Retirement Calculator
Calculate retirement savings needs, 401k contributions, and pension planning.
Personal Information
Current Savings
e.g. 50% match
Cap on matched pay
Assumptions
Projected Retirement Savings
At age 65
Monthly Income Available
From savings + Social Security
Monthly Income Needed
Inflation-adjusted
Monthly Shortfall
Additional income needed
Total Contributions
Your contributions
Employer Match Total
Free money from employer
Investment Growth
Compound interest earned
Withdrawal Rate
Annual withdrawal needed
What Builds Your Nest Egg
Which retirement accounts should you use?
The order in which you fund accounts matters as much as how much you save. A common, tax-efficient priority is: capture your full employer match, max your HSA if eligible, then fill an IRA and the rest of your 401(k).
Tax-deferred (Traditional 401k / IRA)
Deduct contributions now, pay tax on withdrawals. Best when you expect a lower tax bracket in retirement. 2026 limits: $24,500 (401k) and $7,500 (IRA), with catch-up room at 50+.
Roth (401k / IRA)
Pay tax now, withdraw tax-free later (including all growth). Best when you expect a higher bracket later or want tax-free flexibility and no required distributions on Roth IRAs.
Employer match
An instant 50-100% return. Always contribute at least enough to capture the full match before funding anything else — it is the single best return in investing.
HSA (if HSA-eligible)
The only triple-tax-advantaged account: deductible in, tax-free growth, tax-free out for medical costs. After 65 it works like a traditional IRA for non-medical withdrawals.
Savings benchmarks by age
A widely used rule of thumb (Fidelity) for multiples of your annual salary saved. Treat these as checkpoints, not guarantees — your own target depends on spending, not income.
Fill in the rest of your retirement picture
401(k) Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement, including employer match and contribution limits.
Social Security Calculator
Estimate your monthly benefit and see how your claiming age changes it.
Compound Interest Calculator
See how monthly contributions grow over decades — the engine behind every nest egg.
How it works
A retirement calculator works in two stages. First it grows your current savings plus ongoing contributions to a “nest egg” at your retirement date using compound growth. Then it checks whether that nest egg can fund your retirement spending — commonly tested with the 4% rule, which estimates a sustainable first-year withdrawal.
Nest egg & the 4% rule
FV = PV(1 + r)ⁿ + PMT · [(1 + r)ⁿ − 1] / r Nest egg needed ≈ annual spending ÷ 0.04
- FV
- future value (your nest egg)
- PV
- amount already saved
- PMT
- contribution each period
- r
- expected return per period
- n
- number of periods until retirement
Worked example
- You expect to spend $40,000/year in retirement
- Using the 4% rule as a sustainable withdrawal rate
- Nest egg needed = 40,000 ÷ 0.04
Target ≈ $1,000,000 — then work backwards to the monthly savings that compounds to it by your retirement date.
Good to know
- Starting early is the biggest lever: at 7%, a dollar saved at 25 is worth ~4× a dollar saved at 45, purely from extra compounding years.
- Capture every bit of an employer 401(k) match first — it's an instant 50–100% return before any market growth.
- The 4% rule is a starting guideline based on a 30-year horizon; longer retirements or lower expected returns argue for a more conservative 3–3.5%.
- Plan in real (inflation-adjusted) terms — $1M sounds like a lot today but buys far less in 30 years.
Related Calculators
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money do I need to retire?
A common target is 25x your expected annual spending, based on the 4% withdrawal rule. If you'll need $60,000 a year beyond Social Security, that points to roughly $1.5 million in savings.
Does this retirement calculator include Social Security?
Yes. Enter your expected monthly Social Security benefit and the calculator adds it to the income your savings can generate, showing whether the combination covers your retirement spending. Check your personalized estimate at ssa.gov — the average retired-worker benefit replaces roughly 40% of an average earner's income, and claiming later than your full retirement age (up to 70) permanently increases it.
How much should I save for retirement each year?
Aim for 10-15% of income including any employer match. In 2026 you can contribute up to $24,500 to a 401(k) and $7,500 to an IRA, with extra catch-up room if you're 50 or older.
What is the 4% rule?
Withdraw 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement, then adjust that dollar amount for inflation annually. Historical studies show this pacing has typically sustained a balanced portfolio for 30+ years.
How much difference does starting early make?
Enormous. Thanks to compounding, someone who starts saving at 25 can end up with roughly double the nest egg of someone starting at 35 with the same monthly contribution.
What percentage of my income will I need in retirement?
Most planners suggest 70-80% of pre-retirement income, since work expenses and saving stop but healthcare costs rise. Social Security replaces around 40% for an average earner, and your savings cover the rest.
Should I use a Roth or a traditional (pre-tax) account?
Traditional 401(k)/IRA contributions are deducted now and taxed on withdrawal — best if you expect a lower tax bracket in retirement. Roth contributions are taxed now but grow and withdraw tax-free — best if you expect a higher bracket later or want tax-free flexibility. Many people split between both to hedge against future tax-rate uncertainty.
What is sequence-of-returns risk?
It is the danger of poor market returns in the first few years of retirement, when withdrawals from a shrinking portfolio lock in losses you can never recover. The same average return with bad years early can exhaust a portfolio that would have lasted with bad years late. Holding 1-3 years of spending in cash/bonds and trimming withdrawals after down years are common defenses.
How should I plan for healthcare costs in retirement?
Healthcare is one of the largest retirement expenses, and Medicare does not start until 65. A Health Savings Account (HSA) is uniquely powerful here — contributions are deductible, growth is tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified medical costs are tax-free. If you retire before 65, budget separately for private coverage to bridge the gap.