Retirement Calculator
Free · no sign-up · reviewed July 2026
Retirement can feel far away and fuzzy. This makes it concrete: see roughly how big your nest egg will be, and, using the well-known 4% rule (also called the 25× rule), how much you could withdraw each year and each month once you retire.
Adjust your age, what you save, your expected return, and your withdrawal rate to watch decades of compounding add up, and see the paycheck it buys you.
Drag to adjust
At age 65 you'll have
$1,368,287
≈ $54,731/yr or $4,561/mo to spend (4% rule)
💡 At a 4% withdrawal rate (the 25× rule), your $1,368,287 nest egg could pay about $54,731 a year, roughly $4,561 a month. In the studies behind this rule, that pace survived at least 30 years in every historical case, and usually far longer: most of the time the balance kept growing, so it can last indefinitely rather than run dry at 30 years.
$54,731
Withdraw / year
4% rule
$4,561
Withdraw / month
to spend
25×
Nest egg is
your yearly spending
- What you put in$277,000
- Growth$1,091,287
- Years until retirement
- 35
- Total contributions
- $277,000
- Investment growth
- $1,091,287
- Nest egg at retirement
- $1,368,287
- Withdraw per year (4%)
- $54,731
- Withdraw per month
- $4,561
The 2-minute guide
The 4% rule, simply
A common rule of thumb says you can withdraw about 4% of your savings in your first year of retirement, then adjust for inflation each year after. The "lasts 30 years" you often hear is the worst case, not the expected one: in the research behind the rule, William Bengen's 1994 study and the Trinity Study, a 4% withdrawal survived every 30-year period in US market history, even for people who retired right before major crashes, and in most periods the portfolio actually grew and ended worth more than it started. In those typical cases the money would have lasted indefinitely. Flip the rule around and you get the 25× rule: to spend $40,000 a year, aim for about 25 × $40,000, or $1,000,000, saved. A more cautious 3.5% or 3% withdrawal makes lasting forever even more likely.
Time beats amount
The green 'growth' area on the chart is the magic of starting early. A dollar invested at 25 has 40 years to double and re-double; the same dollar at 45 has only 20. That's why contributing something now usually beats waiting until you can contribute more.
Grab the employer match first
If your job offers a 401(k) match, that's an instant, guaranteed return, often 50–100% on the money you put in up to a limit. Before anything fancier, contribute enough to get the full match. Turning it down is leaving free retirement money behind.
This is a projection, not a promise
Real returns bounce around year to year and inflation eats some of your future spending power. Treat the number as a motivating estimate, revisit it yearly, and lean toward saving a bit more than the calculator says you need.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to retire?
A quick answer from the 4% rule: multiply the yearly income you want by 25. Want $50,000 a year? Aim for about $1.25 million. Your real number depends on Social Security, pensions, lifestyle and health costs, so treat this as a starting target.
How much can I withdraw each month in retirement?
Multiply your nest egg by your withdrawal rate, then divide by 12. At the 4% (25×) rule, a $1,000,000 nest egg supports about $40,000 a year, or roughly $3,333 a month. Choosing a safer 3.5% or 3% rate above lowers the monthly figure but adds cushion for a long retirement.
Does the 4% rule mean my money runs out after 30 years?
Usually not. The 30-year figure is the worst case from the studies that created the rule (William Bengen's research and the Trinity Study): a 4% inflation-adjusted withdrawal survived every 30-year stretch in US market history, even for people who retired just before big crashes. In most historical periods the portfolio actually grew and would have lasted far longer, often indefinitely. Sticking to 3.5% or 3% makes never running out even more likely, though no market outcome is guaranteed.
What return rate is realistic?
Many long-term plans use 6–7% for a stock-heavy portfolio after inflation, or a bit less as you shift toward safer investments near retirement. Returns are never guaranteed and vary year to year. This is a projection.
Is Social Security included?
No, this shows only your personal savings. Social Security would be additional monthly income on top of the nest-egg income shown here, which is one reason to treat the result as a conservative floor.
Related calculators
Related guides
Embed this calculator
Free to use on your own site. Paste this where you want it to appear:
<iframe id="calcwise-retirement-calculator" src="https://calcwisehq.com/embed/retirement-calculator" title="Retirement Calculator by CalcWise" width="100%" height="640" style="border:0;max-width:600px;width:100%" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<script>window.addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e&&e.data&&e.data.type==="cw-embed-height"&&e.data.slug==="retirement-calculator"){var f=document.getElementById("calcwise-retirement-calculator");if(f){f.style.height=e.data.height+"px"}}});</script>
<p style="font:13px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;text-align:center;margin:6px 0">Powered by <a href="https://calcwisehq.com/calculators/retirement-calculator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CalcWise</a></p>The little “Powered by CalcWise” link keeps it free. Thanks for the credit!