Retirement Calculator
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About Retirement Math
Retirement planning compresses to two questions: what will I have, and what will it pay me? The first is compounding arithmetic on your savings rate and timeline; the second is a withdrawal-rate judgment the industry has argued about for thirty years. This calculator answers both in one pass, with the argument's honest summary attached.
Enter your ages, current savings, monthly contribution, and assumed return. You get the projected nest egg at retirement and the annual/monthly income the 4% guideline implies — pre-tax, in future dollars, with the caveats that make the number useful rather than falsely precise.
Employer plan with matching? Project it specifically with the 401k Calculator
Nest Egg, Then Income
Future value first, withdrawal guideline second:
Nest egg = current × (1+r)ⁿ + monthly × ((1+r)ⁿ − 1) ÷ r Income ≈ nest egg × 4% (year one; inflation-adjusted thereafter)
Worked example: age 30, $50,000 saved, $500/month at 7% until 65 → about $1.48M, suggesting ≈ $59,000/year ($4,900/month) by the 4% guideline. Delaying the start to 40 drops the nest egg to ~$680k and the income to ~$27k — the cost of a decade, made visible.
Monthly Savings → Retirement Income
From age 30 to 65 at 7%, no starting balance — nest egg and its 4% income (all computed by this calculator's formulas):
| Monthly saving | Nest egg at 65 | 4% income/yr | ≈ Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| $250 | $443,000 | $17,700 | $1,480 |
| $500 | $886,000 | $35,400 | $2,950 |
| $1,000 | $1,772,000 | $70,900 | $5,910 |
| $1,500 | $2,658,000 | $106,300 | $8,860 |
The table's quiet lesson: retirement income scales linearly with savings rate but exponentially with time — the age-30 saver's $500 beats the age-45 saver's $1,500.
The 4% Rule, Honestly
The guideline comes from studies of historical US portfolios (the Trinity study lineage): an initial 4% withdrawal, inflation-adjusted annually, survived every historical 30-year retirement in the data. Its honest limits: it's US-history-specific, assumes a balanced stock/bond mix, ignores fees and taxes, and 30 years may undershoot early retirees. Bad early-year markets (sequence risk) are its known failure mode.
Practice has evolved toward flexibility rather than a fixed rule: spending that flexes with markets, guardrail methods, and rates from 3.3% (pessimistic) to 5%+ (flexible spenders). And this calculator's scope is honest too — Social Security, pensions, and part-time income all ADD to the 4% figure, often substantially. Treat the output as the investment leg of a stool, not the whole seat.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do I need to retire?
The 4% shortcut inverts to 25× your desired annual withdrawal: $40,000/year of portfolio income implies a $1M target. Social Security and pensions reduce what the portfolio must cover — subtract them from spending before multiplying by 25.
Is $1 million enough to retire?
By the 4% guideline it supports ≈ $40,000/year pre-tax, inflation-adjusted — comfortable alongside Social Security in much of the US, tight as a sole source in expensive metros. Enough is a spending question first, a portfolio question second.
What is the 4% rule?
Withdraw 4% of the portfolio in retirement's first year, then adjust that dollar amount for inflation annually. Historical US portfolios survived 30-year retirements at that rate in the research that named it. It's a planning benchmark with known limits — not a law of nature.
What return should I assume for retirement projections?
Common practice: 6–7% nominal for stock-heavy portfolios during accumulation, stepping down as bonds grow; subtract ~2.5% to think in today's dollars. The honest move is projecting a range — the difference between 5% and 8% over 35 years is roughly double the nest egg.
I'm starting late — what actually helps?
In order of leverage: savings rate (the one lever fully in your control), retirement age (each extra year adds contributions, growth, AND shortens the funded period), and capturing every employer match. Chasing higher returns to compensate is the classic late-start error — it adds risk exactly when you can least absorb it.
Does this include Social Security?
No — deliberately. Social Security arrives on its own schedule with its own rules; this projects your investment leg. Add your estimated benefit (ssa.gov's statement shows it) to the 4% income figure for the full picture — for many households it's a comparable-sized leg.
Methodology. This calculator uses standard financial formulas used across the industry. It is reviewed and maintained by the Vast Calculators editorial team.
Last updated · July 11, 2026
Disclaimer. This tool provides estimates for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional financial advice. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making decisions about your finances.