Retirement Calculator: See If You're On Track
A retirement calculator is a free planning tool that projects how much money you'll have saved by a target retirement age and how long that money will last once you start withdrawing it. This one estimates your nest egg from your age, current savings, monthly contribution, and expected return — enter those in the calculator above to see your projected balance.
It also shows your balance in today's dollars, so inflation doesn't fool you. For example, a 35-year-old saving $500 a month could reach about $1,097,072 by age 67.
Retirement calculators
How it works
The retirement calculator works in two stages: it grows your savings until retirement, then estimates how much you can safely withdraw each year. During the saving years, it compounds your current balance plus monthly contributions at a fixed annual return you choose. In our example saver's case (age 35, $50,000 saved, $500/month, 7% return), the balance grows to $1,097,072 by age 67. The striking part is the source of that money: your $50,000 starting balance plus $192,000 of new contributions add up to $242,000 you put in. Compound growth adds the other $855,072, so time does the heavy lifting.
For spending, the calculator applies the 4% rule. It withdraws 4% of your balance in year one, which is $43,883 (about $3,657 per month) for our example. At that rate, the savings last through age 95. The 4% rule is a planning guideline, not a guarantee. To go deeper, try our retirement savings calculator, or model your workplace plan with the 401k calculator. If the numbers feel high-stakes and you want a professional second opinion, our guide on how to choose a financial advisor walks through fiduciary status, fees, and credentials.
Have a retirement plan — now protect it. Once you've projected a nest egg above a few hundred thousand, the next question is what happens to it if you die before spending it, become incapacitated, or need long-term care. A revocable living trust avoids probate on the accounts and property that fund your retirement lifestyle; an ILIT removes life insurance from your taxable estate; and beneficiary designations on 401(k)/IRA accounts override your will, so those need to match your intent. See our estate planning calculator for a specific plan tier, and the estate tax calculator for federal and state exposure under the 2026 $15M exemption (permanent under OBBBA P.L. 119-21).
The biggest untracked retirement risk is long-term care. Median 2026 nursing home private room is $132,000/year and inflates at ~4.5% annually — a 4-year care period starting at age 82 can consume $600,000+ that your 4%-rule withdrawal was never meant to cover. Medicare pays essentially zero for custodial care. Project your exposure with the long-term care cost calculator, and if projected shortfall is large, model the Medicaid safety net with the Medicaid spend-down calculator. Start Medicaid Asset Protection Trust planning 5+ years before care is needed — the 60-month lookback under 42 U.S.C. §1396p(c) blocks any last-minute transfers.
Frequently asked questions
How much will I have when I retire?
It depends on your savings, contributions, return, and time. The retirement calculator above projects your total. In our example, a 35-year-old saving $500 a month at a 7% return reaches $1,097,072 by age 67, which is about $426,034 in today's dollars.
How much of my retirement balance comes from compound growth?
Most of it, if you start early. In our example, you start with $50,000 and add $192,000 in contributions, for $242,000 of your own money. Investment growth adds $855,072 more, reaching $1,097,072. Compounding does far more work than your contributions alone.
Will my retirement savings last?
Often yes, if you withdraw at a careful rate. The calculator uses the 4% rule, taking 4% in year one. In our example that is $43,883, about $3,657 a month, and the savings last through age 95. The 4% rule is a guideline, not a guarantee.
What is the 4% rule?
The 4% rule is a guideline that says you can withdraw about 4% of your savings in your first year of retirement. It is an assumption built into this calculator, not a promise. Market returns, inflation, and how long you live can all change the outcome.
When do I have to start withdrawing from my retirement accounts?
Age 73 for most accounts. The IRS requires minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s starting at age 73. Roth IRAs are exempt while you are alive. Use our RMD calculator to estimate your required amount.
What if I withdraw from my 401(k) early?
Early 401(k) withdrawals before age 59½ usually trigger a 10% IRS penalty plus income tax. This shrinks your retirement balance and its future growth. Estimate the cost first with our 401k early withdrawal calculator, and see our tax tips guide for legal ways to reduce the bracket that penalty stacks on top of.
Is this a Monte Carlo retirement calculator?
No — this calculator uses a straight-line projection with one fixed annual return, not a Monte Carlo simulation. A Monte Carlo retirement calculator runs thousands of randomized market-return sequences and reports a probability, such as an 85% chance your money lasts to age 95, instead of one number. This calculator's simpler approach is faster for testing 'what if I contribute more' or 'what if I retire later' scenarios, but unlike Monte Carlo tools it can't show how a bad market in your first few retirement years (sequence-of-returns risk) would hurt more than the same loss arriving later, even with an identical average return.
Why do retirement calculators give different results for the same numbers?
Retirement calculators disagree mainly because of different built-in assumptions, not because the math is wrong. Feed identical age, savings, and contribution figures into two tools and you can still get very different projected balances if one assumes a 7% return and the other 6%, if one strips out inflation and the other doesn't, or if one models taxes on withdrawals while the other shows a pre-tax balance. This calculator shows both a nominal balance and a real (inflation-adjusted) balance, and its 4%-rule withdrawal figure is pre-tax — check what return, inflation, and tax assumptions any other calculator uses before treating one number as more 'right' than another. See our roundup of the best retirement calculators for how several popular tools compare on methodology.
How do I use this retirement calculator?
Enter your current age, the age you plan to retire, how much you've already saved, your monthly contribution, and an expected annual return. The calculator above compounds those numbers forward to your retirement age, then applies the 4% rule to estimate a year-one withdrawal. Try changing one input at a time — a later retirement age or a higher monthly contribution — to see which lever moves your projected balance the most.
What is the formula behind this retirement calculator?
The saving side compounds your contributions forward in plain English: each year, the calculator adds your contributions for that year, then grows the running balance by your annual return — the standard compound-growth formula applied to both your existing savings and everything you keep adding. The spending side then applies the 4% rule, multiplying your projected balance at retirement by 4% to estimate your first-year withdrawal.
Can I build my own version of this retirement calculator in a spreadsheet?
Yes. The same compound-growth and 4%-rule math behind this calculator can be copied cell by cell into Google Sheets or Excel. Our retirement calculator spreadsheet template walks through the exact formulas, so you can see every assumption in plain view before switching back to this calculator to model Social Security, taxes, and inflation together.
Should I count bitcoin or crypto toward my retirement number?
Be cautious. This calculator assumes one fixed annual return, which fits a diversified stock-and-bond portfolio far better than a volatile single asset like bitcoin. See our guide on bitcoin retirement calculator considerations for the volatility, tax, and sequence-of-returns risks of leaning on crypto for retirement income.
Does this retirement calculator work if I don't live in the United States?
No. This calculator is built around U.S. 401(k) and IRA rules, U.S. federal tax brackets, and the Social Security benefit formula, so it will not give an accurate projection for a non-U.S. pension system. See our international retirement calculators guide for official retirement resources in the UK, Canada, India, Australia, and New Zealand.