Retirement Calculator
Estimate how much you’ll need at retirement and whether your savings trajectory will reach that goal.
You will need about $1,873,173.32 atage 67 to retire.
Based on your current plan, you will have about $1,098,539.18 at 67, which is less than what you need for retirement.
To save $1,873,173.32 at 67, you can either save $1,539.93/month or save $18,479.21 per year or save 26.40% of your current income every year.
(Current plan first-year saving: $7,000.00/year and grows with your income.)
How the Retirement Calculator Works
This Retirement Calculator is designed to answer a core question: “Am I on track to retire with the income I want?” Instead of guessing a random lump sum, it starts from your current income, your target retirement lifestyle, and how long you expect retirement to last. Then it compares: how much you’ll likely have vs. how much you’re projected to need, and shows the gap in a clear, visual way.
Step 1: Targeting Your Retirement Income
The calculator begins with your current pre-tax income and your chosen replacement rate (for example, 70% of today's income). That replacement rate is meant to reflect how much of your current lifestyle you want to maintain in retirement, considering that some costs may fall (commuting, payroll taxes, retirement savings) while others may rise (travel, healthcare).
It then inflates that target income from today to your retirement age using your chosen inflation rate. The result is a realistic estimate of how many dollars per month you will need in the future, not just in today's terms.
Step 2: Calculating the Required Nest Egg
Next, the tool looks at how much of that target income must come from your investments. You can enter any expected monthly income at retirement (such as pensions or social security). The calculator:
- Subtracts other expected income from your inflated target income to find the required portfolio withdrawals.
- Uses your assumptions for investment return and inflation to compute a real (after-inflation) rate of return.
- Discounts those inflation-adjusted withdrawals from retirement age to your selected life expectancy.
The result is the required nest egg at retirement — the portfolio size that should be able to support inflation-indexed withdrawals for the length of your retirement, under your assumptions.
Step 3: Projecting Your Future Savings
The calculator then estimates what you areon track to have by retirement:
- Starts from your current retirement savings.
- Adds new savings each year as a fixed percentage of your income.
- Grows your income at your chosen annual increase rate, so contributions rise over time.
- Compounds your savings at your selected average investment return.
This produces your projected balance at retirement, which is displayed alongside the required nest egg so you can see if you are ahead or behind.
Understanding the “Have vs Need” Gap
The main output is the gap between: what you'll have (projected savings) and what you'll need (required nest egg). The calculator:
- Highlights a shortfall if projected savings are lower than required.
- Shows a surplus if your current plan overshoots the target.
- Translates this into clear text plus visual comparisons, balance-by-age charts, and schedule tables.
You can then tweak your savings rate, retirement age, income needs, or assumptions to see how each lever moves you closer to your goal.
Required Savings Plan: How to Close the Gap
If there is a shortfall, the calculator also estimates thecontribution level needed to get back on track. It shows:
- The annual and monthly savings required.
- That amount as a percentage of your current income.
- A comparison vs. what you are currently saving.
This makes it easier to decide whether to save more, delay retirement, adjust your lifestyle expectations, or use a mix of changes.
Scope, Assumptions & Limitations
To keep the model clean, transparent, and fast, this Retirement Calculator intentionally uses simplified assumptions:
- Assumes steady average investment returns and inflation (no market volatility or sequence-of-returns risk).
- Treats contributions as made consistently and on time.
- Ignores taxes, account types, fees, and benefit rules unless you build them into your inputs.
- Uses your chosen life expectancy as the planning horizon; living longer than planned would require a more conservative strategy.
- Results are educational estimates, not guarantees or personalized financial advice.
Educational Insight
Retirement planning is easier to understand when you connect it to your current lifestyle instead of chasing an arbitrary "magic number." By working backward from desired income, adjusting for inflation, and comparing required vs. projected savings, this Retirement Calculator turns a complex problem into an actionable story. Revisit your numbers regularly as your income, goals, and markets change so you can stay in control of your path to financial independence.