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See what your savings could grow into. Our free retirement calculator projects your nest egg from current savings, monthly contributions and returns — plus the safe monthly income it could provide.
Enter your current age, retirement age, current savings, monthly contribution, expected return and inflation. The calculator compounds your savings and monthly contributions to retirement age, then applies the 4% safe-withdrawal rule for monthly income and discounts to today’s dollars.
Formula: Nest egg = Savings × (1+r)^n + Monthly × [((1+r/12)^(12n) − 1)/(r/12)]; Monthly income = Nest egg × 4% ÷ 12.
This calculator projects your retirement nest egg from your current savings, monthly contributions, and expected returns, then translates that lump sum into sustainable monthly income using the 4% rule. Follow these steps for a realistic projection.
Pro tip: The two inputs that matter most are time and contributions — not the return rate. Increase your monthly contribution by $200 and watch the nest egg jump far more than raising the assumed return from 7 to 8 percent would. Run the numbers at 6, 7, and 8 percent returns to see how sensitive your plan is, then build your budget around the 6 percent case.
Retirement planning is the process of converting today’s earnings into decades of future spending power. The engine behind it is compound growth: your investments earn returns, and those returns earn their own returns. Over 30 years at 7 percent, every dollar you invest today becomes $7.61. Over 10 years, it becomes only $1.97. Time is the most powerful input you have, which is why starting at 25 beats starting at 35 by hundreds of thousands of dollars even with identical contributions.
Most Americans build their nest egg (the lump sum that funds retirement) through tax-advantaged accounts. A 401(k) lets you contribute pre-tax dollars through payroll, often with an employer match — the closest thing to free money in personal finance. A Traditional IRA offers similar tax deferral for those without a workplace plan, while a Roth IRA flips the deal: you contribute after-tax dollars but withdraw tax-free in retirement. Contribution limits, catch-up provisions after age 50, and income phase-outs all shape which accounts deserve your dollars first.
Your asset allocation — the mix of stocks, bonds, and cash — should reflect your horizon. A 35-year-old can hold 80 to 90 percent stocks because decades smooth out volatility; a 60-year-old typically dials back toward 50 to 60 percent stocks to protect against a market crash just before retirement. Inflation is the silent tax on every plan: at 3 percent inflation, prices double roughly every 24 years, so $1 million at age 65 buys what only about $559,000 buys today if you are 35. That is why the calculator shows a “today’s dollars” figure — it is the honest version of your nest egg.
Two risks deserve special respect. Longevity risk is the chance you outlive your money; with a 65-year-old couple having roughly a 50 percent chance that one spouse reaches 90, planning only to 85 is optimistic. Sequence of returns risk is the danger of a market crash in your first years of retirement, when withdrawals from a shrunken portfolio permanently impair its recovery. The 4% rule, explained below, was designed with both risks in mind.
The 4% rule is the most famous guideline in retirement planning. It says you can safely withdraw 4 percent of your nest egg in the first year of retirement, then adjust that dollar amount for inflation each year, with high confidence the money lasts 30 years. It comes from the 1994 Trinity study, which tested withdrawal rates against historical U.S. market returns: 4 percent survived every 30-year period in the data, including retirements starting right before the Great Depression.
The formula is simple:
Annual safe withdrawal = Nest egg × 0.04
Monthly safe income = Nest egg × 0.04 ÷ 12
The rule assumes a portfolio of roughly 50 to 75 percent stocks, and it is a planning ceiling rather than a spending mandate — in strong markets you can often spend more, and in weak ones you should spend less. Let us work through two concrete examples.
A $1,000,000 portfolio supports a first-year withdrawal of $1,000,000 × 0.04 = $40,000, or $3,333.33 per month. If inflation runs 3 percent, year two’s withdrawal rises to $41,200. This is the baseline every retirement article references: each $1 million of savings buys roughly $40,000 of annual spending power. Want $80,000 a year? You need roughly $2 million. The math is linear and unforgiving, which is why the savings target matters more than clever withdrawal tricks.
