How to use this calculator
- Ages: your current age, when you plan to retire and how long to plan for. Planning to 90 or 95 is common because running out of money late in life is the bigger risk.
- Current retirement savings: everything earmarked for retirement, such as 401(k)s, IRAs and brokerage accounts.
- Annual contribution and Increase each year: what you (and your employer) add each year, and how fast that grows as your pay rises.
- Retirement income you want: the yearly income you’d like in retirement, before tax, in today’s dollars.
- Estimated Social Security: your expected yearly benefit in today’s dollars. The calculator subtracts it from your income goal, so savings only need to cover the gap.
- Returns and inflation: the average return before and during retirement, and the inflation rate used to grow your income needs and Social Security.
The result compares your projected savings with the amount needed, and the chart follows your balance from today to the end of your plan.
How the calculation works
Saving phase. Each year your balance earns the pre-retirement return and your contribution is added at year end. Contributions rise by the increase you enter.
Spending phase. From your retirement age, the calculator works out the yearly gap between your income goal and Social Security, both grown by inflation since today. It withdraws that gap at the start of each year and lets the rest earn the retirement return.
Amount needed. The savings you need at retirement is the present value of all those withdrawals, discounted at the retirement return:
- W is your income goal minus Social Security, in today’s dollars
- f is inflation, n is years until retirement and R is years in retirement
- r is the return during retirement
If your projected savings are at least this amount, the money lasts to your planned age. If not, the calculator shows the age the balance can no longer cover a full year’s withdrawal.
Worked example
A 35-year-old has $50,000 saved and contributes $10,000 a year, raising that by 2% a year. They plan to retire at 67 and plan to age 90. They want $60,000 a year in today’s money and expect $22,000 from Social Security. Returns are 7% before retirement and 5% after, with 2.5% inflation.
- Contributions total about $442,270 over 32 years, and the balance grows to about $1,801,910 at 67. That’s about $817,654 in today’s dollars.
- By 67, inflation turns the $60,000 goal into about $132,225 a year, and Social Security into about $48,483. The first year’s withdrawal from savings is about $83,743.
- Funding 23 years of rising withdrawals takes about $1,496,544 at retirement.
- That leaves a surplus of about $305,366, and about $937,939 is still left at 90.
How each input moves the result
Starting from that example and changing one thing at a time:
| Change | Projected at retirement | Needed | Surplus or shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example as above | $1,801,910 | $1,496,544 | +$305,366 |
| Retire at 65 | $1,540,791 | $1,514,927 | +$25,865 |
| Retire at 70 | $2,269,167 | $1,448,478 | +$820,690 |
| Plan to age 95 | $1,801,910 | $1,725,912 | +$75,997 |
| 6% return before retirement | $1,464,881 | $1,496,544 | −$31,663 |
| 3% inflation | $1,801,910 | $1,836,360 | −$34,450 |
| No Social Security | $1,801,910 | $2,362,964 | −$561,054 |
Retirement age is the strongest lever: working longer adds contributions and growth while shortening the years you have to fund. Small changes in return or inflation, compounded over decades, can turn a surplus into a shortfall. Starting later hurts too. The same plan begun at 45 instead of 35 reaches only about $798,405 by 67 and runs out at 81.
Tips if you come up short
- Capture your full employer match. It’s the best return available to most savers. The 401(k) calculator shows what a match adds over a career.
- Raise contributions with every pay increase. The “increase each year” input shows how much this helps.
- Use tax-advantaged accounts. A Roth IRA can provide tax-free income in retirement alongside a 401(k).
- Consider working a little longer or delaying Social Security. Your benefit is reduced if you claim before full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
- Check your take-home pay. The paycheck calculator shows how a bigger 401(k) contribution changes each paycheck.
Assumptions and limitations
Returns are the same every year, but real markets are uneven, and a bad run early in retirement can do lasting damage even when the average works out. The calculator doesn’t model taxes, required minimum distributions, health care costs or one-time expenses, and it treats Social Security as rising with inflation from today. For a projection of a single account, try the investment calculator or the compound interest calculator, and the inflation calculator shows how prices have changed in the past.
Sources
- Social Security Administration: Retirement age and benefit reduction (born 1960)
- Social Security Administration: my Social Security account
This calculator gives estimates for planning and isn’t financial advice. Consider talking to a fee-only financial planner before making major retirement decisions.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to retire?
It depends on the income you want, what Social Security will cover, how long retirement lasts and the return your savings earn. In the default example, someone wanting $60,000 a year in today's dollars, with a $22,000 Social Security benefit, needs about $1.5 million at 67 to last to age 90. The calculator works this out from your own numbers.
Why is the amount needed so much bigger than my income goal?
Two reasons. Your income goal is in today's dollars, but prices will be higher when you retire, so the calculator inflates it to future dollars. And you need enough to pay that income every year for the whole retirement, with each year's withdrawal also rising with inflation.
What return should I use before and after retirement?
Many people use a higher return while working, when they can hold more stocks, and a lower one in retirement, when they usually shift toward bonds and cash. The defaults of 7% and 5% are reasonable starting points, not predictions. Try lower numbers to see how sensitive your plan is.
How do I find my Social Security estimate?
Create or sign in to a my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount to see your personal benefit estimates at different claiming ages. Enter the yearly amount (the monthly estimate times 12) in today's dollars. Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, and claiming at 62 cuts the benefit by about 30%.
What happens if the calculator says my money runs out?
It means that with your current inputs, savings can't cover the withdrawals all the way to your planned age. The note shows roughly how much more you'd need to save each year to close the gap. Retiring a few years later, spending a bit less, or delaying Social Security can also make a big difference.
Does this account for taxes?
Not directly. Enter your desired income as a pre-tax amount, and remember that withdrawals from a traditional 401(k) or IRA are taxed as income while qualified Roth withdrawals are not. Your actual tax bill depends on the mix of accounts you draw from.
Updated November 2026. Results are estimates for educational purposes and depend on the inputs you provide.