Retirement Savings Calculator

Multiply what you want to spend per year in retirement by 25. Want $60,000/year? You need $1.5 million. This comes from the 4% rule — research (the Trinity Study) showed you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually and it'll likely last 30+ years. Planning for a 40-year retirement? Use 3.5% and multiply by 28 instead. It's rough math, but it gets you to the right neighborhood fast.

15% of gross income is the standard target, including any employer match. But that assumes you started in your mid-20s. Start at 35? You probably need 20%. At 45? More like 25-30%. The math is unforgiving — every decade you wait roughly doubles the monthly amount needed to reach the same number. Run your actual numbers in this calculator instead of guessing.

S&P 500 has averaged about 10% per year before inflation, 7% after. A 70/30 stock/bond mix: roughly 7-8% before inflation, 4-5% after. If you want conservative projections, use 6%. Here's why it matters: on $500/month over 30 years, the difference between 6% and 8% returns is $200,000. Always run a pessimistic scenario alongside your optimistic one.

Your employer takes money from your paycheck before taxes and puts it in an investment account. Traditional 401(k): you don't pay income tax on that money now, but you pay taxes when you withdraw it in retirement. Roth 401(k): you pay taxes now, withdrawals are tax-free. 2024 limit is $23,000/year ($30,500 if you're 50+). The critical thing: if your employer matches contributions, always put in at least enough to get the full match. That's a free 50-100% return on day one.

Traditional IRA: tax deduction now, pay taxes later when you withdraw. Roth IRA: no deduction now, but withdrawals in retirement are completely tax-free. 2024 limit is $7,000/year ($8,000 if 50+). The decision comes down to one question: will your tax rate be higher now or in retirement? Early career and earning less? Roth probably wins. Peak earning years? Traditional might save more. If you genuinely can't decide, split it 50/50 — you'll be fine either way.

You have more options than you think. Catch-up contributions let you put an extra $7,500/year into a 401(k) after age 50 (extra $1,000 for IRAs). Working just 2-3 years longer has a massive effect — you're adding to the portfolio AND shortening the retirement period simultaneously. Delaying Social Security from 62 to 70 increases your monthly benefit by 76%. And plenty of people who started at 40 retire comfortably. Starting late is worse than starting early, but it's infinitely better than not starting.

It's the thing most people forget. $1 million sounds like a lot until you realize that at 3% inflation, it only buys $554,000 worth of stuff in 20 years. And healthcare inflates at 5-6% per year — so the thing retirees spend the most on gets more expensive faster than everything else. This is why you should use real (after-inflation) returns when projecting: enter 7% instead of 10% to see what your money will actually buy, not just what the account balance will show.