DanfioSearch tools/

Type a tool name, a pinyin spelling or a synonym - both languages are searched.

Retirement Calculator

U.S. only tools

A retirement plan has two halves: the years spent building the balance and the years spent drawing it down. Most calculators stop at the first half and show a large number that feels like an answer, without checking whether that number pays for the life it is supposed to fund.

Retirement Calculator - Danfio

https://danfio.com/tools/retirement-calculator/ - printed from this page

Currency: USD ($) - display only, nothing was converted

Your age today. The projection starts from the balance you have now and runs to the retirement age.

The age contributions stop and withdrawals begin. It cannot be later than the plan-until age.

$

Everything already saved for retirement across all accounts, before any match that has not vested.

$

Everything going into retirement accounts, including any employer match.

Average yearly return before retirement, after fees. 6% is a common balanced-portfolio assumption.

Used to restate future balances in today’s money. 2.5% is close to long-run US inflation.

How much the monthly deposit grows each year with your pay.

$

In today money, per year.

$

Social Security, a pension or rent that does not come from this portfolio.

4% is the traditional rule of thumb for a 30-year retirement.

How long the plan has to last. The drawdown tables stop at this age.

Results update as you type. Nothing leaves your device.

Currency symbol

Symbol only - nothing is converted and no exchange rate is used. Figures quoted in the explanation text stay as the sources publish them.

Balance at 65

$1,048,975.44

$500,091 in today money, after 30 years of saving

Nest egg the spending needs
$900,000.00 $36,000 a year at 4%
Shortfall in today money
$399,908.63
Money still lasts
To age 90 25 years of withdrawals
Growth share of the balance
67.4% $706,885 of growth

Where the balance at retirement comes from

  • Money you put in$342,090.17
  • Growth$706,885.27

Contributions stop at retirement; the growth slice keeps working while the money is invested, which is why the saving habit matters more than the timing of any single deposit.

Every fifth year on the way there

AgeStart of yearPaid inGrowthEnd of yearIn today money
40$96,920$7,794$6,196$110,910$98,028
45$177,782$8,605$11,206$197,592$154,359
50$291,748$9,500$18,260$319,508$220,610
55$450,879$10,489$28,103$489,470$298,709
60$671,491$11,581$41,740$724,812$390,957
65$975,656$12,786$60,534$1,048,975$500,091

The growth column overtakes the paid-in column about two thirds of the way through a 30-year plan. That crossover is the whole argument for starting early.

What the same income needs at other withdrawal rates

Withdrawal rateNest egg neededAgainst your balance
3%$1,200,000−$699,909
3.5%$1,028,571−$528,480
4%$900,000−$399,909
4.5%$800,000−$299,909
5%$720,000−$219,909
6%$600,000−$99,909

A lower withdrawal rate is a safety margin, not a rule: it means a larger balance, more left for heirs and a better chance of surviving a bad first decade.

How long the balance lasts at other spending levels

SpendingPer yearYears of withdrawalsMoney runs out
−20%$28,80025Still funded at 90
−10%$32,40025Still funded at 90
As planned$36,00025Still funded at 90
+10%$39,60025Still funded at 90
+25%$45,00025Still funded at 90

Withdrawals are taken at the start of each year and rise with inflation at 2.5%, which is the cautious order: a bad first decade hurts more than a bad last one.

The plan is short by $399,909 in today money, which means a balance at retirement of about $1,887,811 in the money of the day. Closing the gap needs roughly $1,580 a month instead of $600 — about 263% of the current deposit, or a later retirement age, or a lower planned spending figure.

This one does both. It projects the balance from your current savings and monthly deposits, converts the result into today money, works out the nest egg your planned spending requires at your chosen withdrawal rate, and simulates the withdrawals year by year, with inflation, to see how long the money actually lasts.

About this retirement calculator

By the time the contributions stop, the balance has to do two jobs one after the other: it has to be large enough to fund a life, and it has to be drawn down in an order that survives a bad decade. This page checks both halves.

Deposits are added monthly and grown with pay, the result is restated in today money so real and nominal are never confused, and the drawdown is simulated year by year with inflation and a constant return. No account is needed and nothing is uploaded: the projection runs on your own machine.

Treat the balance and the age the money runs out as estimates from the numbers you enter, not a retirement plan. Tax on withdrawals, required minimum distributions, healthcare and long-term care are outside the model, and a constant return quietly understates the sequence-of-returns risk that hurts most. Enter your own spending figure and test a lower withdrawal rate before you rely on the result.

