Retirement Calculator - Nest Egg & 4% Rule Income

How the Retirement Calculator Works

1. 01Enter your current age, planned retirement age, and the savings you already have.
2. 02Enter your monthly contribution and the annual return you expect from your investments.
3. 03Set an expected inflation rate so results can be shown in today's purchasing power.
4. 04Read the projected nest egg in future and today's money, the 4% rule monthly income, and the year-by-year growth table.

Planning Retirement With Honest Numbers

A useful retirement projection needs three honest inputs: a return you can defend, an inflation assumption, and contributions you will actually sustain. The calculator compounds your balance monthly while adding contributions, then discounts each year by inflation so you see the nest egg in today's purchasing power, which is the number that determines your future lifestyle. The 4% rule turns the final balance into income: withdrawing 4% in the first retirement year, adjusted for inflation afterwards, historically survived 30-year retirements in the Bengen and Trinity studies of US market history. Treat it as a planning benchmark rather than a guarantee; many advisers now suggest 3.5% for early retirees or conservative assumptions. Use the year-by-year table to find your crossover point, where annual growth exceeds annual contributions; before that point, saving more matters most, and after it, staying invested matters most. Small changes compound enormously: 100 extra per month for a 30-year-old can add roughly 210,000 by 67 at 7%. If the today's-money income looks thin, the levers in order of power are: start earlier, raise contributions, retire later, then chase returns, and only the last one adds risk.

When to Use the Retirement Calculator

Use it when starting your first retirement account to size a monthly contribution, at every salary change to decide how much of the raise to capture, and mid-career to check whether you are on track for the income you want in today's money. It is also useful for testing big decisions: how much does retiring at 62 instead of 67 cost, or what happens to your plan if returns come in two points lower than hoped.

Common Use Cases

• —Sizing the monthly contribution needed for a target retirement income in today's money.
• —Comparing retirement at 62, 65, and 67 by changing the retirement age input.
• —Checking mid-career whether current savings plus contributions stay on track.
• —Stress-testing the plan at 5% returns instead of 7% before committing to it.
• —Understanding how inflation alone reshapes long-range amounts. Inflation Calculator - Fixed Rate & US CPI
• —Modeling general investment growth outside a retirement frame. Investment Calculator - Lump Sum + Monthly

Expert Tips

• ✻Judge your plan on the today's-money figures, not the headline nest egg; inflation does the judging for you otherwise.
• ✻Capture part of every raise: increasing contributions by 100 per month in your thirties adds roughly 210,000 by 67 at 7%.
• ✻The levers in order of power are start earlier, save more, retire later, and only then higher returns; the last is the only one that adds risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 4% rule?→

A guideline from the 1994 Bengen study and the Trinity study: withdrawing 4% of a balanced portfolio in the first retirement year, adjusted for inflation each year after, historically lasted at least 30 years in US market history. It is a benchmark, not a guarantee.

Why show the nest egg in today's purchasing power?→

A million in 35 years buys far less than a million today. Discounting by inflation converts the future balance into today's terms, which is the only honest way to judge whether the projected income supports your intended lifestyle.

What return and inflation assumptions are reasonable?→

Many planners assume 5-7% returns for diversified portfolios and 2-3% inflation. Historical US stock returns averaged 7-10% before inflation, but sequences vary; conservative inputs make plans robust instead of optimistic.

Does the calculator include pensions, social security, or taxes?→

No. It projects only the savings you enter. Treat state pensions or employer benefits as income on top of the 4% withdrawal, and remember withdrawals may be taxed depending on the account type in your country.