Introduction
How much money do you need to retire? This calculator gives you a clear number. Type in your age, your pay, what you have saved, and when you want to stop working. The tool does the math and shows your retirement number in one click.
It works in two ways. The first tab tells you how big your nest egg must be. The second tab tells you how much to save each month to hit a target you pick. Both use your chosen investment style, from conservative to aggressive.
You also see more than just one number. The calculator shows if you are on track, how long your money will last, and how much extra you may need to save each month. It runs two cases: an average market and a weak market. That way you know what happens if things go well and if they do not.
You can change the details too. Set your own inflation rate, pay raises, employer match, and Social Security or pension income. Every step of the math is shown, so you can see exactly how the answer was built.
How to use our How Much Do I Need To Retire Calculator
Enter your age, income, savings, and how you invest. The calculator shows your retirement number, what your savings should grow to, any gap, and how much more to save each month.
Pick a tab: Choose "How Much Do I Need To Retire?" to find your target nest egg. Choose "How Much Do I Need To Save?" if you already know your target and want the monthly amount.
Current Age: Type your age today. Use a whole number from 18 to 80.
Planned Retirement Age: Type the age you plan to stop working. It must be higher than your age now.
Life Expectancy: Type the age your money must last until. Most people plan for 90 or higher.
Current Annual Pre-Tax Income: Type your yearly pay before taxes come out.
Current Retirement Savings: Add up your 401(k), IRA, and other retirement accounts, and type the total.
Other Monthly Retirement Income: Type what you expect each month from Social Security, a pension, an annuity, or rent, in today's dollars.
Monthly Retirement Contribution: Pick "% of income" or "$ per month," then type the amount you save. The percent option grows as your pay grows.
Desired Retirement Income: Pick "% of income" or "$ per month," then type how much you want to live on each year in retirement, in today's dollars.
Target Nest Egg at Retirement (save tab): Type the balance you want on your retirement day.
Investment Style / Risk Profile: Pick one of the five styles. This sets the yearly return and the ups and downs used in the math.
Inflation Rate: Type how fast you think prices will rise each year. The default is 2.3%.
Annual Salary Growth Rate: Type how much you expect your pay to rise each year before you retire.
Income Replacement Percentage: Type the share of today's pay you want in retirement. Most people use 70% to 85%.
Employer Match Percentage: Type how many cents your job adds for each dollar you save. Enter 50 for a 50-cent match.
Employer Match Cap: Type the most of your salary your job will match, such as 6%.
Contribution Tax Treatment: Pick Pre-Tax for a traditional 401(k) or IRA, or Post-Tax for a Roth. This changes how your results are labeled.
Calculate and Reset: Click Calculate to see your results, charts, and step-by-step math. Click Reset to start over with the default numbers.
How Much Do I Need to Retire?
Your retirement number is the amount of money you need saved on the day you stop working. It has to cover your bills for the rest of your life, after Social Security, a pension, or any other income you get. This retirement calculator works out that number and shows if your current savings plan will get you there.
What Goes Into Your Retirement Number
- Years left to save. The gap between your age now and your retirement age. More years means more time for your money to grow, thanks to the snowball effect of compound interest.
- Years in retirement. The gap between retiring and your life expectancy. Retiring at 65 and living to 90 means paying for 25 years.
- Income you want. Most people plan to live on 70% to 85% of what they earn today. Some costs drop, like commuting and saving for retirement itself. Others, like health care, go up. Moving towns can shift the whole figure.
- Other income. Social Security, a pension, an annuity, or rent money lowers the amount your savings must cover.
- Inflation. Prices rise every year, so the same lifestyle costs more later. A $60,000 lifestyle today can cost over $100,000 in 25 years.
- Investment returns. How your money is invested changes how fast it grows and how bumpy the ride is.
Risk and Returns
Stocks grow faster over long periods but drop more in bad years. Bonds and cash are steadier but grow slower. A conservative mix might earn about 5% a year, while an aggressive mix might earn about 9%. Neither is "right." Younger savers can often take more risk because they have time to recover from a bad market. People close to retirement often move to safer mixes.
Because markets are never smooth, it helps to look at two paths: an average market and a challenging market. The challenging path shows a weaker-than-normal run of returns, so you can see if your plan still holds up.
Free Money From Your Employer
Many jobs match part of what you put in your 401(k). A common deal is 50 cents for every dollar you save, up to 6% of your pay. If you earn $60,000 and save 6% ($3,600), your employer adds $1,800. Always save at least enough to get the full match. Skipping it is turning down a raise.
Pre-Tax vs. Roth
Money in a traditional 401(k) or IRA goes in before taxes, grows tax free, and is taxed as income when you take it out. Roth money goes in after taxes, and qualified withdrawals come out tax free. This matters for your target: a $1 million pre-tax balance is worth less to spend than $1 million in a Roth, because the tax bill still has to be paid. Once you turn 73, the RMD Calculator shows the minimum you must pull each year.
Ways to Close a Gap
- Raise your monthly savings, even by 1% of pay a year.
- Work one or two more years. This adds savings and shortens the years you must fund.
- Delay Social Security. Waiting past full retirement age raises your benefit.
- Trim your target spending, or plan to move somewhere cheaper.
- Cut investment fees, which quietly eat returns over decades.
- Clear high-interest debt first so more cash flows into savings.
Keep It Updated
A retirement plan is not a one-time job. Pay raises, job changes, market swings, and new goals all move your number. Check it once a year, and any time something big changes in your life.