Enter your ages, current savings, monthly contribution and an assumed annual return (default 6%, editable — it is a hypothetical assumption, not a prediction). The tool projects a balance at retirement, optionally restates it in today's dollars, and converts it to a monthly income figure using the 4% rule of thumb. All assumptions are listed below the results.
Your numbers
Hypothetical projection at your assumed rate
Assumptions used — read these before trusting the number
- The return is hypothetical. Growth is compounded monthly at a constant rate equal to the annual return you enter (default 6%). Real returns vary every year, include losses, and are not guaranteed by anyone. This is an illustration, not a projection or promised return.
- Contributions are added at the end of each month and never change. Raises, pauses and catch-up contributions are not modelled.
- Taxes and fees are excluded. Investment costs and the taxes due on withdrawal (pre-tax accounts are taxed as ordinary income) would both reduce spendable results — see our fee analyzer for the cost side.
- The today's-dollars view divides results by the inflation rate you enter, compounded annually — a constant-inflation simplification.
- The 4% figure is a rule of thumb, derived from historical US research (Bengen 1994; the Trinity study 1998) assuming a 30-year retirement. It is a screening device, not a safe guarantee — our guides on how much you need and sequence risk explain its limits honestly.
- No Social Security, pension or other income is included — this tool sizes savings only.
This is arithmetic, not advice. A projection at a constant assumed rate cannot capture market behaviour, your taxes, or your life. Use it to see whether you're roughly on track and how much the inputs matter — then pressure-test the result properly.
Common questions
Why does the real-dollar figure look so much smaller?
Because inflation compounds too. At 2.5% a year for 30 years, a dollar buys about 48 cents of today's goods, so the same balance is shown deflated to today's purchasing power.
Where does the 4% monthly income figure come from?
It is a widely used rule of thumb — 4% of the balance in the first year, divided by twelve — not a guarantee and not a recommendation. Sequence of returns, taxes and spending changes all move it.
What return should I assume?
Whatever you want to test. The rate is your assumption, not a forecast; try a range and look at how much the answer moves. Nothing here is a projection of any actual portfolio.
Want this pressure-tested against your real life?
Bring your statements. We'll add Social Security, any pension, taxes and real-world costs to the picture — fifteen minutes, free.