter them under "Pensions and Social Security a year" in today’s money; they reduce what your savings must pay. The calculator does not estimate them for you: check your Social Security statement or your country’s pension forecast.

Are taxes included?

No. The income you enter is before tax, and withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts are usually taxed. If most of your savings are pre-tax, aim for a higher income figure to cover the tax.

What does "money lasts to age" mean?

The age at which the savings run out if you withdraw the income you want (rising with inflation) and earn the retirement return on the rest. If it is past the plan-to age, the plan is funded on these assumptions.

Why does inflation matter so much?

Because a retirement can last 30 years. At 2.5% inflation prices roughly double in 28 years, so the same lifestyle costs twice as much at the end as at the start. The calculator raises your withdrawals every year to keep their buying power.