Retirement Calculator
Free retirement calculator — project your savings growth, estimate retirement income, and see if you're on track. No annuity sales pitches, just honest projections.
Retirement Savings
$0
Monthly Income (4% Rule)
$0
Total Contributions
$0
yrs
1865
yrs
5575
$
$0$2M
$
$0$5K
%
1%15%
%
0%8%
Retirement Savings Projection
Formula Used
Retirement Savings at Year t:
FV_t = FV_(t-1) × (1 + r) + Contribution × (1 + r)
Where:
r = Expected annual return (e.g., 0.07 for 7%)
Contribution = Annual contribution (catch-up included if age ≥ 50)
Monthly Retirement Income:
Income = Retirement Savings × Safe Withdrawal Rate / 12
(Common SWR: 4%, i.e., 0.04)
How This Retirement Calculator Works
Our retirement calculator projects your savings growth using compound interest, annual contribution increases, and the widely-accepted 4% safe withdrawal rate for estimating monthly retirement income.
Understanding the 4% Rule
The 4% rule suggests you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one of retirement, then adjust for inflation each year. On a $1M portfolio, that's about $3,333/month before taxes. This was designed for a 30-year retirement with a 60/40 stock/bond allocation.
Contribution Strategy Matters
- Start early: $500/month from age 25 at 7% = ~$1.2M by 65. Starting at 35 = ~$566K. Ten years costs you over $600K.
- Catch-up contributions: After 50, you can contribute extra to 401(k) and IRA — use them.
- Annual raises: Our calculator factors in raise increases to your contributions, which dramatically boosts final savings.
How to Use This Calculator
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Current Age: Your age today. The earlier you start, the more time compound interest has to work. The difference between starting at 25 vs. 35 can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Retirement Age: When you plan to stop working. The calculator uses this to determine how many years your savings will grow. Traditional retirement is 65, but you can adjust for early retirement (55) or if you plan to work longer (up to 75).
- Current Savings: How much you already have across all retirement accounts — 401(k), IRA, Roth, and any other investment accounts earmarked for retirement. The slider goes up to $2 million.
- Monthly Contribution: What you're putting in each month going forward. Include your 401(k) contributions, IRA deposits, and any employer match. The slider maxes at $5,000/month, but you can type higher amounts.
- Expected Annual Return: Your projected investment return. The default 7% is a common real-return estimate (after inflation) for a balanced portfolio. If you expect higher returns based on an aggressive stock allocation, adjust upward — but be realistic.
- Annual Raise: How much your income (and therefore your contributions) grows each year. The default 3% approximates typical cost-of-living adjustments. If you expect promotions or career growth, bump this higher.
Example Scenario
Imagine you're 30 years old with $50,000 saved across your 401(k) and IRA. You contribute $1,000 per month, expect 7% annual returns, and plan to retire at 65. With a 3% annual raise factored in, the calculator projects your savings will grow to approximately $2.1 million by retirement. Using the 4% rule, that translates to about $7,000/month in retirement income. Your total contributions over 35 years will be roughly $740,000 — the remaining $1.36 million comes from compound growth. Try lowering the retirement age to 60 and see how five fewer years of growth changes the outcome.
What the Results Mean
- Retirement Savings: Your projected total nest egg at your chosen retirement age, including all contributions plus investment growth.
- Monthly Income (4% Rule): What you could safely withdraw each month in retirement without depleting your savings too quickly. This is based on the widely-used 4% safe withdrawal rate, divided by 12.
- Total Contributions: The sum of every dollar you deposited — your current savings plus all future monthly contributions. Compare this to Retirement Savings to see how much of your wealth came from market growth.
- Retirement Savings Projection Chart: The line chart tracks your total savings (blue) against your cumulative contributions (green) year by year, showing how the gap between them widens as compounding accelerates.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do I need to retire comfortably?
A common rule of thumb is to aim for 70-80% of your pre-retirement annual income. Using the 4% safe withdrawal rule, you'd need approximately 25 times your desired annual retirement spending saved. For example, if you want $60,000 per year in retirement, you'd need roughly $1.5 million in savings. CalcDeck's retirement calculator projects your savings growth and estimates your monthly retirement income based on the 4% rule.
What is the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals?
The 4% rule is a guideline for sustainable retirement withdrawals: in your first year of retirement, withdraw 4% of your total savings, then adjust that dollar amount for inflation each subsequent year. Research shows this approach has a high probability of lasting 30+ years. For example, $1 million in savings supports ~$40,000/year or ~$3,333/month. CalcDeck's retirement calculator automatically estimates your monthly income using the 4% rule.
How does inflation affect my retirement savings?
Inflation erodes the purchasing power of your savings over time. At 3% annual inflation, $1 million today will only buy what $544,000 buys today in 20 years. This is why retirement planning must account for inflation. CalcDeck's retirement calculator shows both nominal and inflation-adjusted values so you can see what your savings will actually be worth in today's dollars — not just the big headline number.
At what age should I start saving for retirement?
The best time to start saving for retirement is as early as possible — ideally in your 20s. Due to compound interest, every decade of delay roughly halves your final balance. Starting at 25 vs. 35 can mean a difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars by retirement age, even with the same monthly contributions. Use CalcDeck's retirement calculator to compare different starting ages and see the impact of early investing.
What's a realistic expected annual return for retirement planning?
For long-term retirement planning (20+ years), most financial planners use 6-8% as a conservative expected annual return for a diversified stock portfolio, after accounting for inflation this represents ~4-5% real return. The S&P 500 has historically returned about 10% annually before inflation (7% after). Use CalcDeck's retirement calculator with the rate slider to model conservative (5%), moderate (7%), and optimistic (10%) return scenarios.
How much should I contribute to my 401(k) each year?
At minimum, contribute enough to get your full employer match — that's free money you're leaving on the table otherwise. Beyond that, aim for 10-15% of your gross income including the match. For 2026, the 401(k) contribution limit is approximately $23,500 (with a $7,500 catch-up if you're 50+). CalcDeck's retirement calculator lets you model different annual contribution levels to see how they affect your final nest egg.