Plan Your Retirement, Clearly
This calculator projects your portfolio at retirement and compares it with the amount required to fund your target spending (after pension/Social Security). It also solves the monthly contribution needed to close any gap.
Inputs
Results
Market returns vary. Sequence risk around retirement can change outcomes—build a cushion and revisit the plan regularly.
Why these assumptions?
Safe withdrawal rate. We default to 4% as a simple starting point popularized by Bengen and the Trinity study. You can change the withdrawal rate based on your risk, horizon, and market views.
Real vs nominal. Inputs let you specify both expected returns and inflation. We convert your target spending from today’s dollars to retirement dollars using the inflation input.
Sequence-of-returns risk. Actual outcomes vary—especially around the retirement date. Consider buffers, a glidepath, and flexible withdrawals.
Educational tool only, not advice. For Social Security estimates, use the SSA estimator. See also the U.S. Department of Labor’s retirement planning guide.
Pro tips
- Model pensions/Social Security as “Other retirement income”.
- Use a conservative return and a realistic inflation rate.
- Increase contributions annually (raises, bonuses) to close gaps sooner.
- Revisit the plan after major life or market changes.