Project your retirement savings. Enter your age, current savings, and monthly contributions to see your nest egg and estimated retirement income.
A common retirement guideline: you can withdraw about 4% of your nest egg in the first year, adjusting for inflation after, with a good chance it lasts 30 years.
An employer 401k match is free money — always contribute enough to capture the full match before investing elsewhere.
Retirement planning comes down to one question: will the money you save, plus its growth, be enough to support you once you stop working? This calculator projects how your current savings and ongoing contributions could grow by your target retirement age, and how long that nest egg might last. It turns a vague worry into concrete numbers you can act on.
The three forces at work are how much you contribute, the return your investments earn, and — most powerfully — the number of years your money has to compound. Because of compounding, the contributions you make in your twenties and thirties do far more heavy lifting than those made later.
The calculator grows your current balance and each future contribution at your assumed annual return until your retirement age, using compound growth. It then estimates how long the resulting balance can support your desired annual withdrawals, accounting for continued growth on the money still invested.
Future value = current savings compounded + all contributions compounded
A 30-year-old with $25,000 saved, contributing $600 a month, earning a 7% return, retiring at 65:
| At retirement (age 65) | Value |
|---|---|
| Projected balance | $1.29M |
| Total contributed | $277,000 |
| Investment growth | ~$1.01M |
Roughly 78% of the final balance is growth, not contributions. Delaying the start by just 10 years — beginning at 40 instead of 30 with the same $600/month — would cut the balance to around $610,000, less than half, despite contributing only $72,000 less.
Employer-sponsored, often with a matching contribution. Always contribute at least enough to capture the full match — it is an immediate, guaranteed return on your money.
Traditional accounts give you a tax break now and are taxed on withdrawal; Roth accounts are funded with after-tax money and grow tax-free. Roth is often favored when you expect to be in a higher tax bracket later.
Individual Retirement Accounts supplement workplace plans and offer more investment choice. They come in traditional and Roth versions with their own contribution limits.
Estimates are for educational purposes only and are not financial advice. Returns are not guaranteed and inflation will affect real outcomes.