Retirement Calculator
Project a retirement nest egg from your current age, target retirement age, today’s savings, a monthly contribution, and an expected annual return. The result also shows a 4% annual withdrawal and how many years that withdrawal lasts if the same return continues.
Retirement Calculator tool
About the Retirement Calculator
Contributions are added at the end of each month. Growth uses a monthly equivalent of the annual return, (1 + r)^(1/12) − 1, so a 7% assumption is not treated as 7% ÷ 12 simple interest.
This is a planning sketch. It ignores taxes, fees, inflation, employer matches, Social Security, and sequence-of-returns risk. A bad decade at the start of retirement can exhaust a portfolio faster than the 4% rule suggests.
How the Retirement Calculator works
The nest egg is future value of today’s balance plus an ordinary monthly annuity of contributions. A 4% withdrawal is 4% of that nest egg in the first retirement year, paid monthly in this illustration.
Monthly rate i = (1 + annual return)^(1/12) − 1
Nest egg = savings × (1 + i)^N + contribution × [((1 + i)^N − 1) ÷ i]
4% withdrawal = 0.04 × nest egg
Example
Saving $500 a month from age 30 to 65 on a $50,000 balance at 7% grows well beyond the raw contributions. A 4% withdrawal is then 4% of that projected pot.
How to Use the Retirement Calculator
- Enter current age and retirement age as whole years.
- Enter current savings and the monthly amount you will add.
- Enter an expected annual return.
- Enter how many years you want to test withdrawals.
- Read the nest egg, 4% income, and years funded.
Retirement Calculator Examples
Late starter
Starting at 45 with $20,000 and $800 a month to age 65 is a 20-year window. The nest egg is smaller than a 30-year-old’s path at the same return.
Zero contribution
If you only let current savings grow, the contribution annuity is zero and the nest egg is savings × (1 + i)^N.
0% return
At a 0% return the nest egg is savings plus contributions. There is no growth to fund a 4% withdrawal beyond the cash you put in.
How to Project a Nest Egg
Count months until retirement. Compound the current balance monthly and add the contribution at month end. That is the same structure as the investment calculator with a monthly deposit.
4% income examples
Annual 4% income is simply 0.04 times the nest egg. Monthly is that amount ÷ 12.
| Nest egg | Annual 4% | Monthly 4% |
|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $20,000 | $1,666.67 |
| $1,000,000 | $40,000 | $3,333.33 |
| $1,500,000 | $60,000 | $5,000.00 |
What this tool leaves out
Taxes on withdrawals, RMDs, fees, inflation, and a spouse’s benefits are outside the model. The “years funded” figure assumes the same return continues in retirement — an optimistic simplification.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 4% rule?
A planning heuristic: withdraw 4% of the starting nest egg (then often inflate that dollar amount). It is not a guarantee.
Does this include Social Security?
No. Add that income separately.
Can retirement age equal current age?
Yes. Then there are zero saving years and the nest egg equals current savings.
Is the return inflation-adjusted?
No. Enter a real return if you want a constant-dollar sketch, or use the inflation calculator beside a nominal return.
Are these results advice?
No. Talk with a licensed planner for a plan that includes taxes and benefits.
Guides that use this calculator
- How Much Do I Need to Retire? Nest Egg and the 4% Rule
A retirement sketch is savings grown to a target age, then a 4% withdrawal test. Here is the math and what it leaves out.