Free tool
Retirement calculator
Put your savings, pension and Social Security in one place. You'll see what your savings could grow to, the monthly income they could pay, and how long the money lasts. We've filled in an example to start. Change any number and the results update as you type.
Where you stand
$0
Monthly income your plan supports
$0
Monthly income you want
$0
At that income, your savings last
–
Your savings
At retirement, in today's dollars
$0
At retirement, in future dollars
$0
Monthly income from savings alone
$0
Extra monthly saving to close the gap
–
Savings year by year, in today's dollars
Social Security and pension
| Each month, in today's dollars | First year | Last year |
|---|
Your Social Security or pension changes during retirement, so the two don't simply add to your savings income. The income your plan supports is the steady amount you could hold the whole way, leaning harder on savings in the leaner years.
These are estimates built on the returns and inflation you entered, not forecasts. Real returns come unevenly, and the figures are before taxes and health costs. Nothing you type leaves your device. This is general education, not personal advice.
How the retirement calculator works
It runs in two stages. First it grows what you have today, plus what you and your employer add each month, up to the age you retire. Then it works out the steady monthly income that pot could pay, with Social Security and any pension on top, until the age you plan through.
Everything is counted in today's dollars. A figure of $5,000 a month means $5,000 of today's buying power, however far off retirement is. To do that the calculator takes your return and subtracts the effect of inflation before it compounds anything. We show your savings at retirement in future dollars too, because that's the number you'll see on a statement one day.
That's what makes it an investing retirement calculator as much as a retirement savings calculator: the return you pick does a lot of the work. It's also the part nobody can know. Treat every result as "if my assumptions hold", and run it a few times with gloomier ones.
What each input means
- Ages. Your age now, the age you stop working, and the age the money has to last to.
- Savings and monthly saving. Everything set aside for retirement, and what goes in each month. Put the employer match in its own box so you can see what it's worth.
- Returns. One rate for the working years and one for retirement, because you may hold steadier investments once you're drawing income. Both are your guess.
- Inflation. How fast you expect prices to rise. Also your guess.
- Social Security and pension. Monthly amounts, and the age Social Security starts. Social Security rises with inflation. Not every pension does, so tick the box only if yours does.
- Income you want. The monthly amount you'd like to live on, before tax.
Where to find your Social Security estimate
Don't guess this one. Sign in to your personal my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount and open your Social Security Statement. It shows your estimated monthly benefit at nine starting ages, 62 through 70, based on your own earnings record. Type in the figure for the age you plan to claim.
How long will my retirement savings last?
Look at the line that says how long your savings last at the income you want. Either they carry you through your plan-through age, or the calculator names the age they'd run out. The chart shows the same thing as a line: up while you're saving, down while you're spending.
That also makes this a retirement income calculator and a retirement withdrawal calculator. Change the income you want and you'll see how the withdrawal you're asking for shortens or stretches the money. If you're short, the tool shows the extra monthly saving that would close the gap. Working two more years or trimming the income target will often do as much.
What this calculator leaves out
- Taxes. Withdrawals from a traditional 401(k) or IRA are taxed as income, and part of your Social Security may be too. Your spendable income will be lower than the figures here.
- Health care. Medicare premiums, out-of-pocket costs and long-term care aren't modeled. Build them into the income you want.
- Uneven returns. The tool uses the same return every year. Real markets don't behave that way, and a bad stretch early in retirement hurts more than the same stretch later. See what to do if the market drops before you retire.
- Required withdrawals. From age 73 or 75, depending on your birth year, the IRS makes you take money out of pre-tax accounts. Our RMD calculator and the guide to required minimum distributions cover that.
Want a target to aim at before you start? Read how much you need to retire, or see how you compare in average retirement savings by age. For what to do next, we have guides to retirement planning in your 40s and in your 50s, and a checklist for retiring in five years.
Common questions
When can I retire?
Use the tool as a "when can I retire" calculator. Fill in your numbers, then lower the age you plan to retire one year at a time. The earliest age that still shows you on track, with savings lasting through your plan-through age, is your answer on those assumptions. Remember to move the Social Security start age too if you'd claim earlier.
Can I use this as an early retirement calculator?
Yes. Set a retirement age in your 50s or early 60s and keep Social Security at the age you'd really claim, which can't be before 62. The calculator then draws on savings alone for the years in between. Two things it won't show: withdrawals from retirement accounts before 59½ can carry a 10% penalty (the rule of 55 is one exception), and Medicare doesn't start until 65.
What return should I assume?
We can't tell you, and nobody can promise one. What we'd do is run the numbers three times: with the return you hope for, with one a couple of points lower, and with higher inflation. A plan that only works in the rosy version needs more margin.
Why show today's dollars and future dollars?
Prices rise, so a dollar at retirement buys less than a dollar now. Today's dollars tell you what the money will feel like to spend. Future dollars are what the account balance will actually read. The gap between them is inflation at the rate you entered.
Does the calculator include my spouse?
It can. Add both sets of savings and both monthly contributions together, and enter your combined Social Security and pension amounts. If you're different ages, use the age of whoever retires first for a cautious result, and remember that Social Security income drops when one spouse dies.
Is my information saved or sent anywhere?
No. The sums run in your browser. Nothing you type is stored or sent to us, and the numbers clear when you leave the page.