Will your savings be enough?
Retirement is the longest-range goal most people save for, and small changes in contributions or returns make a big difference over 30 years. This calculator projects your 401(k), IRA and other retirement savings to the age you plan to stop working, converts the result into today’s dollars and estimates the yearly income it could support.
How the projection works
- Your current balance grows at the expected return until retirement.
- Each monthly contribution is added and grows for the time it remains invested.
- Together: nest egg = balance × (1 + r)ⁿ + monthly × ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1) ÷ r, with r the monthly return and n the number of months.
- The nest egg is divided by (1 + inflation)^years to express it in today’s purchasing power.
- Retirement income = nest egg in today’s dollars × withdrawal rate.
Worked example: starting at 35
You are 35, have $50,000 saved, and put in $800 a month including your employer’s match. You expect a 6% annual return and 2.5% inflation, and plan to retire at 65.
- Over 30 years you contribute $50,000 + $800 × 360 = $338,000.
- Your savings reach about $1,066,785 in future dollars.
- Investment growth accounts for $728,785 of that, more than twice what you put in.
- In today’s dollars, the nest egg is worth about $508,582.
- With a 4% withdrawal rate, it supports about $1,695 a month in today’s money, on top of Social Security.
How contributions change the outcome
| Monthly contribution | Nest egg (today’s dollars) | Monthly income at 4% | Nest egg (future dollars) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | $229,827 | $766 | $482,077 |
| $500 | $369,204 | $1,231 | $774,431 |
| $800 | $508,582 | $1,695 | $1,066,785 |
| $1,200 | $694,419 | $2,315 | $1,456,590 |
| $2,000 | $1,066,092 | $3,554 | $2,236,201 |
The 4% rule
The 4% rule comes from studies of historical US stock and bond returns: withdrawing 4% of the portfolio in the first year, then adjusting that dollar amount for inflation, lasted at least 30 years in almost every historical period. It is a guideline, not a guarantee. Retiring earlier, holding mostly cash or facing a bad market in the first years argue for 3–3.5%.
Contribution limits for 2026
- 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans: $24,500 employee deferral, plus catch-up contributions from age 50.
- IRA (traditional or Roth): $7,500, plus a catch-up from age 50.
- An employer match does not count toward your own limit and is the highest return you can get: always contribute at least enough to capture it.
Making the plan stronger
- Raise contributions by 1% of pay each year, ideally when you get a raise.
- Keep fees low: a 1% annual fee can shrink a 30-year nest egg by a fifth or more.
- Review the expected return honestly. The default 6% assumes a diversified mix of stocks and bonds; a cash-heavy portfolio will earn less.
- Estimate your Social Security benefit on ssa.gov and add it to the income shown here to see the full picture.