Retirement Calculator

Retirement Calculator: What this projection actually accounts for

This calculator takes your current retirement savings and grows it month by month using your contribution amount and an assumed annual return, until you reach your chosen retirement age. It does not account for taxes, employer matching, inflation, or changes to your contribution amount over time, so treat the result as a starting point for planning rather than a guarantee.

One thing worth noticing when you adjust the sliders is how much retirement age changes the outcome compared to contribution amount. Pushing your retirement date back even a few years often has a larger effect than a modest increase in monthly savings, since those extra years let your existing balance compound instead of only adding new money. If you want to see that compounding effect on its own, try our compound growth calculator.

For a broader look at how much people typically need for retirement and how that number is usually calculated, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishes independent, non commercial guidance on retirement planning. You can read it on consumerfinance.gov.