Retirement Savings Calculator
Find out whether you are saving enough for retirement — and how much you would need to save each month to close any gap. All results are shown in today’s dollars so the numbers stay easy to interpret.
Retirement outlook
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Projected nest egg at retirement
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Nest egg required to fund your goal
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Shortfall to close
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Monthly savings needed to fully fund goal
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Year-by-year savings projection
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Am I saving enough for retirement?
This calculator answers the most common retirement question by comparing two numbers: the nest egg you are on track to have at your retirement age, and the nest egg you would actually need to fund your desired lifestyle for the years you expect to spend in retirement. The difference is your funding gap — or, if you are ahead, your cushion.
- Current age and retirement age — the gap between these two is your savings runway. Even five extra years of compounding can add a surprising amount to your final balance.
- Current retirement savings — total balance across all accounts you intend to use in retirement: 401(k), 403(b), Traditional and Roth IRA, and any taxable brokerage money you are leaving alone for the long haul.
- Monthly contribution — your own paycheck deferral plus any employer match you receive. The match is free money — if your company offers one, contributing at least enough to capture the full match is almost always the right call.
- Expected annual return — the long-run average for a diversified portfolio of U.S. stocks and bonds. Historically the S&P 500 has averaged roughly 10% nominally and a 60/40 stock/bond mix around 7–8%. Be conservative if you are unsure.
- Expected inflation — the rate at which prices rise. The calculator subtracts inflation from your return so every result is in today’s purchasing power, which is much easier to reason about than “$3 million in 2055 dollars.”
- Desired annual income in retirement — the amount you want to live on each year, in today’s dollars. A common rule of thumb is 70–80% of your current income because some costs (commuting, payroll taxes, retirement saving itself) drop in retirement.
- Years in retirement — how long your savings need to last. People retiring in their mid-60s should generally plan for 25–30 years to avoid outliving their money.
How the math works: the calculator grows your current savings and monthly contributions at your inflation-adjusted (real) return until your retirement age. It then computes the lump sum needed today, in today’s dollars, to pay your desired annual income for the full retirement period using the present-value-of-an-annuity formula. The “monthly savings needed” figure is the contribution that would grow your starting balance to exactly meet that target.
This calculator assumes a constant real return, monthly compounding, end-of-month contributions, and steady annual withdrawals during retirement. Real markets fluctuate and personal circumstances change. This is an educational projection, not financial advice.
The most important retirement question isn’t how much you have — it’s whether what you’re on track to accumulate will actually be enough. This calculator answers that directly by comparing two numbers: the nest egg you’re projected to reach at your target retirement age, and the nest egg you’d need to fund your desired lifestyle for the full length of your retirement. If there’s a gap, it tells you exactly how much more per month would close it. Every result is shown in today’s dollars, adjusted for inflation, so the numbers stay intuitive rather than inflated by decades of price growth.
Current age and retirement age — the span between these two is your compounding runway. Even a few extra years can add a significant amount to your final balance, so these are worth thinking about carefully before assuming the conventional retirement age of 65 is right for you.
Current retirement savings — enter the combined balance of every account you intend to draw on in retirement: 401(k), 403(b), Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and any taxable brokerage money you’re setting aside for the long haul.
Monthly contribution — include both your own paycheck deferral and any employer match you receive. The match is free money; if your plan offers one, contributing at least enough to capture it in full is almost always the highest-return move available to you.
Expected annual return — the long-run average for a diversified stock-and-bond portfolio. Historically a 60/40 mix has returned around 7–8% nominally. When in doubt, use the lower end of whatever range you’re considering.
Expected inflation — the calculator subtracts this from your return to produce a real rate, which is what drives every output. The long-run U.S. average is around 3%.
Desired annual income in retirement — enter this in today’s dollars, not future dollars. A common starting point is 70–80% of your current income, since costs like commuting, payroll taxes, and retirement contributions themselves tend to fall after you stop working.
Years in retirement — how long your savings need to last. For someone retiring in their mid-60s, planning for 25–30 years is a reasonable safeguard against outliving your money.
The year-by-year projection table tracks your balance by age, showing annual contributions and investment growth separately so you can see exactly when compounding starts doing the heavy lifting.
The math behind retirement growth is compound interest — see it in action with the Compound Interest Calculator.
For a more granular year-by-year projection, the Investment Return Calculator lets you model specific return assumptions and see inflation-adjusted values.
Track your retirement accounts as part of your total financial picture with the Net Worth Calculator.
This calculator assumes a constant inflation-adjusted return, monthly compounding, end-of-month contributions, and steady annual withdrawals during retirement. Real markets fluctuate and personal circumstances change. This is not financial advice.