calciz

Retirement Calculator

What your savings grow to by retirement, and the monthly income they could support.

years
years
$
$
Include any employer match.
%
Long-run stock market average is 7-10% before inflation.

The 4% rule

A widely used planning guideline: withdraw 4% of your portfolio in the first retirement year and adjust for inflation after that, and historically the money lasted at least 30 years. The monthly income figure above is that 4% divided by twelve. It's a planning anchor, not a guarantee; many planners now suggest 3.5% for early retirees.

Real vs. nominal returns

If you enter a 7% return, the result is in future dollars, which will buy less than today's. To think in today's purchasing power, enter a real return instead: expected return minus expected inflation, commonly 4 to 5%. Same math, more honest number.

The contribution that matters most is the next one

At 7%, money doubles roughly every decade. A dollar invested at 30 is worth about $12 at 67; the same dollar invested at 50 is worth about $3. Increasing contributions early beats increasing them late by a wide margin.