Plan your retirement with confidence 🏖️ Retirement Calculator
Retirement Calculator
Before diving into Monte Carlo simulations and tax-aware withdrawal strategies, most people just need a clear first-pass answer: given what I’m saving now, will I have enough? This retirement calculator covers that core question across three tabs, Basic savings projection, Advanced inflation and withdrawal settings, and Income sources, without requiring the deeper modeling a more advanced planning tool involves.
How to use this retirement calculator
- Select your Currency.
- In the Basic tab, set your Current Age, Retirement Age, Life Expectancy, Current Savings, Monthly Contribution, and Expected Return Rate using the sliders or number fields.
- In the Advanced tab, set your Inflation Rate, Annual Contribution Increase, Monthly Expenses in Retirement, and Withdrawal Rate.
- In the Income tab, enter any Monthly Social Security/Pension and Monthly Part-time Income you expect during retirement.
- Review your projected results, updating live as you adjust any field.
What this retirement calculator does
This calculator projects your current savings and ongoing contributions forward to your retirement age, then checks that projected balance against your expected retirement expenses and other income sources, all updating live as you adjust any input. It’s built for a straightforward, first-pass retirement projection: are you on track based on your current savings rate and reasonable growth assumptions, without requiring probabilistic modeling or detailed tax planning.
The core savings projection formula
where P = current savings, C = monthly contribution, r = expected monthly return, n = months to retirement
This compounds your current savings forward at your Expected Return Rate while also accounting for every future monthly contribution, each of which has a different amount of time left to grow before your retirement age is reached.
Basic tab: the core savings trajectory
Current Age, Retirement Age, and Life Expectancy set your overall planning timeline. Current Savings and Monthly Contribution set how much is going in, and Expected Return Rate sets your assumed growth rate on that money. These five inputs alone produce a reasonable first-pass projection of what you’ll have accumulated by your target retirement age.
Advanced tab: inflation, contribution growth, and withdrawal rate
The Advanced tab adds realism to the basic projection. Inflation Rate accounts for the fact that a dollar in 30 years won’t buy what it does today, an important adjustment since ignoring inflation makes any long-term projection overly optimistic in real terms. Annual Contribution Increase models the common pattern of contributing more each year as income grows (from raises or promotions) rather than assuming a flat contribution forever. Monthly Expenses in Retirement and Withdrawal Rate work together to translate your projected nest egg into a sustainable monthly income figure.
A commonly referenced starting point for withdrawal rate is around 4% annually, based on historical research into how long a diversified portfolio tends to last under steady withdrawals, though this calculator lets you set your own assumption to test different scenarios.
Income tab: Social Security, pensions, and part-time work
Most retirement income doesn’t come from savings alone. The Income tab lets you add Monthly Social Security/Pension income and Monthly Part-time Income you expect to have during retirement, both of which reduce how much your savings alone need to cover, giving a more realistic total income picture rather than assuming your investment portfolio has to fund 100% of retirement expenses.
When you might want a more advanced tool
This calculator is built for a clear, fast first-pass projection. If you want to stress-test your plan against market volatility (a Monte Carlo simulation showing the probability your savings actually last), compare Social Security claiming ages, coordinate a spouse’s retirement timeline, or model tax-aware withdrawal ordering across Traditional, Roth, and taxable accounts, the Advanced Retirement Calculator on this site covers all of that in one combined tool.
A note on accuracy
This calculator produces a projection based on the assumptions you enter, actual investment returns, inflation, and your future income needs will all differ from any single assumed rate. Use it as a starting point for understanding whether your current savings trajectory is roughly on track, and revisit the numbers periodically as your actual income, savings, and goals change.
Frequently asked questions
What return rate should I use?
There’s no universal correct number, it depends on your actual investment mix. A stock-heavy portfolio has historically returned more on average than a conservative bond-heavy one, but also carries more volatility. Try a moderate rate first, then test a lower rate too, to see how sensitive your projection is to that assumption.
Why does the calculator ask about inflation separately from my return rate?
Your Expected Return Rate reflects nominal growth, before accounting for the fact that prices rise over time too. Factoring in the Inflation Rate separately lets the calculator show a more realistic picture of your purchasing power in retirement, not just the nominal dollar figure your account will show.
Should I use this calculator or the Advanced Retirement Calculator?
This calculator is faster for a straightforward first-pass projection using savings, contributions, inflation, and basic income sources. The Advanced Retirement Calculator adds Monte Carlo success-rate simulation, Social Security claiming-age comparison, spousal coordination, and tax-aware withdrawal ordering, useful once you want to stress-test or fine-tune a plan beyond the basic projection.