Using the calculator’s default projection, $1,356,590 × 0.04 = $54,263.60 per year, or $4,522 per month — exactly what the widget reports. Combined with average Social Security benefits (about $1,900 per month for a typical worker in 2024), this household would have roughly $6,400 per month before taxes. In today’s dollars, the $1,356,590 nest egg is worth $558,897, so the inflation-adjusted safe income is about $1,863 per month in current purchasing power plus Social Security. That gap between nominal and real figures is why the “today’s dollars” output exists: $4,522 a month sounds comfortable until you realize prices will have nearly doubled.
Critics note the 4% rule was built on U.S. data and past bond yields; with today’s valuations some researchers suggest 3.5 percent is safer, while flexible strategies (withdrawing less after down years) can support more. Treat 4 percent as your planning anchor and your spending ceiling, not a guarantee.
Can an ordinary earner reach $1 million? Meet Jordan, age 30, with $25,000 already saved and able to invest $500 per month ($6,000 per year). Assuming a 7 percent annual return until age 65 — 35 years of compounding — let us do the math the calculator performs.
First, the $25,000 lump sum grows to $25,000 × 1.0735 = $266,915. Second, the monthly contributions: at a monthly rate of 0.5833 percent over 420 months, the annuity factor is about 1,799.78, so $500 per month grows to $899,890. Total nest egg: $266,915 + $899,890 = $1,166,805 — comfortably past $1 million.
Jordan’s total contributions were only $25,000 + ($500 × 420) = $235,000. Investment growth supplied the other $931,805 — nearly 80 percent of the final balance. The 4% rule converts $1,166,805 into $3,889 per month of retirement income. This is the central miracle the calculator demonstrates: modest, boring, automatic contributions plus three decades of patience manufacture a millionaire. Jordan never needed a six-figure salary, stock picks, or luck — just $500 a month and the discipline never to stop.
Starting late is costlier but far from hopeless. Meet Alex, age 50, with $200,000 saved and 15 years until retirement at 65. Alex can invest $1,500 per month ($18,000 per year) and earns 7 percent.
The $200,000 lump sum grows to $200,000 × 1.0715 = $551,806. The monthly contributions over 180 months grow with an annuity factor of about 316.96, giving $1,500 × 316.96 = $475,440. Total nest egg: $551,806 + $475,440 = $1,027,246 — past $1 million with only 15 years of runway.
Alex’s total contributions were $200,000 + ($1,500 × 180) = $470,000, with growth contributing $557,246. The 4% rule yields $3,424 per month. Now the tax code helps: at 50+, Alex qualifies for catch-up contributions — an extra $7,500 per year in a 401(k) beyond the standard $23,500 limit (2025 figures), plus $1,000 extra in an IRA. Workers aged 60 to 63 get an even larger catch-up window of $11,250. Alex’s $18,000 per year fits within the $31,000 combined limit, so every dollar can go into tax-advantaged accounts. The lesson: lost time can be substantially replaced with higher contributions and catch-up provisions, but the monthly check required — $1,500 versus Jordan’s $500 — shows exactly what delay costs.
1. Ignoring inflation in the target. A $1 million goal set at age 35 is really a $559,000 goal in today’s purchasing power at 3 percent inflation. Savers who hit their nominal number and stop often discover their “million” buys a middle-class retirement, not a lavish one. Always plan in today’s dollars, which is why the calculator reports both figures.
2. Assuming unrealistic returns. Projecting 10 to 12 percent returns because “stocks averaged 10 percent” ignores fees, taxes, bond allocations, and bad decades. A 60/40 portfolio’s long-run return is closer to 7 percent nominal. Every extra percentage point of assumed return shrinks your required savings on paper — and sets you up for a shortfall in reality. Plan at 6 to 7 percent; celebrate if you get 8.
3. Forgetting that pre-tax savings are not all yours. A $1 million 401(k) is really worth about $750,000 to $800,000 after federal and state taxes in retirement. Roth accounts reverse this — $1 million in a Roth is $1 million of spending power. Your asset location across pre-tax, Roth, and taxable accounts changes your true nest egg, so model after-tax income, not account balances.
