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Retirement Investment Calculator

Enter your current age, target retirement age, existing savings, monthly contribution, and expected annual return to project your nest egg at retirement and estimate annual withdrawal income at the 4 percent rate.

Inputs

Results

Projected nest egg--
Years to retirement--
Total contributed--
Total growth--
4% annual withdrawal income--

Enter your figures above. Results update live.

Jessica Martinez
By Jessica Martinez, Contributing Writer, Business & Finance
Updated June 20, 2026

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Once you know your target nest egg, the Investment Calculator can show how any starting balance grows with regular contributions over your chosen timeline.

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How the projection works

The calculator applies the standard future value formula to your current savings balance and adds the compounded value of each monthly contribution you plan to make between now and retirement. The two figures are summed to produce the projected nest egg. No inflation adjustment is made, so the result is in nominal dollars.

What the 4 percent withdrawal estimate means. The annual income figure is simply 4 percent of the projected nest egg. The 4 percent rule, developed from the 1994 Bengen study and confirmed repeatedly since, suggests that withdrawing 4 percent in year one and increasing that dollar amount with inflation each subsequent year gives a diversified portfolio a high probability of lasting 30 or more years. It is a planning benchmark, not a guarantee.

What the result does not include

This projection covers only what you save personally. It does not include Social Security, pension income, employer matching contributions (which you should add to your monthly figure), or withdrawals before retirement. It also does not account for taxes on withdrawals, which depend on whether your savings are in a traditional or Roth account. Including Social Security and any employer match usually changes the picture significantly.

Why starting age matters more than return rate

Time in the market beats timing the market for most people. A 25-year-old contributing $300 a month at 7 percent reaches roughly the same balance at 65 as a 35-year-old contributing $640 a month at the same return. The decade of extra contributions the 35-year-old must make to close the gap illustrates why early starts compound so dramatically. Raising your assumed return by one percentage point typically matters less than adding five more years to the timeline.

This tool is informational and educational. It is not financial, tax, or retirement advice. For help building a retirement plan, consider speaking with a fee-only financial planner. The SEC provides free guidance at investor.gov.

Jessica Martinez
About the author
Jessica Martinez
Contributing Writer, Business & Finance, Encore Editorial

A reformed credit analyst, Jessica Martinez turns dense financial paperwork into something you can actually use. She writes the explainers behind these calculators and checks every formula against a primary source before it ships.

Good to know

FAQs

How much money do I need to retire?

A common planning benchmark is 25 times your expected annual spending in retirement. This comes from the 4 percent rule: if you withdraw 4 percent of your portfolio in year one and adjust for inflation each year after, a diversified portfolio has historically lasted 30 years in most scenarios. Enter your expected annual spending, multiply by 25, and use that as your retirement savings target.

What is the 4 percent rule for retirement?

The 4 percent rule is a retirement withdrawal guideline developed from historical stock and bond return data. It suggests that a retiree can withdraw 4 percent of their starting portfolio balance in the first year, then adjust the dollar amount for inflation each year, and the portfolio will likely last at least 30 years. This calculator uses the same 4 percent rate to estimate annual withdrawal income from your projected balance.

What annual return should I use for retirement planning?

Many planners use 5 to 7 percent per year as a long-run real return assumption for a diversified stock-heavy portfolio, or 3 to 4 percent for a more conservative mix. These are before taxes but after typical fund costs. Use a lower number if you are close to retirement and want to be cautious. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

How much should I save per month for retirement?

A common starting point is 15 percent of gross income, including any employer match. Use this calculator to test different monthly amounts and see how they change the projected balance at retirement. The earlier you start, the smaller the monthly contribution needs to be to reach the same goal.

Does this calculator account for Social Security?

No. This calculator projects only the balance from personal savings and investment contributions. Social Security benefits are separate and depend on your earnings history and claiming age. Add your expected Social Security income on top of the 4 percent withdrawal estimate to get a fuller picture of retirement income.