Retirement Number Calculator

📊 Retirement Planning Statistics & Reality Check

67%

of Americans ages 50-74 don't have a formal retirement plan

80%

lack basic knowledge on how to be financially secure in retirement

66%

of non-retirees are not on track with their retirement savings

20%

of adults over 50 have NO retirement savings at all

You're not alone if retirement planning feels confusing—but you're taking the right step by being here.

Your Personalized Retirement Calculator

Figuring out how much you should be saving for retirement is daunting and can leave you either anxious about whether you're saving enough or just blissfully unaware. The difficulty comes because you need to know how much income you need in retirement to figure out how big your portfolio needs to grow, and you need to know how big your portfolio needs to be to determine how much you need to set aside.

Many people struggle to figure out what they need in retirement, and often they focus on trying to determine what income they want or need. However, you need to first understand how much you spend, as that will be a better indicator of how much your lifestyle actually costs. The BEST way to do this is by detailed budgeting (to start this practice, see our Budgeting Basics module).

But if you don't have the luxury of having months or years of budgeting history to grasp how much you spend, this calculator will help with a "quick and dirty" approach that can give you some rough approximations and walk you through important considerations. This is to hopefully start giving you some direction.

If at the end the number feels unattainable, don't panic! We have tools and resources that can help determine your current trajectory towards retirement (Retirement Planning Dashboard), show you how much you need to start contributing to reach your desired income and when you might be able to achieve it (Contribution Rate Impact), and explain how to utilize tax-advantaged accounts (Retirement Accounts).

Note: For a more personalized plan, it's a good idea to consult with a financial professional.

💡 Important: Social Security Could Fund Up to 40% of Your Retirement

The portfolio number you'll calculate here assumes you have to fund your entire retirement on your own. However, in reality, Social Security could potentially fund as much as 40% of your retirement income, significantly reducing the portfolio size you need.

Use the Retirement Planning Dashboard to see how Social Security could reduce your required portfolio size. Simply click "Include Social Security in projections" under the "Retirement Projections" section to see the impact.

🤔 Why Retirement Planning Feels So Confusing

You've probably heard various "rules of thumb" about retirement, each showing different calculations. Here are just some of the approaches floating around:

🎯

80% Rule

"You'll need 80% of your pre-retirement income"

💵

15% Savings

"Save 15% of your income throughout your career"

📈

25x Rule

"Multiply your yearly expenses by 25"

🔄

4% Rule

"Withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually"

📊

7-13x Income

"Have 7-13x your salary saved by retirement"

❓

Which Is Right?

"And how do they all relate to each other?"

Here's the truth: They're all trying to solve the same puzzle from different angles. This calculator walks you through a logical, step-by-step process that shows how these rules connect—starting with what matters most: your actual spending.

1 Current Spending

2 Retirement Lifestyle

3 Inflation

4 Your Number

Step 1: Calculate Your Current Spending

Goal: Maintain or increase your pre-retirement standard of living in retirement. To do that, you need to know what your cost of living actually is.

To plan for retirement, we first need to understand how much you're spending today. Enter your previous year's gross income and subtract what you're saving for retirement.

Previous Year's Gross Income

401(k)/403(b) Contribution

HSA Contribution

Other Annual Savings

Tax Adjustments

Let's account for your actual tax situation to get a more accurate picture of your spending.

Taxes Owed at Year End If you owed taxes, enter the amount here

Tax Refund Received If you got a refund, enter the amount here

Your Current Annual Spending

$71,000

Why this matters: Your current spending is the foundation for projecting retirement needs. We subtract savings because those amounts won't be spent—they're going toward building your nest egg. Tax adjustments ensure we're capturing your true cost of living: owing taxes means you had to give money back to the government that wasn't actually available for other spending, while refunds mean you're spending less than your paycheck since you had money withheld throughout the year.

Step 2: Choose Your Retirement Lifestyle

Will you spend less, the same, or more in retirement? Choose your approach below.

💭 Ask Yourself: "What Am I Working Towards?"

Focusing only on what you are retiring from and not what you are retiring to is setting yourself up for failure. It's okay to dream big at this stage—you can always adjust later. Consider these expense changes:

📈 Expenses That May Increase:

Travel
Extra generosity
New hobbies
Going back to school
Healthcare
Legacy planning
Grandchildren
Relocating
End-of-life/long term care
Emergencies
Loss of a spouse

📉 Expenses That May Decrease or End:

Mortgage
Car payments
Student loans
Taxes (often lower in retirement)
Life insurance
Expenses relating to children

💰 Don't Forget Other Income Sources

Additionally, evaluate if you will have any other earned income in retirement, such as:

Part-time work for a portion of retirement
Rental income

Select the lifestyle that best fits your vision:

🏡

Simple Retirement

Downsizing, fewer luxuries, focusing on necessities. Great for early retirees or those prioritizing financial security.

70% of current spending

🚗

Moderate Retirement

Similar lifestyle but no commute costs, work clothes, or mortgage. Most common scenario.

85% of current spending

✈️

Comfortable Retirement

Maintaining your current lifestyle with increased healthcare, travel, and leisure activities.

