How do I use the Retirement Calculator?

Enter your current age and desired retirement age. Enter your current retirement savings and monthly contribution. Set the expected annual return (7% inflation-adjusted is a common assumption). Enter your expected annual expenses in retirement. Set inflation rate and life expectancy. Click Calculate to see your retirement outlook.

Is the Retirement Calculator free?

Yes, the Retirement Calculator is completely free. It runs entirely in your browser with no signup, no download, and no data sent to any server.

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Retirement Calculator

Plan retirement savings with compound growth projections, the 4% rule, and gap analysis.

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Retirement calculator

Plan your retirement savings

Estimate when you can retire and how much you'll need based on your savings and goals.

Current age Desired retirement age Current retirement savings ($) Monthly contribution ($) Expected annual return (%) S&P 500 historical avg: ~10% (7% inflation-adj) Annual expenses in retirement ($) Expected inflation (%) Life expectancy

Retirement outlook

Nest egg at retirement

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Amount needed

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Gap / Surplus

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Years to retire

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Projection (every 5 years)

Age	Balance	Contributed	Growth

Insights

Total contributions:

Total growth:

4% rule income: /yr

Monthly income (4%):

How to use

How to Use the Retirement Calculator

1 Enter your current age and desired retirement age.
2 Enter your current retirement savings and monthly contribution.
3 Set the expected annual return (7% inflation-adjusted is a common assumption).
4 Enter your expected annual expenses in retirement.
5 Set inflation rate and life expectancy.
6 Click Calculate to see your retirement outlook.

The Retirement Calculator projects your savings growth using compound interest, then compares the projected nest egg to the amount needed to fund your retirement years. The "amount needed" uses a present value annuity calculation that accounts for inflation-adjusted expenses over your retirement period. If your nest egg exceeds the amount needed, you show a surplus.

The 4% rule is a widely cited guideline: you can withdraw 4% of your retirement savings each year with a low risk of running out over 30 years. For example, a $1M nest egg supports $40,000/year. The monthly income shown uses this rule. Historical data shows the S&P 500 has returned about 10% annually (7% after inflation), making 7% a conservative projection.

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