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Retirement Savings Calculator

Project your nest egg with real compound growth, inflation, and Social Security — then see if you're actually on track.

📈 Compound growth 🏛️ Social Security 💵 Inflation-adjusted 🎯 4% rule
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Your timeline
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Your savings
$
$
7% is a common long-term average for a stock-heavy portfolio; use a lower rate to be more conservative.
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Your retirement spending
$
🏛️ Include Social Security
Reduce the amount your savings need to cover
$
Get your real estimate at ssa.gov/myaccount
Current research suggests a reasonable range of 3.7%–4.7%, depending on your asset mix and time horizon.
Your projected nest egg
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At retirement (future $)
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In today's dollars
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Years to go
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Monthly income your savings support
Supported by your projected savings
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Your desired spending
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Contributions vs. growth
Your contributions Investment growth
Total contributions
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Investment growth
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How your target changes by withdrawal rate
ScenarioTarget neededvs. your projection
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Projected balance over time

Disclaimer: Estimates only, based on the assumptions you enter. Actual investment returns, inflation, and Social Security benefits will vary. For informational purposes only — not financial advice. Consult a financial professional for personalized guidance.

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How to use the Retirement Savings Calculator
1
Enter your age and target retirement age
This sets how many years your savings have to grow before you need to draw on them.
2
Add your current savings and monthly contribution
Include all retirement accounts — 401(k), IRA, taxable brokerage — combined.
3
Enter your desired monthly spending
In today's dollars — the calculator adjusts for inflation automatically.
4
Add Social Security if you expect it
Get your real estimate from ssa.gov/myaccount rather than guessing — it lowers how much your savings need to cover.
5
Check the withdrawal rate scenarios
See how your target shifts between a conservative and confident withdrawal rate before committing to one number.
💡 Pro tip: Revisit this calculation every year or two. Your expenses, income, and expected retirement age all become clearer over time, and small course corrections early are far easier than large ones late.
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Retirement calculator FAQs
It's as accurate as the assumptions you enter. The calculator uses standard compound-growth and 4%-rule math, but real markets don't return the same rate every year, and your actual spending, inflation, and Social Security benefit will differ from any estimate. Treat the result as a planning estimate, not a guarantee, and revisit it every year or two.
7% is a commonly used long-term average for a diversified stock-heavy portfolio after adjusting for typical fees, though historical returns have varied widely year to year. A more conservative estimate (5–6%) accounts for a more balanced stock-and-bond mix or extra caution.
Create a free account at ssa.gov/myaccount to see your personalized estimated benefit based on your real earnings history, rather than guessing. Your benefit also changes depending on the age you claim it, from 62 up to 70.
4% is the traditional starting point, and current research suggests a reasonable range of roughly 3.7% to 4.7% depending on your asset mix, how long your retirement needs to last, and your flexibility to adjust spending. Use the lower end for a more conservative plan.
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Starting even a few years earlier matters more than almost any other retirement decision — see our compound interest explainer for why.

Related guides:

How This Retirement Calculator Works

This calculator projects your retirement savings using standard compound-growth math: your current savings and monthly contributions grow at your expected annual return, compounded monthly, until your target retirement age. It then works backward from your desired retirement spending — minus any Social Security you expect — to calculate the portfolio size needed to support that spending using your chosen withdrawal rate.

Why Inflation Matters Here

A dollar today buys less than a dollar 30 years from now will need to. This calculator adjusts your desired spending for inflation over your full time horizon, and converts your projected future balance back into today's dollars, so the comparison between "what you'll have" and "what you'll need" is apples-to-apples in terms you can actually picture.

Why the Withdrawal Rate Slider Matters

The traditional 4% rule is a reasonable starting point, but it is not the only defensible number. This calculator shows your target portfolio size across a Conservative (3.7%), Standard (4%), and Confident (4.7%) withdrawal rate, so you can see the real range rather than anchoring on a single figure.