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Retirement Calculator
Turn your age, current savings and monthly contribution into a projected nest egg at retirement — plus a plain-English on track / short by $X verdict. No login, no advisor call.
Your numbers
Results recalculate as you type.
Assumes 2.5% annual inflation and monthly compounding. Taxes and fees are not modeled.
Projected nest egg at retirement
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Contributions vs. growth
Projected nest egg
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Enter your numbers
How it works
Three steps, a couple of seconds, no account.
Age, retirement age, current savings, monthly contribution, expected return and the income you want each month.
Your balance grows at the annual return divided by twelve for every month until retirement; contributions are added as you go.
The income you want is inflated to retirement, turned into a required nest egg (income ÷ 4%) and compared with your projection.
What the numbers mean
The assumptions behind the verdict, stated plainly.
Balance starts at your current savings and grows at the annual return ÷ 12 each month, with your contribution added monthly. Real 401(k)s compound daily and move up and down; treat this as a smooth average.
The target nest egg is 25× the annual income you want (1 ÷ 0.04). Withdrawing 4% of the balance in year one, adjusted for inflation after that, is the classic rule of thumb for a 30-year retirement.
Your desired income is in today’s dollars, so we inflate it to the year you retire. If your expected return is 2.5% or lower, the results are shown in today’s dollars and no “on track” praise is given — there is no real growth above inflation.
The chart splits your ending balance into money you put in and money the market added. The gap gets wider the longer you save — that is compounding doing the work.
Taxes, fund fees, Social Security, pensions, part-time work and healthcare costs are not modeled, and no sequence-of-returns risk is simulated.
This is an educational estimate, not a recommendation or a guarantee. Check your own plan’s fees and returns, or talk to a fiduciary advisor before making decisions.
FAQ
Is this retirement calculator really free and login-free?
Yes. No account, no email, no paywall. The whole page is one HTML file and the math runs in your browser, so it works offline once loaded.
What return rate should I use?
Treat the number you type as a nominal return: a broad stock index has averaged roughly 10% a year before inflation, about 7% after, but that is an average and not a promise. Here the balance compounds at your rate while the income target is inflated at 2.5%, so a 7% input behaves like roughly a 4.5% real return. Try 5% and 10% to see how sensitive the plan is — anything from 0% to 12% is allowed.
Why does it say “short by $X”?
The desired income, inflated to your retirement year, needs 25× its annual value on hand to support a 4% withdrawal. If your projection is below that target, the difference is the shortfall — the extra amount you would need to save or earn.
Does it include Social Security or a pension?
No. Only the savings and contributions you type in are modeled. If you expect Social Security income, subtract it from the monthly income you enter, or lower the target to see what your own savings alone can cover.
Is my data stored anywhere?
No. There are no server calls and no cookies — your figures never leave the page.
What if my retirement age is earlier than my current age?
The calculator stops and asks you to fix it, because there would be no years left to save. Retirement age must be greater than your current age and no more than 95.
Run the sanity check once a year
Contribution sizes, income targets and market assumptions all drift. Re-run the numbers after a raise, a job change or a market year that felt unusual, and adjust one variable at a time to see what actually moves your projection.