Retirement Planning
Retirement Calculator
Project your nest egg at retirement and see whether it can cover the monthly income you're aiming for.
Nest egg at age 65
$1,363,171
From contributions
$319,967
From growth
$1,043,204
Savings trajectory
Required nest egg for goal
$1,200,000
Based on 25 years of $4000/mo withdrawals, not accounting for growth during retirement.
Years until retirement
35
Contributions increase 2% each year to keep pace with income growth.
Year-by-year projection
| Age | Contributions | Growth | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | $6,000.00 | $1,678.24 | $27,678.24 |
| 32 | $6,120.00 | $2,237.95 | $36,036.19 |
| 33 | $6,242.40 | $2,846.89 | $45,125.48 |
| 34 | $6,367.25 | $3,508.79 | $55,001.51 |
| 35 | $6,494.59 | $4,227.66 | $65,723.77 |
| 36 | $6,624.48 | $5,007.81 | $77,356.06 |
| 37 | $6,756.97 | $5,853.84 | $89,966.87 |
| 38 | $6,892.11 | $6,770.71 | $103,629.69 |
| 39 | $7,029.96 | $7,763.74 | $118,423.39 |
| 40 | $7,170.56 | $8,838.62 | $134,432.56 |
| 41 | $7,313.97 | $10,001.48 | $151,748.01 |
| 42 | $7,460.25 | $11,258.88 | $170,467.14 |
| 43 | $7,609.45 | $12,617.87 | $190,694.46 |
| 44 | $7,761.64 | $14,086.00 | $212,542.10 |
| 45 | $7,916.87 | $15,671.38 | $236,130.36 |
| 46 | $8,075.21 | $17,382.71 | $261,588.28 |
| 47 | $8,236.71 | $19,229.33 | $289,054.32 |
| 48 | $8,401.45 | $21,221.23 | $318,677.00 |
| 49 | $8,569.48 | $23,369.16 | $350,615.64 |
| 50 | $8,740.87 | $25,684.65 | $385,041.16 |
| 51 | $8,915.68 | $28,180.05 | $422,136.89 |
| 52 | $9,094.00 | $30,868.61 | $462,099.49 |
| 53 | $9,275.88 | $33,764.55 | $505,139.93 |
| 54 | $9,461.40 | $36,883.14 | $551,484.46 |
| 55 | $9,650.62 | $40,240.72 | $601,375.80 |
| 56 | $9,843.64 | $43,854.84 | $655,074.28 |
| 57 | $10,040.51 | $47,744.34 | $712,859.13 |
| 58 | $10,241.32 | $51,929.39 | $775,029.83 |
| 59 | $10,446.15 | $56,431.65 | $841,907.63 |
| 60 | $10,655.07 | $61,274.34 | $913,837.04 |
| 61 | $10,868.17 | $66,482.38 | $991,187.59 |
| 62 | $11,085.53 | $72,082.48 | $1,074,355.61 |
| 63 | $11,307.24 | $78,103.29 | $1,163,766.14 |
| 64 | $11,533.39 | $84,575.55 | $1,259,875.08 |
| 65 | $11,764.06 | $91,532.21 | $1,363,171.34 |
How the retirement calculator works
This retirement calculator projects your savings forward from today until your target retirement age, then checks that projected nest egg against a monthly income goal you set for retirement. Starting from your current age, current savings, and monthly contribution, it compounds your balance month by month at your expected annual return, increasing your contribution each year by a rate you choose to approximate raises or cost-of-living adjustments. As a 401k calculator or IRA calculator substitute, it works the same way regardless of account type — the math only cares about the contribution amount, the return rate, and the time horizon, not the account's tax treatment.
Turning a nest egg into monthly income
Used as a retirement income calculator, this tool takes your projected nest egg and divides it evenly across your chosen withdrawal period to estimate a monthly income figure — a simple, conservative approach that doesn't assume any investment growth continues during retirement. It also works the calculation in reverse: given your desired monthly income and how many years you expect to draw it down, it computes the required nest egg size, so you can compare that target directly against your projected balance. If your projected nest egg falls short of the required amount, the gap tells you roughly how much more you'd need to save, invest more aggressively, retire later, or draw down more slowly to close it.
How much do I need to retire?
There's no single universal number, because the right nest egg size depends entirely on your desired monthly income and how many years you expect to draw on it — which is exactly why this doubles as a retirement savings calculator rather than giving a one-size-fits-all answer. A common industry rule of thumb suggests a nest egg of roughly 25 times your desired annual spending, based on withdrawing about 4% per year indefinitely, but that rule assumes continued investment growth during retirement, which this calculator's conservative "divide evenly" required-nest-egg figure does not. Increasing your annual contribution growth rate, starting to save earlier, or accepting a higher expected return (with correspondingly higher risk) are the three levers most people have available to close a retirement savings gap.
Why the annual contribution increase matters
Most people's income rises over a career, and this calculator models that by increasing your monthly contribution by a fixed percentage each year rather than holding it flat for decades. Even a modest annual increase — enough to roughly track raises or cost-of-living adjustments — compounds meaningfully over a 20- or 30-year working life, since later, larger contributions still get years of growth before retirement. Leaving this rate at zero models someone who never increases their contribution in dollar terms, which understates likely real-world savings for most career paths, so setting it closer to your expected raise pattern gives a more realistic nest-egg projection.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I have saved for retirement by a certain age?
It depends heavily on your desired retirement income, current age, and expected retirement age, so there's no single benchmark that applies to everyone. Enter your current savings, monthly contribution, and expected return above to see your own projected nest egg trajectory rather than relying on a generic rule of thumb.
What annual return should I assume for retirement accounts?
Many long-term retirement projections use 6–8% for a diversified stock-heavy portfolio, tapering toward 4–5% for a more conservative mix as retirement nears. These are historical averages over multi-decade periods, not guarantees — actual annual returns vary significantly, sometimes sharply negative in a given year.
Does this calculator account for Social Security or pensions?
No, it only projects growth from your entered savings and contributions. If you expect Social Security, a pension, or other income in retirement, subtract that amount from your desired monthly income goal before entering it, so the calculator only solves for the gap your personal savings need to cover.
Why does the required nest egg not account for growth during withdrawal?
The required nest egg figure uses a simple, conservative "divide evenly" approach — income goal times 12 times withdrawal years — specifically so it doesn't rely on optimistic assumptions about market performance after you stop contributing. If your portfolio keeps growing during retirement, your actual balance will likely last longer or support higher withdrawals than this conservative figure implies.
What if increasing my contribution isn't realistic?
If a higher contribution rate isn't feasible, the other levers are extending your working years (which adds both contribution time and compounding time), accepting a somewhat higher-risk, higher-return asset allocation, or adjusting your desired retirement income goal downward to match a realistic savings trajectory.
Whether retirement is decades away or coming up fast, this retirement calculator turns a vague savings goal into a concrete number — and shows you, year by year, whether your current plan actually gets you there.