Retirement Savings Calculator
Project how your savings could grow by retirement, based on what you have now, what you add monthly, and your expected rate of return.
Built and maintained by Jefferson Almeida · Last updated
Your numbers
Projected balance at retirement
How the projection works
A retirement projection compounds three inputs: what you have now, what you add each year, and what rate it grows at. The formula combines the future value of your current balance with the future value of your contribution stream.
The uncomfortable truth about these projections is that small changes to the return assumption produce enormous changes in the output. $500/month for 30 years becomes roughly $500,000 at 6% and roughly $745,000 at 8%. Same savings, wildly different outcome - which is why you should treat any single projected number as a rough scenario rather than a plan.
What return assumption is reasonable
The S&P 500 has averaged roughly 10% annually in nominal terms over the long run, but two adjustments matter:
- Inflation. Averaging around 3% historically, which cuts the real return to about 7%. If you want tomorrow's number in today's purchasing power, use a real rate.
- Your actual allocation. A portfolio holding bonds returns less than an all-stock portfolio. A target-date fund near retirement may be 40%+ bonds.
Most planners model 6-7% nominal for a balanced portfolio. Using 10% because that's the historical stock average will overstate your result substantially.
Why starting early matters more than saving more
This is the single most valuable thing to understand about retirement:
Investor A contributes $300/month from age 25 to 35 - ten years, $36,000 total - then stops completely and never adds another dollar. That $36,000 grows to about $51,900 by age 35, then compounds untouched for thirty more years. At 7%, by age 65 they have roughly $421,000.
Investor B contributes $300/month from age 35 to 65 - thirty years, $108,000 total. At 7%, they reach roughly $366,000.
Investor A contributed a third as much and finished ahead. The ten-year head start beat twenty additional years of contributions. Compounding rewards time more than it rewards amount, and that advantage cannot be recovered later. The compound interest calculator shows the same curve for any starting amount and timeframe.
Contribution priority
A defensible order of operations for most people:
- Capture the full employer 401(k) match. A 50% match is an instant 50% return with no market risk. Nothing else competes.
- Pay off high-interest debt. Anything above ~8-10% beats expected market returns - the debt payoff calculator will put a date on it.
- Build an emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses.
- Max an IRA - Roth if you expect higher taxes later, traditional if lower.
- Return to the 401(k) up to the annual limit.
- Taxable brokerage after that.
Traditional vs. Roth in one paragraph
Traditional contributions are deducted now and taxed on withdrawal. Roth contributions are taxed now and withdrawn tax-free. The entire question is whether your tax rate is higher today or in retirement. Early-career workers in low brackets generally favor Roth; high earners in peak years generally favor traditional. Holding some of each provides flexibility to manage your taxable income in retirement, which is a real and underrated benefit.
FAQ
Why does the rate of return matter so much?
Compounding means small differences in annual return lead to large differences over 20-30+ years. Going from 5% to 7% annual return can mean tens of thousands of dollars of difference in your final balance for the same contributions.
Should I include Social Security or a pension in "current savings"?
No - this calculator is for savings and investment accounts only (401(k), IRA, brokerage, etc.). Social Security and pension income are typically estimated separately.
How much do I need to retire?
A common starting heuristic is 25× your annual expenses, derived from the 4% withdrawal rule. It's a rough guide, not a guarantee - sequence-of-returns risk, healthcare costs, and longevity all complicate it.
What is the 4% rule?
The finding that withdrawing 4% of a portfolio in year one, adjusted for inflation thereafter, historically survived 30 years in most scenarios. Subsequent research suggests 3.3-3.8% may be safer under current conditions.
💡 Did you know?
The modern pension traces back to 1889, when German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck introduced the world's first state old-age insurance program. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't set the eligible age at 65 - it was 70; the lower age of 65 wasn't adopted until 1916, after his death. The U.S. borrowed the concept decades later for Social Security in 1935.