Retirement Savings Calculator
Project your nest egg from current savings, monthly deposits, and years left.
What it does
Retirement saving is regular deposits compounding over decades. Early money works longest: dollars saved in your thirties compound through every later year, while dollars saved in the final years add mostly themselves with little time to grow.
The tool above projects a nest egg from your age span, current savings, monthly deposits, and a steady yearly return. Monthly deposits are treated as end of month additions with monthly compounding inside each year.
The example uses a classic path: 30 to 65, $10,000 saved, $500 a month, 7% average. It lands near $1,015,588.82 from $220,000.00 paid in, with the rest growth. Lower the return by one point and the total drops by roughly a fifth, which shows why cautious rates plan better.
Official guides from the Department of Labor and the SEC both stress the same inputs: start early, keep fees low, and revisit the plan as income changes. Social Security statements add the other leg, since savings here exclude that benefit.
How to use
- Enter your current age and the age you plan to stop full time work.
- Enter what you have saved already, or zero when starting fresh.
- Enter the monthly amount you can sustain without strain.
- Enter a cautious expected return, such as 6 or 7% for stock heavy mixes.
- Compare paid in against growth, then test one point lower for safety.
Formula
- P
- Current savings compounding the whole span.
- PMT
- Monthly deposit at each month end.
- r
- Monthly rate from the yearly return divided by 12.
- n
- Months between current and retirement age.
Zero return reduces to cash addition: current savings plus monthly saving times months. Monthly compounding inside the year keeps yearly, quarterly, and monthly return quotes consistent.
Worked example
Example: 30 to 65, $10,000 start, $500 a month, 7%
Ages 30 to 65 is 35 years (420 months), monthly rate 0.07/12.
- Months: (65 - 30) x 12 = 420. Monthly rate: 0.07 / 12 = 0.0058333.
- Growth factor: (1.0058333)^420 = 11.506152.
- Starting sum grows to 10,000 x 11.506152 = $115,061.52.
- Deposits grow to 500 x (11.506152 - 1) / 0.0058333 = $900,527.30.
- Nest egg: 115,061.52 + 900,527.30 = $1,015,588.82 from $220,000.00 paid in.
Reference table
| Return | Nest egg | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | about $625,383 | about $405,383 |
| 7% | about $1,015,589 | about $795,589 |
| 9% | about $1,701,526 | about $1,481,526 |
Limits
- Steady return assumed. Markets swing and fees drag every year.
- Ignores taxes, employer match rules, and withdrawal order.
- Excludes Social Security and pensions unless you add them.
- Inflation means the total buys less than today dollars suggest.
Common mistakes
- Planning on peak market returns instead of a cautious average.
- Stopping deposits after a market dip, which breaks compounding.
- Ignoring a 1% fee that removes roughly a fifth of long run growth.
- Counting the gross total as spendable without tax.
- Setting retirement age without testing two years earlier and later.
Try it yourself
Quick checks. Answers sit tucked under each question.
$0 start, $300 a month for 30 years at 7%?
360 deposits total $108,000 and grow near $365,991. Time does the heavy work.
One point of return over 35 years?
At 6% the example path lands near $793,591, about $222,000 below the 7% path.
Extra $100 a month for 35 years at 7%?
100 x 1801.05 = about $180,105 added to the nest egg.
Questions
How much do I need to retire?
Common guides target 10 to 12 times final salary plus Social Security, but spending plans decide. This page projects savings; budgets decide the target.
What return should I assume?
Below past stock averages: 6 or 7% nominal for stock heavy mixes, less for bond heavy ones, then rerun one point lower.
Are deposits start or end of month?
End of month here. Start of month timing would add roughly one month of growth per deposit.
Does it include employer match?
No. Add the match into your monthly saving, or run the 401(k) match page separately and fold it in.
Why do late years matter most?
Compounding multiplies the whole balance each period, and the balance is largest near the end.
What about inflation?
Lower the return by expected inflation for a rough real figure, or divide the total by the inflation factor for the span.