Retirement Calculator
Project your 401(k), IRA or pension balance at retirement and the yearly income it could safely provide.
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Quick Tip
Enter your current age and the age you want to retire.
About This Tool
Why use Retirement Calculator?
This retirement calculator projects your savings year by year to your chosen retirement age, growing your salary, applying your contribution rate and any employer match, and compounding the balance at your expected return. It then shows what that balance is worth in today's money and the annual income it could safely support.
Two numbers matter most. The first is the withdrawal rate: at the widely used 4% rule, a $1.5 million balance supports $60,000 a year. The second is inflation — at 2.5% over 35 years, prices multiply by about 2.37, so that same $1.5 million is worth roughly $632,000 in today's money. The calculator shows both so a large future number does not mislead you.
Key Benefits
Employer match counted
The match is added to your own contribution each year, because it is part of what actually lands in the account.
Shown in today's money
The projected balance is also discounted by inflation, so you can judge whether it genuinely supports the lifestyle you want.
Salary growth compounds too
Contributions are a percentage of a rising salary, which matters far more over 30 years than a flat-salary projection suggests.
How to use Retirement Calculator
- 1
Enter your current age and the age you want to retire.
- 2
Add what you have saved already across 401(k), IRA and pension accounts.
- 3
Enter your salary, the percentage you contribute, and your employer's match percentage.
- 4
Set expected salary growth, investment return and inflation — the defaults are reasonable long-run assumptions.
- 5
Choose a withdrawal rate to see the annual retirement income your balance could provide.
Best use cases
See whether your current contribution rate gets you where you need to be.
Work out the cost of retiring five years earlier.
Check how much the employer match is worth over a full career.
Test how a lower investment return would change your plans.
How this tool compares
Retirement Calculator FAQs
What is the 4% rule?
It is a planning guideline suggesting you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement, adjusting for inflation after that, with a high chance the money lasts 30 years. It is a starting point rather than a guarantee — retiring early, or into a poor market, argues for a lower rate such as 3.5%.
What investment return should I assume?
A long-run assumption of 6–7% a year for a stock-heavy portfolio is common before inflation. Being conservative is sensible: if you plan on 5% and get 7%, you retire early, whereas planning on 10% and getting 7% leaves you short at the point where it is hardest to fix.
How much should I be contributing?
A frequent target is 15% of gross salary including the employer match. If that is out of reach, contribute at least enough to capture the full match — declining it is turning down guaranteed money — and raise the rate by one point each time you get a pay rise.
Why is the 'today's money' figure so much lower?
Because inflation erodes buying power over decades. At 2.5% a year, what costs $100 today costs about $237 in 35 years. The future balance is accurate, but the today's-money figure tells you what it will actually buy, which is the number worth planning around.
Does this include Social Security or a state pension?
No. It projects only the savings you build yourself. Any state pension, Social Security benefit or defined-benefit pension is additional income on top of the figure shown here, so treat this as the portion under your control.
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