Projected savings at retirement, the gap to your goal, and the monthly amount needed to close it. Results update as you type.
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Results are estimates for education only and are not financial advice. Assumes a constant return and monthly contributions at each month end. Inflation, taxes and fees are not included.
First, your current savings are grown to retirement age at the expected return. The remaining gap to your goal is then spread over the months left, using the annuity formula at the same monthly return.
FV = S × (1 + r)^n + PMT × (((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r). To close a gap: PMT = (goal − S × (1 + r)^n) × r ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1). Here FV is the projected savings at retirement, S is the current savings, PMT is the monthly contribution, r is the monthly return (annual return ÷ 12), and n is the number of months until retirement.
Starting at age 35 with $40,000 already saved, contributing $600 at the end of each month at a 6% expected annual return until age 65 (30 years), the projected savings at retirement are $843,612.03. You put in $256,000 in total, so investment earnings are $587,612.03.
Retiring later helps twice: you add more contributions and the money compounds for longer, so the projected total rises steeply. Retiring earlier cuts both, so the monthly amount needed to reach the same goal rises sharply. Even a few years either way makes a large difference.
Yes, if your goal is in today's dollars. A $1,000,000 goal in 30 years buys much less than $1,000,000 today if prices keep rising. Either raise the goal by expected inflation or run the calculation with a return reduced by inflation, so the result stays in today's purchasing power.
Use this calculator to answer two questions. First, if I keep saving like this, where do I land? Second, if I have a target in mind, what monthly amount closes the gap? Enter your age, your retirement age, what you have saved, your monthly contribution, and the return you expect. The calculator projects the balance at retirement and, when you set a goal, works out the monthly contribution that would reach it. Revisit the numbers once a year or whenever your income changes. A retirement plan is a moving target, not a one time calculation.
The cost of waiting is the most important number on this page. Take someone with $20,000 saved who contributes $500 at the end of each month at a 6 percent expected annual return. Starting at age 30 and retiring at 65, a 35 year run, the projection is $874,826.18. Total contributions are $230,000, so investment earnings are $644,826.18. Start the same plan at age 40 instead, a 25 year run, and the projection falls to $435,796.38, from $170,000 contributed and $265,796.38 of earnings. Waiting ten years costs $439,029.80 in projected balance, even though the late starter contributes only $60,000 less. The missing decade is where most of the growth would have happened.
Three mistakes show up often. First, people plan on a single return rate for decades. Returns vary, and a plan that only works at 8 percent is fragile. Test the same plan at 5 percent and see whether the gap is still closable. Second, people forget inflation. A balance that looks large in 35 years buys less than the same number buys today, so think in terms of yearly income in retirement, not just the lump sum. Third, people set a monthly contribution and never raise it. Income usually grows over a career. Raising the contribution by even a small amount each year, or directing raises into savings before lifestyle spending absorbs them, closes gaps that look impossible at a flat contribution.
Use a cautious one. Many plans use 5 to 6 percent for a diversified portfolio after inflation is considered separately, but the right number depends on your investments. If you hold mostly bonds or cash, assume less. Run the calculator at two different returns and plan around the lower result.
Yes, but keep them separate from this projection. This calculator projects your own savings only. Add expected Social Security or pension income afterwards, when you convert the final balance into monthly retirement income. That keeps the savings target honest: it shows what your own money must cover.
Three levers remain: save more, retire later, or spend less in retirement. Retiring two or three years later is powerful because it adds contributions, adds growth years, and shortens the period the money must last. A combination of all three usually beats a drastic move on any single one.
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