Retirement Calculator
Project your retirement savings with contributions, growth and inflation adjusted.
Retirement Calculator
Project your retirement savings with contributions, growth and inflation adjusted.
Starts in your browser. Instructions are below.
How to use Retirement Calculator
- 01Enter your current age, retirement age and current savings.
- 02Add your monthly contribution and an annual contribution increase if you plan to raise it each year.
- 03Set an expected annual return and expected inflation rate.
- 04Read your projected balance at retirement, both as a raw number and in today's money.
About Retirement Calculator
This retirement calculator projects your savings as compound growth plus regular monthly deposits, applied monthly up to your retirement age. It assumes your contribution rises once a year by the percentage you enter, and compounds your expected annual return on a monthly basis.
Inflation is the part most quick estimates skip. At 3% inflation, prices roughly double every 24 years, so a balance of a million dollars in 30 years buys less than you might expect; this calculator divides your final balance by (1 plus inflation) raised to the number of years to show that in today's money. It also shows a 4% rule estimate, which assumes you could withdraw 4% of your balance in the first year of retirement and adjust for inflation after that. This is a rough guide, not a guarantee, since actual market returns vary year to year.
Frequently asked questions
- What return should I assume?
- A diversified, stock-heavy portfolio has historically returned around 7% a year after inflation, but no return is guaranteed, so try a few different rates.
- What is the 4% rule?
- It is a rule of thumb that withdrawing 4% of your balance in year one, then adjusting for inflation each year after, has historically lasted about 30 years.
- Does this calculator include tax?
- No. Tax treatment depends on your account type and country, so treat the projected balance as a pre-tax figure.
- Why does starting early matter so much?
- Money contributed in your twenties or thirties has decades to compound, so it grows far more than the same dollar amount contributed closer to retirement.
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