Retirement calculator
Current savings, contributions, return, and a target income become a projected balance, the lump sum that income needs at a 4% withdrawal rate, and the gap between them.
Worked example — Short of your retirement target by: $154,048. $100,000 saved today, $500/month at 7%, targeting $60,000/year at 65 (a 4% withdrawal rate)
Mid-career: The page's own default: a saver checking pace mid-career.
Your timeline
What you have and add
What the plan must fund
How the savings grow
How much do I need to retire on $40k, $60k, $80k, or $100k a year?
Divide the annual income you want by 4%, the familiar withdrawal-rate planning midpoint. That is 25 times your target spending, computed the same way the calculator above solves its own target.
| Target income | Lump sum needed at 4% |
|---|---|
| $40,000/year | $1,000,000 |
| $60,000/year | $1,500,000 |
| $80,000/year | $2,000,000 |
| $100,000/year | $2,500,000 |
| $120,000/year | $3,000,000 |
How much you need to retire, by starting age and monthly contribution
Projected balance at 65, starting from zero savings, at the calculator's default 7% return. Every cell runs through the same monthly-compounding engine the tool above uses.
| Starting age | $300/mo | $750/mo | $1,500/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 (40 years to go) | $741,463 | $1,853,657 | $3,707,313 |
| 35 (30 years to go) | $350,836 | $877,089 | $1,754,179 |
| 45 (20 years to go) | $152,261 | $380,652 | $761,305 |
| 55 (10 years to go) | $51,316 | $128,289 | $256,578 |
What the 4% rule actually assumes
The 4% withdrawal rate is a widely used planning midpoint, not a guarantee this calculator certifies. It assumes:
- Constant, smooth investment returns, which real markets never deliver.
- That portfolio survival depends only on the average return, when it also depends on the order returns arrive in, which this projection does not model.
- No adjustment for inflation, fees, or taxes on the way to or through retirement.
- Social Security, pensions, and healthcare costs sit entirely outside the target.
The withdrawal rate explorer shows how many years a portfolio actually lasts under different constant real returns, the next honest question to ask about any target this calculator produces.
The next question after this one
FIRE number and withdrawal-rate calculatorCalculatorWhat happens after the balance is reached: how long it funds the spending at a given real return.Open nextOther questions
All 130 calculatorsHow JMM sources and checks its numbersWhat stays free, and what early access would add
What Pro adds here
Sequence-of-return simulations, Social Security integration, withdrawal-then-spend paths, and inflation-adjusted projections are Pro features. The launch list sends one email at launch.