How this calculator works
Projection: current savings grow at the pre-retirement return, plus monthly contributions compounded. Needed: desired annual income × 25, so that withdrawing 4%/yr historically doesn't deplete the portfolio over 30 years.
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Retirement Calculator — Are You On Track?
Two questions matter: what will you have, and what will you need? This calculator projects your portfolio to retirement age and compares it to a 25× target of your desired retirement income (the 4% safe withdrawal rule).
Scenario examples (2026 rates)
| Current age | Projected nest egg at 65 | Safe annual withdrawal (4%) |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | $5,725,073.87 | $229,002.95 |
| 22.5 | $3,339,469.69 | $133,578.79 |
| 30 | $1,926,098.54 | $77,043.94 |
| 45 | $592,631.94 | $23,705.28 |
| 60 | $124,575.94 | $4,983.04 |
Every number above is computed by the same in-browser engine as the calculator — nothing is hardcoded.
How the projection is built
Two separate calculations meet in the middle. On the accumulation side, current savings compound monthly at your expected return while each monthly contribution grows as an annuity, the identical math as the compound interest calculator, running until retirement age. A 30-year-old with $50,000 saved, contributing $750 monthly at 7 percent, projects to roughly $1.93 million at 65, of which contributions supplied only $365,000. On the requirement side, the calculator multiplies your desired annual retirement income by 25, because a 4 percent first-year withdrawal, adjusted for inflation afterward, historically sustained portfolios for 30 years in the Trinity study. Wanting $60,000 per year sets a $1.5 million target. The comparison then tells you surplus or shortfall. One consistency rule keeps the output meaningful: the income figure should be in the same dollars as the projection, and the simplest way to guarantee that is to subtract expected Social Security and any pension from your gross spending need before entering it, and to use a nominal return assumption of 7 percent for stock-heavy portfolios rather than a real return.
The variables you should stress-test
Single-point projections are fragile; ranges are decisions. Run the calculator four extra times. First, return risk: drop the rate to 5 percent, which roughly models a 60/40 portfolio or a decade of mediocre markets, and see if the shortfall is survivable. Second, inflation: if you project in nominal terms, a decade averaging 4 percent inflation instead of 2.5 percent cuts the purchasing power of the ending balance by about an eighth. Third, sequence risk: retiring into a 30 percent bear market in year one damages a 4 percent withdrawal plan far more than the average return implies, which argues for two to three years of expenses in cash at retirement or a guardrail withdrawal policy. Fourth, longevity: planning to 90 instead of 85 adds five withdrawal years, roughly $300,000 of required portfolio at a $60,000 income. If the plan breaks at 5 percent returns or age-90 longevity, fix it now with savings rate, retirement age, or spending target; those three levers are fully under your control, and market returns are not.
Where retirement savings should live
Account type changes the net outcome even when the investment is identical. Traditional 401k and IRA money grows tax-deferred but withdrawals are ordinary income at your future bracket; the 2026 top-of-plan contribution limit is $24,500 for employees, $32,500 including catch-up at 50 or older. Roth versions tax nothing at withdrawal, which is powerful when you expect higher rates or long horizons, with IRA contributions phased out for singles above roughly $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income in 2026. Taxable brokerage accounts cost 15 to 20 percent on realized gains and dividends annually but carry no age or penalty rules, making them the standard bridge for anyone retiring before 59 and a half. The conventional funding order: employer 401k match first, that is an immediate 50 to 100 percent return, then HSA if eligible, since it is the only triple-tax-advantaged account, then Roth or traditional IRA up to $8,000, then back to the 401k, then taxable. This calculator projects pre-tax growth; apply a rough 10 to 15 percent haircut to traditional balances when comparing them against after-tax spending needs.
FAQ
What is the 4% rule?
A retirement guideline: withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one, adjust for inflation after. Based on 60 years of US market data, portfolios survived at that rate. $1M supports $40k/year.
What return should I use before retirement?
7–10% while accumulating in stocks; drop to 4–6% if you're within 5 years of retiring and shifting to bonds.
Is this enough or should I also model Social Security?
Add expected Social Security to your 'income' target gap — e.g. if you need $60k and expect $24k from Social Security, model a $36k income target.
How much do I need at 62 versus 67 versus 70 for Social Security?
Claiming age moves the monthly benefit by roughly 25 to 30 percent. For someone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67: claiming at 62 permanently cuts the benefit by 30 percent, while delaying to 70 earns delayed retirement credits of 8 percent per year, 24 percent above the FRA amount. On a $2,000 FRA benefit that is $1,400 at 62 versus $2,480 at 70, a $1,080 monthly spread. The portfolio implication matters here: each year of delay substitutes guaranteed, inflation-indexed income for portfolio withdrawals, so a delay from 67 to 70 can shrink the required nest egg by roughly the delayed benefit times 25. Enter the retirement income target net of the Social Security you expect to claim in the same year, and use the claiming age as a lever in the plan rather than an afterthought.
What savings benchmarks apply at my age?
Fidelity guidelines suggest 1 times salary saved by 30, 3 times by 40, 6 times by 50, 8 times by 60, and 10 times by 67. On a $90,000 salary that means $270,000 by 40 and $810,000 by 60. Federal Reserve survey data shows most households fall well short: median retirement-account balance for families near 60 sits far below the 6-times mark, which is why catch-up contributions exist. If you are 50 or older in 2026, you can add $8,000 catch-up on top of the $24,500 401k employee limit, and $1,150 on top of the $8,000 IRA limit. Behind schedule? Raising the savings rate beats chasing returns: each extra 5 percent of salary saved from age 40 adds roughly two to three times your salary by 65 at 7 percent. Run the calculator at your current pace first, then at plus 5 percent, and watch the gap close.
Does the 4 percent rule still hold in 2026?
The Trinity-study rule survived 30-year horizons across historical US market sequences, but its assumptions deserve a check before you rely on it. It assumes a 50/50 stock-bond portfolio, annual withdrawals inflated each year, and a 30-year retirement. Two pressures have accumulated: longer retirements, an early retiree at 55 may need 45 years of withdrawals, and valuations that sit above long-run averages, which research links to somewhat lower forward returns. Current planning consensus has drifted toward 3.5 to 4 percent for flexible retirees and 3.25 percent or lower for rigid, early, or heavily equity-light plans. The calculator lets you test both sides: change the income target and see the required multiple, 25 times at 4 percent, 28.6 times at 3.5 percent. A guardrail approach, raising withdrawals in good market years and trimming 5 to 10 percent in bad ones, historically supports closer to 4.5 percent; if you will not manage withdrawals actively, plan at the conservative end.