Draw your own retirement curve
Your age, what you've saved and what you add each month, carried forward to the day you stop working. Then the same number in today's money, which is the one that matters.
Retirement projection
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Projected savings at 65
$0
Worth about $0 in today's money
- Money you put in
- $0
- Growth from returns
- $0
- Monthly income at a 4% withdrawal, today's money
- $0
An estimate, not a promise: returns vary year to year and are not guaranteed. The 4% figure follows the rule of thumb explained in our guide to the 4% rule.
Year by year
At the numbers above. Watch the growth column overtake what you put in.
| Age | Money you put in | Growth | Balance | In today's money |
|---|
Three things the curve shows
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The early years do the heavy lifting
Put $800 a month away from 32 to 65 at 7% and you reach about $1.24 million. Wait until 42 to start the same $800 and you reach about $546,000: ten fewer years of saving, $96,000 less put in, and less than half the result.
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Working two more years is worth more than it looks
At the default numbers, retiring at 67 instead of 65 lifts the projection in today's money from about $746,000 to $825,000. Two more years of contributions, two more years of growth, and two fewer years the money has to last.
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The 4% figure is a starting point, not a plan
The monthly income figure applies the 4% rule of thumb to the today's-money balance. It is a sturdy way to turn a lump sum into a rough income, and it has real caveats, which our guide to the 4% rule sets out.
Common questions
What return should I use?
From 1928 through 2025, the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested returned about 10.0% a year before inflation and about 6.8% after it (Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern). A mix of stocks and bonds has returned less. The default of 7% assumes a mostly-stock portfolio; try 5% or 6% for a cautious projection. At the default numbers, dropping from 7% to 6% takes the projected balance at 65 from about $1.69 million to $1.32 million.
Why show the result in today's money?
Because $1.69 million in 33 years will not buy what $1.69 million buys now. At 2.5% inflation, prices roughly double and a quarter over that stretch, so the default projection is worth about $746,000 in today's money. That second figure is the one to compare with what you spend now.
Does this include Social Security or a pension?
No. It projects only the savings you enter. Social Security is the largest retirement income source for many households, so add it separately: your personal estimate is in your my Social Security account. Our guide to how much you need to retire shows how to subtract it from what your savings need to cover.
Should I include my employer's 401(k) match?
Yes. Put everything that goes into your retirement accounts each month in "Added each month": your contributions and your employer's. A match is part of your pay, and leaving it out understates the result.
Is the balance before or after tax?
Before. Money in a traditional 401(k) or IRA is taxed when you take it out; Roth money is not. If most of your savings are traditional, the spendable amount will be lower than the balance shown. The Roth vs. traditional calculator works through the difference.
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This calculator produces estimates at a constant annual return, which real investments do not provide. It is educational and is not personalized investment, tax or legal advice. Past market performance does not guarantee future results.