Retirement Calculator
See whether your savings are on track to fund the retirement you want.
What is a retirement calculator?
A retirement calculator estimates whether the money you have already saved, plus what you add each month, will be enough to fund the lifestyle you want in retirement. You enter your current age, the age you plan to retire, the savings you have today, your monthly contribution, an assumed annual return, and your expected yearly spending. The tool projects how your corpus grows until retirement, then applies a withdrawal rule to estimate how much annual income it can safely provide and compares that to your target spending. The estimate uses the well-known 4% rule — the idea that withdrawing about 4% of a portfolio each year, adjusted for inflation, gives a very high probability of the money lasting roughly 30 years. The result shows your projected corpus, the annual income it supports, your target spending, and whether you land on a surplus or a shortfall. It is a starting point for planning, not a guarantee, and it runs privately in your browser.
Example
Enter an age of 30, retirement age 65, current savings $50,000, monthly contribution $500, an 8% return and expenses of $40,000 a year. The tool projects a corpus near $1,961,568, which supports roughly $78,463 a year under the 4% rule — a surplus above your $40,000 target.
Who is this retirement calculator for?
A retirement calculator is useful at every stage, but it answers different questions for four kinds of saver.
- Students and young adults: A retirement calculator for students and young adults shows the power of time — even a small contribution compounded for decades can grow into a large corpus, so you can see what starting early adds.
- Couples: A retirement calculator for couples lets you combine both savings and contributions, then compare the projected income against your combined annual spending to plan to retire together.
- Salaried professionals: A retirement calculator for salaried professionals is a planning check. Enter your current savings, monthly 401k contribution and an assumed return to see whether you are on track for a surplus or a shortfall by retirement age.
- Retirees: A retirement calculator for retirees is a useful sanity check on a nest egg — feed in the corpus you have and confirm the 4% safe annual income covers your expected expenses.
Retirement chart: monthly contribution vs. safe annual income
Starting at age 30 and retiring at 65, with $50,000 already saved, a 7% annual return and $30,000 of expected annual expenses, here is how your monthly contribution drives the corpus and the 4% safe annual income.
| Monthly contribution | Projected corpus at 65 | Safe annual income (4%) |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $575,308 | $23,012 |
| $250 | $1,025,571 | $41,023 |
| $500 | $1,475,835 | $59,033 |
| $1,000 | $2,376,362 | $95,054 |
| $1,500 | $3,276,889 | $131,076 |
Common use cases
- Checking whether your current savings rate is on track for a comfortable retirement.
- Seeing how much a higher monthly contribution changes your projected income.
- Comparing retiring earlier versus later and the effect on your nest egg.
- Testing the effect of your assumed return and spending level on the result.
Pro tips
- Retiring earlier needs more money: you save for fewer years and depend on the drawdown for longer.
- Maximise any employer match first, since it is an instant return on your contribution.
- Use a conservative return rather than an optimistic one to see a realistic picture.
- The 4% rule is a guideline — healthcare costs and inflation can change the number you need.
How to use this retirement calculator
- Enter your current age and the age at which you plan to retire.
- Enter your current savings and the amount you save each month.
- Enter an assumed annual return over the years until retirement.
- Enter your expected annual expenses in retirement, then click Calculate retirement.
How the estimate works
Corpus = Savings × (1+r)^n + Monthly × (((1+r)^n − 1) / r) Safe annual income ≈ 4% × Corpus
Your savings and monthly contributions are compounded monthly to retirement age (r = return ÷ 12, n = months to retirement). We then apply a simple 4% safe-withdrawal rule to compare corpus-supported income with your expected expenses. This ignores inflation and is a planning estimate only.
FAQ
What is the 4% rule?
A common planning guideline suggesting you can withdraw roughly 4% of your portfolio each year with a low chance of running out over roughly 30 years.
Should I adjust for inflation?
You can use a "real" return (nominal return minus inflation) to see figures in today's money. The tool does not apply inflation automatically.
Is it private?
Yes — it runs entirely in your browser.
How much should I save for retirement?
A common rule of thumb is 10-15% of your pretax income, but the right amount depends on your age, goals and expected spending.
What is the 4% rule?
It suggests withdrawing about 4% of your portfolio in your first year of retirement, adjusted for inflation, to give a high likelihood the money lasts about 30 years.
What age should I plan to retire at?
It depends on savings and goals, but later retirement generally lets your money compound longer and requires a smaller nest egg.
Does this account for inflation?
No. The estimate is in today’s terms and does not automatically adjust for future inflation.
How is the withdrawal income calculated?
The projected corpus is multiplied by 4% to estimate the annual income it can support in retirement.
Is this a financial guarantee?
No. It is an estimate based on your assumptions. Real returns vary and past performance does not guarantee future results.
Can I include my employer match?
Yes — include it as part of your monthly contribution to see its real effect on the final corpus.
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