Retirement Calculator
Project retirement savings growth from current balance, contributions, and return rate.
Retirement measurements
Enter your values, then calculate.
Result
How to calculate retirement
This retirement calculator projects what your current savings and future monthly contributions could grow into by the time you retire, using the same compounding math that governs any long-term investment account. It's meant to answer one practical question: given what you're saving now, roughly where does that put you?
How the calculation works
Projected balance = P × (1 + r)^n + PM × (((1 + r)^n − 1) / r), where P is your current savings, PM is your monthly contribution, r is your assumed monthly rate of return (annual ÷ 1200), and n is the number of months until retirement. This is the standard future-value-of-an-annuity formula applied to retirement savings specifically.
Example
Suppose you're 40 with $80,000 saved, contributing $500/month, and plan to retire at 65 (25 years / 300 months) with an assumed 7% average annual return: the projected balance is roughly $890,000. Delaying retirement by just 5 more years (to 30 years / 360 months) with the same inputs pushes the projection to around $1.28 million — the extra years of compounding matter more than most people expect.
Frequently asked questions
Does this account for inflation?
No, this shows the nominal (non-inflation-adjusted) future balance. To estimate purchasing power in today's dollars, you can subtract roughly 2–3% per year of inflation from your assumed rate of return before running the calculation.
Should I include Social Security in this calculation?
No — this projects only your personal savings and contributions. Social Security or a pension would be additional income on top of whatever balance this calculator estimates.
What's a realistic rate of return to assume?
It depends heavily on how your retirement savings are invested. A portfolio weighted toward stocks has historically returned more over long periods than one weighted toward bonds or cash, but also carries more year-to-year variability.
Retirement Calculator
Projected balance = P × (1 + r)^n + PM × (((1 + r)^n − 1) / r), where P is your current savings, PM is your monthly contribution, r is your assumed monthly rate of return (annual ÷ 1200), and n is the number of months until retirement. This is the standard future-value-of-an-annuity formula applied to retirement savings specifically.
Let's understand your retirement result.
Calculate a result above and this guide will help you interpret it using this calculator's own formula and explanation.
Pro Tips for Retirement
- Run the numbers at a conservative return (5–6%) and again at a moderate one (7–8%) to see a realistic range instead of a single point estimate.
- If you get an employer 401(k) match, include it in your monthly contribution figure — it's real money compounding alongside your own.
- Re-check this calculation every few years as your salary, savings rate, and time horizon change; a projection made at 30 needs revisiting at 40.
Common Retirement Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating the projected balance as a guaranteed number rather than an estimate based on an assumed, uncertain rate of return.
- Not accounting for inflation — a dollar 25 years from now buys less than a dollar today, so a large future balance may represent less real purchasing power than it appears.
When to Use This Calculator
This retirement calculator projects what your current savings and future monthly contributions could grow into by the time you retire, using the same compounding math that governs any long-term investment account. It's meant to answer one practical question: given what you're saving now, roughly where does that put you?