Saving and investing
Retirement Calculator
Project your retirement savings at the age you plan to retire, from current savings and monthly contributions, and compare them with an optional goal.
How this retirement calculator works
Enter your ages
Your current age and the retirement age you want to project to. The time between them, in whole years, is the projection period.
Add savings and an assumed return
What you have saved for retirement, what you add each month, and an annual return to model. The return is an assumption you choose, not a forecast.
The balance is projected month by month
Each month the balance earns the annual return divided by 12, added on each compounding date, and your contribution is added at the end of the month.
Compare with a goal, if you have one
Enter a goal to see the projected surplus or shortfall and the smallest monthly contribution, to the cent, that would reach it under the same assumptions.
Understanding retirement savings
How retirement savings grow
Two things build the balance: the money you put in and the growth it earns at the return you assume. Growth is added to the balance and then earns growth of its own, so it can become the larger part over decades.
Why time matters
Each contribution has until retirement to grow. Money added at 30 has 35 years to compound before 65; money added at 60 has 5. That is why the same monthly amount can project to very different balances depending on when it starts.
Contributions vs investment growth
The calculator separates what you contribute, which you control, from estimated growth, which depends entirely on the return you assume. At a 0% return, the projected balance is exactly what you put in.
Setting a retirement savings goal
A goal is a balance you choose to compare with the projection. The calculator does not suggest one. With a goal, it shows the projected surplus or shortfall and the monthly contribution the goal would require under your assumptions.
Example retirement calculation
Age 30 to 65, with $50,000 saved and $750 a month at an assumed 7% return, compounded monthly, compared with a $1,500,000 goal. Calculated the same way as the calculator above.
Where the balance comes from
- Years until retirement
- 35 years
- Current retirement savings
- $50,000.00
- Future contributions
- 420 × $750.00 = $315,000.00
- Estimated growth
- $1,561,098.45
- Projected balance at age 65
- $1,926,098.45
Compared with a $1,500,000 goal
- Projected surplus
- $426,098.45
- Projected percentage of goal
- 128%
- Required to reach the goal
- $513.42/month
Under these assumptions, the smallest monthly contribution that reaches the goal is $513.42/month; $513.41/month would fall short. Growth makes up most of the projected balance: the longer the time to retirement, the larger its share.
How changing retirement age affects the projection
The same example plan, $50,000 saved and $750 a month at 7%, projected to different retirement ages.
| Retirement age | Years until retirement | Total contributed | Estimated growth | Projected balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 62 | 32 years | $338,000.00 | $1,199,928.09 | $1,537,928.09 |
| Age 65 | 35 years | $365,000.00 | $1,561,098.45 | $1,926,098.45 |
| Age 67 | 37 years | $383,000.00 | $1,850,900.33 | $2,233,900.33 |
| Age 70 | 40 years | $410,000.00 | $2,374,180.43 | $2,784,180.43 |
A later retirement age changes the projection in two ways: more months of contributions, and more years of growth on everything already in the balance. An earlier one does the reverse. The comparison is arithmetic under the same assumptions, not a suggestion of when to retire.
Withdrawal-rate illustration
If you enter a withdrawal rate, the calculator shows what that percentage of the projected balance would be:
- Annual amount = projected balance × withdrawal rate
- Monthly equivalent = annual amount ÷ 12
In the example above, a 5% rate applied to the projected $1,926,098.45 would represent $96,304.92 per year before taxes, or $8,025.41/month.
An illustration, not a withdrawal strategy
Assumptions
- The projection uses the same month-by-month model as Calcora's compound interest calculations. The annual return you enter stays the same for the whole period; it is an assumption you choose, not a forecast, and actual investment returns vary and can be negative.
- The projection period is the retirement age minus the current age, in whole years. Ages are whole numbers, so no birth date is needed.
- Each month earns the annual return divided by 12 on the balance at the start of the month. Growth is added to the balance on each compounding date (every month, quarter, or year).
- Monthly contributions are added at the end of each month, starting one month from now, and continue until retirement. The amount stays the same; it does not rise with pay or inflation.
- With a goal, the required monthly contribution is the smallest whole-cent amount whose projected balance reaches the goal by the retirement age. If current savings alone could reach it, the requirement is $0.
- A withdrawal rate is applied once to the projected balance: the annual amount is the balance times the rate, and the monthly equivalent is that amount divided by 12. Retirement withdrawals themselves are not modeled.
- Results are shown in future dollars and are not adjusted for inflation. Taxes, fees, and other income are not included.
- Growth is rounded to the nearest cent, with halves rounded up, each time it is added to the balance.
- Results are estimates for education. They show what the numbers you enter imply; they are not a recommendation or financial advice.
How Calcora calculates
- Every calculator explains the formula behind its result in plain language.
- Calculators are designed to run in your browser, so your inputs are not sent to Calcora.
- Results help you understand your options. They are not financial advice.
What this calculator does not include
- Inflation. Results are in future dollars: a balance decades from now buys less than the same amount today.
- Taxes on contributions, growth, or withdrawals, and the differences between account types.
- Social Security, pensions, annuities, and other retirement income.
- Employer contributions, unless you include them in your monthly contribution.
- Investment fees, and returns that change from year to year or fall.
- Withdrawals during retirement: how long a balance would last, required minimum distributions, or the order of returns.
- Retirement expenses such as health care.
Frequently asked questions
How is the projected retirement balance calculated?
What annual return should I enter?
Are the results in today's dollars?
How is the contribution needed to reach my goal worked out?
What does the withdrawal rate show?
Does it include Social Security or a pension?
Does Calcora store my information?
Related calculators
Want to look at growth or a goal outside retirement? The Compound Interest Calculator shows how contributions and growth build a balance, and the Savings Calculator plans monthly savings toward any goal by a date. Saving through an employer plan? The 401(k) Calculator projects contributions that follow your salary, with an employer match.
Results here are in future dollars. Use the Inflation Calculator to explore how a future dollar amount compares with today's purchasing power.
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