4. Keeping contributions flat while income rises. Someone who saved 10 percent of a $60,000 salary at 30 and still saves 10 percent of a $110,000 salary at 45 is doing well — but the classic failure is saving a fixed dollar amount for decades while lifestyle inflates. Automate contribution increases of 1 percent per year; you will not feel it, and it compounds enormously.
5. Retiring with debt and no buffer. Entering retirement with a mortgage, car loans, or credit-card debt forces withdrawals to cover fixed payments in down markets — the essence of sequence of returns risk. The last five working years should prioritize killing debt and building a two-year cash buffer so you never have to sell stocks in a crash to pay bills.
Retirement planning connects to everything else in your financial life. Our 401(k) Calculator models your workplace plan including employer matching, our Investment Calculator projects any lump sum or recurring investment, and our Loan Calculator helps you decide whether to pay down debt or invest extra cash. Browse the full Financial Calculators collection for more.
This page provides a retirement calculator projecting a nest egg from current age, retirement age, current savings, monthly contributions, expected annual return, and inflation. Outputs: projected nest egg, total contributions, investment growth, safe monthly income via the 4% rule, and nest egg in today’s dollars. Core formulas: nest egg = savings × (1+r)^n + monthly × [((1+r/12)^(12n)−1)/(r/12)]; monthly income = nest egg × 0.04 / 12; today’s dollars = nest egg / (1+inflation)^n. Default example: age 35 to 65, $50,000 saved, $800/month, 7% return, 3% inflation → $1,356,590 nest egg ($338,000 contributions + $1,018,590 growth), $4,522/month safe income, $558,897 in today’s dollars. The article explains the 4% rule with two worked examples ($1M → $3,333/mo; $1,356,590 → $4,522/mo), a $1M worked example (30yo, $25k, $500/mo → $1,166,805), a catch-up example (50yo, $200k, $1,500/mo → $1,027,246), five common mistakes, and related calculators.
A common target is 25× your annual spending (the inverse of the 4% rule) — $60k/year spending needs ~$1.5M. The retirement calculator projects your nest egg and its 4%-rule income.
Research suggesting you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one (adjusting for inflation after) with low odds of running out over 30 years. $1.36M × 4% ÷ 12 is about $4,522/month.
Depends on age and goal, but $800/month from age 35 to 65 at 7% with $50k saved grows to about $1.36M. Starting 10 years earlier roughly doubles the result.
6–8% nominal for a stock-heavy portfolio is standard for planning; use lower if you’re conservative or heavily in bonds.
A $1.36M nest egg in 30 years at 3% inflation spends like ~$560k today. Real (inflation-adjusted) figures keep goals honest.
The 4% rule says you can withdraw 4% of your nest egg in the first year of retirement, then adjust for inflation yearly, with high confidence it lasts 30 years. A $1,000,000 portfolio supports $40,000 per year ($3,333/month). The rule comes from the 1994 Trinity study testing historical market returns. Treat it as a planning ceiling: in strong markets you may spend more, after down years spend less.
It depends on your age and returns. Starting at 30 with nothing saved, about $555 per month at 7% reaches $1 million by 65. Starting at 40, you would need about $1,235 per month for 25 years. With a $25,000 head start at 30, $500 per month grows to roughly $1,167,000. Time matters more than the amount — starting ten years earlier roughly halves the required monthly savings.
Workers aged 50 and older can contribute extra to retirement accounts beyond standard limits. In 2025, the 401(k) catch-up is $7,500 per year on top of the $23,500 limit ($31,000 total), and workers aged 60 to 63 get a special $11,250 catch-up. IRAs allow an extra $1,000. These provisions let late starters close the gap: $7,500 per year for 15 years at 7% adds about $188,000 to a nest egg.
Sources: projections use the standard future-value formulas shown above and are cross-checked in the calculator; for official retirement guidance, see the U.S. Department of Labor at dol.gov and the Social Security Administration at ssa.gov.
Also try our 401(k) Calculator, Investment Calculator and Loan Calculator for more money math, or browse all Financial Calculators.