Retirement Calculator
Estimate how several retirement accounts and contributions could translate into a future balance and rough income target.
Calculator
Retirement Calculator
Enter your current age in whole years.
Enter the age when you want the savings phase to end.
Add the balances already set aside for retirement, including workplace plans, IRAs, and similar accounts.
Current retirement balance: $55,000.00
Add each recurring retirement contribution you expect to keep making.
Monthly contribution total: $650.00
Use a conservative long-term return estimate.
Example values are loaded.
Result
Your result
Staying on this plan could grow retirement savings to about $1,239,388.51 by age 65.
Projected retirement balance
$1,239,388.51
Estimated first-year 4% income
$49,575.54
Total deposits
$289,000.00
Retirement balances
Contribution plan
Next steps
Compare before you move on
Most people use one calculator to answer the first question and a related tool to pressure-test the decision.
Retirement
401(k) Calculator
Estimate 401(k) growth using compensation, employee contribution rate, employer match rules, current balance, compensation growth, and expected return.
Retirement
FIRE Calculator
Estimate a financial independence target and the time to reach it using annual spending, invested balances, recurring contributions, and expected return.
Savings
Compound Interest Calculator
Project future savings growth with a starting balance, one or more monthly contributions, and an expected annual return.
What this calculator shows
Retirement planning depends on time, current savings, regular contributions, and the return assumption you use for the long stretch ahead.
Listing balances and contributions separately makes the estimate more useful when retirement money is spread across more than one account.
How to use it
- 1. Enter your current age and target retirement age.
- 2. Add each retirement balance and each monthly contribution on its own row.
- 3. Use a conservative annual return to review the projected balance and a rough income estimate.
Formula and assumptions
The balance compounds monthly by applying the expected return and adding the monthly contribution total until retirement age is reached.
The income estimate uses a simple 4% annual withdrawal rule for rough planning only.
How to read this result
Focus first on whether the projected balance is directionally on track, not whether the exact number feels precise. Retirement projections are planning tools, not promises.
The 4% income estimate is best used as a rough translation layer between a future balance and possible spending power. It is useful for orientation, not certainty.
If the projection falls short, the levers are usually time, contribution rate, and return assumption. Changing the retirement age or monthly contributions often matters more than chasing optimistic returns.
Common mistakes
Using an aggressive return assumption just to make the future balance feel better. That can turn a planning tool into a false comfort tool.
Combining every account and contribution into one vague number and then forgetting what is actually driving the result. Separate rows are there so the plan stays interpretable.
Treating the 4% withdrawal shortcut as a guarantee. Retirement income depends on taxes, inflation, spending flexibility, and market sequence too.
Limits of this estimate
This model assumes a constant return, a stable contribution pattern, and a simple monthly compounding path from now until retirement age.
It does not model taxes, inflation adjustments, employer-match formulas, Required Minimum Distributions, Social Security timing, pension rules, or yearly IRS contribution limits.
The income figure is only a rough orientation tool. Real retirement income planning needs tax, spending, account-order, and market-sequence analysis.
Notes
This is a planning estimate, not investment or retirement advice. Real retirement income depends on taxes, inflation, spending, and market performance.
Source notes
Balance-growth model
Current balances and combined monthly contributions are projected forward with monthly compounding until the target retirement age.
Income translation shortcut
The page converts the projected balance into a rough first-year income estimate with a 4% withdrawal-rate heuristic for orientation only.
Worked example
Separating workplace and IRA balances gives a cleaner long-term planning case than collapsing everything into one field.
This example uses the default sample inputs loaded on reset. It does not update with the live calculator entries above.
Projected retirement balance
$1,239,388.51
Estimated first-year 4% income
$49,575.54
Total deposits
$289,000.00
Feedback
Found a problem on this page?
Report confusing fields, broken math, or missing assumptions with the exact inputs you used so the issue can be reproduced.
FAQ
FAQ
Why does starting earlier matter so much?
Earlier contributions have more years to compound, so the timing of saving often matters as much as the amount saved.
FAQ
Is the 4% withdrawal figure guaranteed?
No. It is only a broad planning shortcut used to estimate possible income from a retirement balance.
FAQ
Can I include more than one account or contribution?
Yes. Add each balance and monthly contribution separately so the projection reflects how retirement saving actually happens.