How this retirement calculator works

Building the balance

Each month the existing balance grows at the monthly equivalent of the annual return, then the deposit is added. Deposits are assumed to be made at the end of the month and to rise each year with your pay, which is what the contribution raises field controls.

Because inflation is subtracted separately, the balance is shown twice: the nominal figure you would see on a statement, and the same figure restated in today money so it can be compared with a spending figure you know.

The nest egg and the withdrawal rate

The balance needed is the annual spending gap divided by the withdrawal rate. At 4%, $36,000 a year of spending on top of Social Security needs $900,000; at 3% the same income needs $1.2m. A lower rate is a safety margin against a bad first decade of returns, not a rule about the future.

The 4% figure comes from historical studies of US market returns. It assumes a roughly balanced portfolio, a long horizon and a willingness to adjust spending when markets fall. Anyone retiring into an expensive market or planning a 40-year retirement should test 3% and 3.5% as well.

How the drawdown is simulated

The withdrawal is taken at the start of each year and grows with inflation, then the remaining balance earns the return for that year. Taking the money first is the cautious order: a poor sequence of returns early in retirement does more damage than the same poor years at the end.

The simulation stops when the balance can no longer cover that year spending, and reports the age at which it happens. It uses a constant return rather than a random one, so the answer is a plan check rather than a probability.

What is not modelled

Taxes on withdrawals, because the rate depends on the mix of traditional, Roth and taxable accounts and on the brackets in force at the time. A traditional 401(k) balance is taxed as ordinary income as it comes out, so the pre-tax balance is not the money you can spend.

Healthcare costs, long-term care, a change of plan, part-time work in retirement and the effect of claiming Social Security later are all outside the model. Treat the answer as the arithmetic of the plan you entered, not a prediction about your life.

Worked examples

Each example below was run through the calculator on this page when the site was built, so the numbers match what you see when you enter the same inputs.

Starting at 35 and saving $600 a month

Current age: 35 · Retirement age: 65 · Saved so far: $50,000.00 · Saved each month: $600.00 · Annual return before retirement: 6% · Inflation: 2.5% · Contribution raises: 2% · Spending needed in retirement: $60,000.00 · Other income in retirement: $24,000.00 · Withdrawal rate: 4% · Plan until age: 90

Balance at 65

$1,048,975.44

$500,091 in today money, after 30 years of saving

Nest egg the spending needs: $900,000.00 · Shortfall in today money: $399,908.63 · Money still lasts: To age 90 · Growth share of the balance: 67.4%

Thirty years of deposits plus the growth on them produces a balance that covers the planned spending with a buffer, which is what the surplus figure is there to show.

A late start at 45 with bigger deposits

Current age: 45 · Retirement age: 67 · Saved so far: $80,000.00 · Saved each month: $1,500.00 · Annual return before retirement: 6% · Inflation: 2.5% · Contribution raises: 2% · Spending needed in retirement: $55,000.00 · Other income in retirement: $30,000.00 · Withdrawal rate: 4% · Plan until age: 92

Balance at 67

$1,268,612.65

$736,892 in today money, after 22 years of saving

Nest egg the spending needs: $625,000.00 · Surplus in today money: $111,892.27 · Money still lasts: To age 92 · Growth share of the balance: 55%

The monthly deposit is two and a half times as large as in the first example and the horizon is seven years shorter. A late start is expensive: the same monthly amount costs far more in total to produce a similar result.

Spending that outruns the balance

Current age: 40 · Retirement age: 62 · Saved so far: $150,000.00 · Saved each month: $800.00 · Annual return before retirement: 5% · Inflation: 2.5% · Contribution raises: 1% · Spending needed in retirement: $90,000.00 · Other income in retirement: $20,000.00 · Withdrawal rate: 4% · Plan until age: 95

Balance at 62

$867,843.84

$504,100 in today money, after 22 years of saving

Nest egg the spending needs: $1,750,000.00 · Shortfall in today money: $1,245,900.18 · Money runs out at: Age 77 · Growth share of the balance: 55.6%

Withdrawals of $70,000 a year that rise with inflation outlast a balance that only funds about half of it. The calculator reports the age at which the money runs out and the size of the monthly deposit that would close the gap.

