Retirement Savings Calculator

Estimate your nest egg at retirement using monthly compounding, salary growth, employer match, and inflation. See an income estimate using a withdrawal rate.

What this calculator does

This tool projects your retirement balance by month between today and your target retirement age. It combines your current balance, a contribution rate from your salary, an employer match with a cap, expected investment returns, salary growth, and inflation. The model compounds returns monthly and raises salary once per year. Results include both nominal dollars and inflation-adjusted dollars so you can see today’s purchasing power. We also estimate a retirement income using a withdrawal rate you control.

If you’re exploring savings scenarios, pair this page with the Compound Interest Calculator for pure growth math, and the Federal Tax Calculator to sense-check after-tax income that might affect contributions. Students or early-career users might also like our Percentage Calculator for quick contribution math.

Inputs

Example: 50% match up to 6% of your salary.
All calculations run in your browser.

Results

Final balance (nominal)

$0

Final balance (inflation-adjusted)

$0

Total employee + employer

$0

Total growth

$0

Est. monthly income (nominal)

$0

Est. monthly income (real)

$0
Optional ad slot

Yearly breakdown

YearAgeStart balanceEmployee contribEmployer contribGrowthEnd balanceEnd balance (real)

CSV export includes all years. This is an estimate, not financial advice.

How to use this calculator

  1. Set your ages. Enter your current age and a target retirement age. The tool builds a month-by-month path between them.
  2. Add your starting point. Use “Current savings” for balances across retirement accounts you want to project here.
  3. Tell us about contributions. Pick a contribution rate as a percent of salary. Add your employer match and the cap. If your plan is “50% match up to 6%,” set rate = 50 and cap = 6.
  4. Tune growth and inflation. Returns compound monthly from your annual rate. Salary grows once per year by the growth rate. If you enter inflation, we’ll deflate end values so you can read them in today’s dollars.
  5. Choose timing. Contributions at the beginning of the month earn a bit more compounding than end-of-month contributions. Toggle to see the difference.
  6. Review the outputs. Check the final balances, estimated monthly income from your withdrawal rate, and the yearly table. Export the CSV if you want to compare scenarios.

Need a refresher on growth math? Try the Compound Interest Calculator. Estimating take-home pay for contribution capacity? Use the Paycheck Calculator.

Reading your results

Final balance (nominal vs real). Nominal is the raw dollar amount at retirement. Real adjusts for inflation using the rate you enter. If inflation is 0, both lines are identical.

Total employee + employer. This is every dollar you and your employer put in. “Total growth” is the difference between the final balance and all contributions (including your current balance), driven by compounding.

Estimated monthly income. We multiply the final balance by your withdrawal rate and divide by 12. This is a planning heuristic, not a guarantee. Many people start with 4% and then adjust up or down based on risk, flexibility, and other income sources.

Yearly breakdown. The table shows contributions and growth for each year and the ending balances in both nominal and real terms. It’s handy for sanity checks: if a year looks off, verify your rates and timing.

FAQ

Why do you compound monthly?

Most contributions happen on a monthly or per-pay basis. Monthly compounding strikes a balance between realism and speed without adding complexity or external libraries.

How is the employer match calculated?

We compute your monthly contribution from salary × your rate. The employer adds match rate × min(your rate, match cap) × salary, spread monthly. So a 50% match up to 6% adds 3% of salary when you contribute 6% or more.

What does the inflation box do?

It deflates ending balances and the income estimate using the annual inflation rate you enter, so “real” values reflect today’s purchasing power.

Can I model Roth vs pre-tax?

This tool focuses on growth mechanics. If you want to stress-test after-tax savings capacity, combine it with the Paycheck Calculator and your actual plan limits.

Is this financial advice?

No. It’s an educational estimate to help you plan scenarios. Consider talking with a fiduciary advisor for personalized guidance.