Retirement Calculator

About Retirement Calculator

This retirement calculator projects how your savings could grow by your chosen retirement age. Enter your current age, retirement age, current savings, annual salary, your contribution percentage, employer match, and expected inflation. It compares three return scenarios, conservative (5%), base (7%), and optimistic (10%), on a growth chart with milestone balances, and reports results in today’s dollars. You also see total contributions, interest earned, and an estimated monthly withdrawal based on the 4% rule. People saving in a 401(k) or IRA use this retirement savings calculator to check whether their savings rate is on track.

How to use

1. Set Current Age and Retirement Age; if the retirement age is not greater than your current age, the results area shows a message instead of a projection.
2. Enter Current Savings, Annual Salary, Your Contribution, Employer Match and Inflation Rate by typing, pasting (such as $25,000) or dragging the sliders.
3. Choose a return scenario: Conservative (5%), Base (7%) or Optimistic (10%).
4. Click Reset to restore all inputs and the Base scenario to their defaults.
5. Read the projected balance at retirement in today's dollars, the growth chart, age milestones, contributions, interest earned and monthly withdrawal.
6. Click Copy Results to copy a text summary of the projection.

Limitations & notes

• Salary stays constant every year; raises and IRS contribution limits are not modeled.
• Employer match is added as a flat percentage of salary with no cap, even if your own contribution is lower.
• Real return is approximated as scenario return minus inflation, so all balances are in today's dollars.
• Returns are constant every year; market swings, investment fees and taxes are not included.
• The monthly withdrawal is 4% of the projected balance divided by 12, an estimate rather than guaranteed income.

FAQ

How does the calculator project my retirement savings?

Each year, your balance grows by the real return (scenario return minus inflation), and that year’s contributions (salary times your contribution plus employer match) are added with half a year of growth, assuming they are invested evenly through the year. Salary is held constant, so raises are not modeled.

What is the 4% rule?

The 4% rule is a guideline that suggests withdrawing about 4% of your savings in the first year of retirement. The calculator shows 4% of the projected balance divided by 12 as an estimated monthly withdrawal.

Why are results shown in today’s dollars?

Subtracting inflation from the return rate shows what the future balance would be worth in today’s purchasing power. This makes it easier to compare the projection with your current expenses.

What return rates do the scenarios use?

Conservative assumes a 5% annual return, Base 7%, and Optimistic 10%, before inflation is subtracted. Actual market returns vary from year to year, and these projections are estimates only, not financial advice.

Is the employer match included?

Yes. Employer match is entered as a percentage of salary and added to your own contribution every year. Enter the match you actually receive, since match formulas and contribution limits are not modeled.