Starting at 45 with nothing saved yet

Current age: 45 · Retirement age: 65 · Saved so far: $0.00 · Saved each month: $1,200.00 · Annual return before retirement: 6% · Inflation: 2.5% · Contribution raises: 2% · Spending needed in retirement: $60,000.00 · Other income in retirement: $24,000.00 · Withdrawal rate: 4% · Plan until age: 90

Balance at 65

$647,919.92

$395,407 in today money, after 20 years of saving

Nest egg the spending needs: $900,000.00 · Shortfall in today money: $504,593.30 · Money still lasts: To age 90 · Growth share of the balance: 46%

A later start without a head start: $1,200 a month for twenty years builds about $648k, which is $395k in today money against the $900,000 nest egg the same $36,000 a year of spending needs at 4%. The page puts the gap in a monthly figure instead: $3,192 a month is what it would take to close it.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I need to retire?

Divide the annual spending you need from the portfolio by the withdrawal rate you are willing to use. Needing $40,000 a year from savings at 4% means $1,000,000. The number is driven as much by the spending figure as by the return, and spending is the part most people can still change.

Is 4% still the right withdrawal rate?

It is a reasonable starting point for a 30-year retirement and a balanced portfolio, and probably too generous for a 40-year horizon or for a retiree starting after a long bull market. The withdrawal rate table lets you see the same income funded at 3% to 6% so you can judge the trade-off between the balance you need and the risk you carry.

Why is my projected balance different from other calculators?

Deposit timing, contribution raises, the order of returns and whether inflation is applied inside or outside the projection all move the answer. This calculator adds deposits at the end of each month, grows them with pay, and restates the result in today money, which is the most conservative of the common conventions.

Does the calculator include Social Security?

Only as the other income field, which you control. Entering an assumed benefit reduces the gap the portfolio has to cover, and therefore the nest egg. Benefit amounts depend on your earnings record and the age you claim, so the calculator does not estimate them.

What return should I assume before retirement?

A diversified portfolio has historically returned roughly 7% to 10% a year before inflation and fees, with long stretches above and below that. Running the plan at 5% and 7% and seeing whether both work is more useful than picking one number and believing it.

What happens if I retire earlier or later?

Retiring later helps twice: it adds contributing years and removes withdrawal years. Moving the retirement age by two years in either direction changes the answer more than almost any other input, which is why the age fields are worth experimenting with before changing your saving rate.

Is the money in a traditional 401(k) taxed on the way out?

Yes. A traditional balance is pre-tax money, so withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, which means the balance shown here is not all spendable. Roth balances come out tax-free, and taxable brokerage accounts pay capital gains rates; the Roth versus traditional calculator compares the three.

Assumptions and sources

  • The 4% withdrawal rate rule of thumb comes from historical US returns research, beginning with William Bengen (1994) and the Trinity study, which tested constant inflation-adjusted withdrawals against past market data.
  • This is not investment advice and it is not a retirement plan. Returns are entered by the user, not forecast, and a constant return understates the risk that matters most: a poor sequence of returns in the first years of retirement.
  • Not modelled: tax on withdrawals, required minimum distributions, healthcare and long-term care costs, pension or annuity income, part-time work, and any change in spending as health and habits change with age.
  • Inflation is applied as a constant rate. Actual inflation varies year to year, and the basket of goods a household buys differs from the published index, which is why the spending figure is entered in today money.

Last reviewed 2026-09-14. Not investment or insurance advice; quotes come from a licensed provider. Read the full disclaimer.

Where a figure on this page comes from an official agency — HUD, IRS, FICO or a state body — the site keeps a dated snapshot of the source page in its sources library, and a scheduled job re-checks that snapshot, so the number can be traced back to the document it came from.

Related tools

Compound Interest CalculatorInvesting & SavingsSee how a lump sum and regular deposits compound over time, what the effective annual rate really is, and the deposit needed to reach a goal.Calculate compound interest →401(k) CalculatorInvesting & SavingsSee what your deferral and your employer match add up to, which 2026 limit applies at your age, and what the balance becomes by retirement.Calculate 401(k) savings →Roth vs Traditional CalculatorInvesting & SavingsCompare a Roth and a traditional account after tax, find the break-even tax rate, and see what the same money does in a taxable brokerage account.Compare Roth vs traditional →Dividend CalculatorInvesting & SavingsSee what a shareholding pays in dividends, what reinvesting them buys over time, and how the income grows when the dividend itself rises each year.Estimate dividends →401(k) Rollover CalculatorInvesting & SavingsCompare keeping an old 401(k) with rolling it into an IRA over the years, and see what the mandatory 20 percent withholding costs if the money is paid to you.Compare 401(k) rollovers →APY vs APR CalculatorInvesting & SavingsConvert between a nominal APR and the effective annual percentage yield (APY) it really pays once compounding is counted, in either direction.Convert APY and APR →