Retirement Calculator: Will You Have Enough?
Retirement planning comes down to one question: is the nest egg you're building big enough to produce the income you want? This free calculator projects your savings forward to retirement, converts your income goal into the size of portfolio it needs, and shows the exact monthly amount that closes any gap.
Retirement Calculator
How to Use This Calculator
Enter your age, when you plan to retire, your current retirement savings and your monthly contribution — including any employer match. Add your expected long-term return (5% to 7% is a common planning range for a diversified portfolio) and the annual income you'd like to live on in retirement, expressed in today's dollars.
Enter your inflation assumption — 3% is a typical long-run average. Click Calculate. The tool projects your nest egg at retirement, converts your income goal into the portfolio size it requires (using the 4% rule), and tells you whether you're on track or how much extra to save monthly.
The Formula
Two formulas work together. First, the future value of your savings: FV = P(1 + i)ⁿ + PMT × [(1 + i)ⁿ − 1] ÷ i, with i the monthly return and n the months to retirement. Second, the 4% rule for the required portfolio: needed pot = desired income × 25, where the income is first inflated to future dollars by multiplying by (1 + inflation)^years. Any extra monthly amount follows the same annuity formula as the savings goal calculator.
Worked example: age 30, retiring at 65, with $20,000 saved, contributing $500 a month, earning 7%, wanting $60,000 a year in today's money with 3% inflation. Over 35 years the nest egg grows to about $1,130,650. The desired income inflated 35 years at 3% is 60,000 × 1.03³⁵ = $168,832, which needs a pot of $168,832 × 25 = $4,220,794. The gap of about $3.09 million requires roughly $1,716 more per month — a wake-up call that shows why starting early and earning a real return matters so much.
Tips
Get the full employer match before anything else. A 100% match doubles your money instantly — no investment can promise that.
Increase your contribution percentage every time you get a raise. You'll never miss money you never saw, and a 1% bump per year compounds into a dramatically bigger pot.
Remember Social Security and pensions reduce what your portfolio must provide. This calculator conservatively ignores them — if you expect them, subtract that income from your desired annual figure before calculating.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money do I need to retire?
A widely used shortcut is the 4% rule: multiply the annual income you want in retirement by 25. If you want $50,000 a year, aim for about $1,250,000. The rule assumes you can withdraw 4% of the portfolio in year one, adjust for inflation after that, and have a high chance of not running out over 30 years. Many planners now suggest a safer 3.5% rule.
What is a good monthly amount to save for retirement?
A common guideline is 15% of gross income toward retirement, including any employer match. Starting at 25, 15% usually gets you to a comfortable retirement around age 65. If you start at 35 or later, you may need 20% to 25% — the calculator shows the exact gap between where your current savings rate takes you and where you want to be.
Should retirement savings include my employer's match?
Yes — a match is free money, typically 50% to 100% of your contribution up to a cap. Contribute at least enough to get the full match before saving anywhere else: a 100% match is an instant 100% return, which no investment can reliably beat.
How does inflation affect my retirement plan?
Inflation makes future money worth less. At 3% inflation, $50,000 today costs about $90,000 in 20 years. This calculator converts your desired income into future dollars before applying the 4% rule, so the target it shows already accounts for rising prices. Ignoring inflation is the most common reason people underestimate how much they need.
What if I'm behind on retirement savings?
You have four levers, and they combine powerfully: save a higher percentage now, work a few extra years (each extra year both adds savings and removes a year of withdrawals), delay claiming Social Security or pensions, and trim the retirement income you target. Small moves compound — two extra working years can improve your retirement picture by 15% or more.