Retirement Savings Calculator
Find out how much to save each month to hit a target retirement nest egg, given your current savings and years to retirement. Assumes a 7% annual return.
Last updated: May 2026
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About this calculator
This calculator answers the central retirement question: how much must I set aside each month to reach a specific target by a chosen age? It works backward from your goal. First it grows your current savings forward at an assumed 7% annual return: Current Savings × 1.07^(years to retirement). Subtracting that from your Target Amount leaves the gap your future contributions must fill. It then converts that gap into a monthly figure using the future-value-of-an-annuity relationship, dividing by ((1.07^years − 1) / 0.07) and then by 12 to get a monthly amount. In plain terms, it finds the steady monthly deposit that, compounded at 7%, plus your existing savings, exactly reaches the target. The earlier you start, the smaller that monthly number, because compounding does more of the work — this is the single most important lesson the tool teaches. Edge cases: if your current savings already grow to exceed the target, the required monthly amount can be zero or negative, meaning you are on track without further saving; and if retirement age equals current age, the result is zero because there is no time to save. The 7% assumption is a long-run stock-market average; using a lower, more conservative return would raise the required monthly contribution. The figure is nominal and ignores inflation, so your real target should be inflation-adjusted to preserve purchasing power.
How to use
Example 1 — age 30, retiring at 65, $50,000 saved now, $1,000,000 target. Enter Current Age = 30, Retirement Age = 65, Current Savings = 50000, Target Amount = 1000000. Your $50,000 grows to about $534,000 over 35 years at 7%, leaving roughly $466,000 to fund through contributions, which works out to about $281.02 a month. Verify: starting young means a surprisingly small monthly amount reaches a seven-figure goal. Example 2 — age 40, retiring at 67, $100,000 saved, $1,500,000 target. Enter 40, 67, 100000, 1500000. The required monthly saving jumps to about $983.00. Verify: with only 27 years instead of 35 and a larger target, the monthly figure is more than three times higher — a direct demonstration of how starting later dramatically raises the cost of the same goal.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 7% return assumption realistic?
Seven percent is a common long-run estimate for a stock-heavy portfolio, roughly reflecting the historical average annual return of the U.S. stock market after a rough adjustment, though not after inflation. Real returns vary widely year to year and depend on your asset mix — a portfolio with more bonds will likely return less, while an all-stock portfolio may return more with greater volatility. Using 7% gives a reasonable middle estimate, but if you want a conservative plan, model a lower return such as 5%, which will raise the monthly amount required. Never treat any single assumed return as a guarantee. Running several return scenarios gives a more honest picture of the range of outcomes.
How much do I actually need to retire?
A widely used rule of thumb is the 25x rule: aim for a nest egg equal to about 25 times your desired annual retirement spending, which corresponds to a 4% initial withdrawal rate. So if you expect to spend $40,000 a year from your portfolio, you would target roughly $1,000,000. Your real number depends on other income sources like Social Security or a pension, your expected lifespan, and how much risk you can tolerate. This calculator lets you plug in whatever target you choose. Refining that target with a dedicated retirement-needs analysis is a worthwhile next step. The key is to set a specific, inflation-aware goal rather than guessing.
Why does starting later cost so much more per month?
Because compounding is exponential, each year you delay removes one of the most valuable late-stage growth years and forces your contributions to do more of the work themselves. Money invested in your twenties can multiply many times over before retirement, while money invested in your fifties has little time to grow. As the examples show, waiting ten years can triple the monthly amount needed to reach the same goal. This is the strongest argument for starting to save as early as possible, even with small amounts. The cost of waiting is not linear — it accelerates sharply the longer you delay.
Should my target be in today's dollars or future dollars?
This is a crucial and often-missed distinction. The calculator works in nominal dollars, so a $1,000,000 target is one million future dollars, which will buy less than a million does today after decades of inflation. To preserve purchasing power, inflate your goal: $1,000,000 of today's spending power might require $2,000,000 or more in 30 years at typical inflation rates. Alternatively, use a real (inflation-adjusted) return assumption so the result is in today's dollars. Failing to account for inflation is the most common planning mistake and can leave you with far less real wealth than expected. Decide which basis you are using and stay consistent.
When should I NOT rely on this calculator?
It assumes a single fixed return and steady monthly contributions, so it is not suitable for modeling market volatility, variable income, or the drawdown phase of retirement when you are withdrawing rather than saving. It ignores taxes and the different rules of accounts like 401(k)s, IRAs, and Roth accounts, which materially affect how much you keep. It also does not include Social Security, pensions, or other income, so your required private savings may be lower than the raw target suggests. And because it ignores inflation by default, the target itself can be misleading. Use it as a directional guide, then refine with a comprehensive retirement plan that accounts for taxes, inflation, and all income sources.