Retirement Calculator

Only a small fraction of Americans — roughly 10% or fewer — have $1 million or more saved for retirement. Most retirement savers fall well below this benchmark, which is why using a retirement calculator to set a personalized savings target is more useful than chasing a round number. Your ideal nest egg depends on your expected expenses, retirement age, Social Security benefits, and anticipated investment returns.

The most accurate retirement calculators are those that account for the most variables, including inflation, Social Security income, investment rate of return, life expectancy, and annual contributions. Tools from NerdWallet, Vanguard, Charles Schwab, and FINRA are widely respected for their depth and transparency. A good calculator lets you adjust assumptions so you can model optimistic, realistic, and conservative retirement scenarios.

Retiring at 62 with $400,000 saved is challenging but may be possible depending on your lifestyle costs, Social Security timing, and other income sources. Using the 4% safe withdrawal rule, $400,000 would generate roughly $16,000 per year before taxes — well below average living expenses for most people. Delaying Social Security benefits until age 67 or 70 and supplementing with part-time income can significantly improve long-term retirement security.

To receive approximately $3,000 per month in Social Security benefits, you generally need a sustained high earnings history — typically averaging around $100,000 or more per year over your 35 highest-earning years. Social Security calculates your benefit using your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) and applies a progressive formula. Claiming at age 70 instead of 62 can increase your monthly benefit by up to 32%, making delayed claiming a powerful strategy.

A common rule of thumb is to save 10–12 times your final annual salary by retirement age. For example, if you earn $70,000 per year, a target of $700,000 to $840,000 provides a solid foundation. The right amount for you depends on your expected retirement age, desired lifestyle, healthcare costs, and whether you will receive a pension or Social Security income. Our retirement calculator helps you personalize this estimate in seconds.

The best time to start saving for retirement is as early as possible — ideally in your 20s — so that compound interest has the maximum number of years to grow your money. Even small contributions made early outperform larger contributions made later. For example, investing $200 per month starting at age 25 can grow to far more than $400 per month starting at age 40, assuming similar rates of return. Use a retirement calculator to see how starting earlier dramatically changes your projected balance.

A retirement calculator takes inputs such as your current age, retirement age, current savings balance, monthly contributions, expected annual return, and desired monthly retirement income. It then projects how your savings will grow over time and estimates whether you are on track to meet your goals. More advanced calculators also factor in inflation, Social Security benefits, and required minimum distributions (RMDs) to give a more realistic picture of retirement readiness.