Retirement Calculator

Project your nest egg from today until the day you stop working, then see how long it lasts given the income you'll need in retirement. Adjust for expected return, inflation, and current savings — get a back-of-envelope sanity check on the trajectory.

How to use the retirement calculator

  1. Enter your age and target retirement age.
  2. Enter your current savings and monthly contribution. Be honest — small numbers compound dramatically over decades.
  3. Set the expected return (7% is reasonable for a diversified stock portfolio) and inflation (~2.5% is the long-run US average).
  4. Enter the monthly income you want in retirement (in today's dollars).
  5. Read the projection. The big number is your nest egg at retirement age. Below: years of contributions, growth from returns, and the age your money runs out at the income level you set.

Example: 32-year-old, $45k saved, $800/month contribution

Retiring at 65 with a 7% expected return: nest egg at retirement is roughly $1.45M. At $5,000/month in retirement (with 2.5% inflation eating away at the real return), the money lasts roughly 30 years — supporting you to about age 95.

The 4% rule

The 4% rule is the most-cited rule of thumb in retirement planning. It comes from the Trinity Study: withdraw 4% of your starting nest egg in the first year, adjust that dollar amount up for inflation each year after, and the money has a high (95%+) probability of lasting 30 years across most historical return sequences. To use it: multiply your desired annual retirement income by 25 to get the target nest egg. $50k/year × 25 = $1.25M target.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I save per month?
A common benchmark is 15% of gross income (including any employer match). If you start in your 20s, that gets most people to a comfortable retirement.
What if I'm starting late?
Save more and work longer. Adding 5 years of work and 30% more saving can have a bigger impact than chasing higher returns.
Should I include Social Security?
Not in this calculator — it focuses on the private-savings projection. If you expect Social Security, reduce the monthly retirement-income input by your expected benefit.