Retirement calculator.
See where you are heading. Enter your age, current savings, a monthly contribution and an expected return to project your nest egg at retirement and the monthly income it could provide.
Project your retirement
LiveProjected savings at retirement
$915,444
at age 65, before tax
A planning model with steady assumptions. Estimate for planning, not financial advice. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is stored.
How it works
How the projection works
The calculator grows your current savings and adds your monthly contribution every month, compounding at your expected return until your retirement age. It then estimates a sustainable monthly income using the 4% rule, a common planning guideline. The figures are before tax.
It is a planning model with steady assumptions. Real returns, contributions and life all vary, so use it to see whether you are roughly on track and how changes move the number, not as a guarantee.
Make it count
Retire on track.
Start now
Time is the most powerful input. A contribution started a decade earlier can end up worth far more.
Grab the match
If your employer matches contributions, capturing the full match is free money and usually the first move.
Raise it with raises
Increasing your contribution a little each time your pay goes up grows the nest egg without hurting your take-home.
By age
Your nest egg, year by year.
Each row is one year of saving: your age, the total you have contributed, the growth so far, and the projected balance. Growth quietly overtakes your contributions the longer you stay invested.
| Age | Contributions | Growth | Balance |
|---|
The full guide
The complete retirement guide.
What the projection means, how much is enough, and the moves that actually change the outcome.
What the calculator projects
It estimates two things: the savings you could have at retirement, and a rough monthly income that pot could provide. The savings figure comes from compounding your current balance and contributions; the income figure uses the 4% rule as a starting guideline. Both are before tax.
Treat it as a check on whether you are roughly on track. Small, regular changes to your contribution or retirement age move the result more than most people expect, which the schedule above makes easy to test.
How much do you need to retire?
A common rule of thumb is to aim for a nest egg of about 25 times your expected annual spending in retirement, which pairs with the 4% rule below. Another quick check is whether you are saving around 15% of your income, counting any employer match.
The honest answer depends on your spending, other income like a pension or Social Security, and how long your retirement lasts. The calculator helps you test those assumptions rather than guess.
The 4% rule, explained
The 4% rule is a guideline that you can withdraw about 4% of your savings in the first year of retirement, then adjust for inflation, with a reasonable chance the money lasts around thirty years. That is why this page multiplies your projected savings by 4% to estimate a monthly income.
It is a starting point, not a promise. Market conditions, how long you live and how flexible your spending is all affect what is actually safe to withdraw.
Start early: the compounding effect
Because growth compounds, the years in your twenties and thirties do a disproportionate amount of the work. A modest contribution started early can outgrow a much larger one started late. If you are behind, you are not stuck, but you will need a higher contribution or a few more working years to catch up.
The schedule shows growth quietly overtaking contributions the longer the money stays invested, which is the whole case for starting now rather than later.
Where to save: 401(k), IRA and Roth
Tax-advantaged accounts make a real difference. A workplace 401(k) often comes with an employer match, which is free money worth grabbing first. An IRA, opened on your own, adds more room and investment choice. Roth versions are funded with after-tax money and grow tax-free, which suits people who expect higher taxes later.
A common order is: contribute enough to the 401(k) to get the full match, then fund an IRA, then come back and add more to the 401(k).
Social Security and inflation
Your savings are usually not your only retirement income. Social Security, a pension, rental income or part-time work all reduce how much your nest egg needs to cover, so add those separately when you judge whether the total is enough. Knowing your expected Social Security benefit helps you size the gap your savings actually need to fill.
Inflation means the income your savings buys shrinks over time, which is why the 4% rule adjusts withdrawals upward each year. Steady contributions, the full employer match, sensible investments and leaving the money to compound are what quietly get most people there.
The formula
See the
nest egg grow.
Your savings is the future value of what you have now, plus the future value of every contribution compounding until you retire.
See the 401(k) calculator ›# Savings at retirement
FV = B(1+i)ⁿ + PMT × [ ((1+i)ⁿ − 1) / i ]
# estimated income (4% rule)
monthly income = FV × 0.04 / 12
# worked example
$25k + $500/mo, 6%, age 30 to 65 → ~$915kKeep going
More retirement planning tools.
Questions
Retirement questions.
How much do I need to retire?
+
A common target is a nest egg of about 25 times your expected annual spending, which pairs with the 4% rule. Another quick check is saving around 15% of income including any employer match. Use the calculator to test your own numbers.
How is the monthly income estimated?
+
It applies the 4% rule to your projected savings: about 4% a year, shown as a monthly figure. It is a planning guideline, not a guarantee, and the figure is before tax.
How much should I be saving?
+
A common target is around 15% of income including any employer match, but it depends on your spending and other income. Try different monthly contributions above to see what reaches your goal.
Does it include Social Security or a pension?
+
No. It projects your personal savings only. Add other income sources like Social Security or a pension separately when judging whether the total is enough.
Is this retirement calculator free and private?
+
Yes. It is completely free with no sign-up, and every calculation runs locally in your browser, so nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
About the developer
Jean Borg
Jean builds and maintains every calculator on freecalculators.pro from Malta, with a focus on tools that are fast, free and show their working. The retirement calculator uses standard future-value maths and the 4% rule guideline, and is provided for planning and education, not as personalised financial advice.