100% of current spending

🌍

Luxury Retirement

Dream retirement with extensive travel, hobbies, second homes, and premium experiences.

125% of current spending

Enter your expected annual spending in each category:

Housing (Mortgage/Rent/Property Tax/Insurance) Median for retirees: $15,000-$20,000/year

Utilities (Electric, Gas, Water, Internet) Median for retirees: $3,000-$4,000/year

Food & Groceries Median for retirees: $6,000-$8,000/year

Transportation (Car payments, Gas, Insurance, Maintenance) Median for retirees: $7,000-$9,000/year

Healthcare (Premiums, Out-of-pocket, Prescriptions) Median for retirees: $5,000-$7,000/year

Entertainment & Dining Out Median for retirees: $3,000-$5,000/year

Travel & Vacations Median for retirees: $3,000-$6,000/year

Hobbies & Recreation Median for retirees: $2,000-$4,000/year

Clothing & Personal Care Median for retirees: $1,500-$3,000/year

Gifts & Charitable Giving Median for retirees: $2,000-$4,000/year

Miscellaneous & Emergency Buffer Median for retirees: $2,000-$3,000/year

Source: Median spending data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey (latest available data for households aged 65+)

Your Retirement Spending Breakdown

Your Estimated Retirement Spending

$83,000

💡 Next Step: Use this "Your Estimated Retirement Spending" number in the Retirement Planning Dashboard under the "Desired Annual Retirement Income (in Today's Dollars)" section to start seeing your current gap and develop a comprehensive plan.

Step 3: Adjust for Inflation

A dollar today won't buy what it will in the future. Let's account for inflation to ensure your retirement number is accurate.

Years Until Retirement

Expected Inflation Rate (%)

Inflation-Adjusted Retirement Spending

$149,915

Understanding inflation: With a 3% inflation rate over 20 years, your purchasing power decreases significantly. What costs $83,000 today will cost approximately $149,915 in 20 years. This is why we must plan for higher nominal spending in retirement.

Step 4: Calculate Your Retirement Number

Using the widely-accepted 4% rule (or 25x multiplier), we'll calculate how much you need to save.

Safe Withdrawal Rate (%) The 4% rule is a standard guideline. Conservative investors may use 3-3.5%.

$3,747,875

Your Retirement Breakdown

Description	Amount
Current Annual Spending	$71,000
Retirement Annual Spending (Today's Dollars)	$83,000
Inflation-Adjusted Spending (Future Dollars)	$149,915
Safe Withdrawal Rate	4.0%
Your Retirement Number	$3,747,875

How this works: The 4% rule suggests you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio value each year in retirement without running out of money over a 30-year period. By dividing your annual spending by the withdrawal rate (or multiplying by 25), we determine your target portfolio value.

Important note: The 4% rule is a guideline, not a guarantee. Some people may be able to use a higher withdrawal rate depending on when they retire, how long they expect to live, their asset allocation, and market conditions. However, 4% is widely considered a safe and conservative starting point for planning purposes.

🎯 Congratulations! Now What?

You now have your retirement number—a tangible target to work towards. But remember: this assumes you're funding your entire retirement on your own. Social Security could reduce this number by up to 40%, and you may have other income sources in retirement.

📊 Your Next Steps:

See Your Current Trajectory: Use the Retirement Planning Dashboard to see if you're on track to hit this number, factor in Social Security projections, and visualize your path to retirement.
Determine How Much to Save: Use the Contribution Rate Impact Calculator to see exactly how much you need to contribute each year to reach your goal and when you can retire based on different savings rates.
Track Your Actual Spending: Your number is based on estimates. Start budgeting to understand your real spending patterns and refine your retirement target.
Optimize Your Strategy: Learn about retirement accounts to maximize tax benefits and investing principles to make your money grow.

Remember: This number isn't set in stone. Review and adjust annually as your life circumstances, goals, and priorities evolve. The most important thing is that you now have a clear target to aim for.

💭 Why This Matters: My Journey

Starting out as an intern in my first big boy job out of college, my boss highly recommended I take advantage of the company's generous 401k plan with a 6% match. Being young and dumb with retirement being the furthest thing from my mind—I had a wedding coming up and I wasn't making that much as an intern—I brushed off his loving admonition and figured I'd get to it later. (And I was reminded of my lowly status by some of the senior engineers who affectionately referred to me as "pre-person"... no joke, that was my nickname. "Hey pre-person, I need you to run 20 copies of this PowerPoint" to remind me I wasn't a person until I was a full-time hire.)

Once I did start taking it seriously, it felt like throwing darts at an invisible dartboard. How much is enough? What's too much? Am I behind? Thankfully, early in my marriage, my older brother urged me to see a financial advisor, and he set me down the path of at least starting to put 15% away for retirement. This starting point felt painful—having to reduce my current lifestyle by that much seemed uncomfortable—but it proved to be monumental for making retirement a reality.

The amazing thing is, 15% of an intern's pay might not seem like it would move the needle much for retirement, but those few dollars had a massive giant pushing them forward: Time.

I owe so much to that first financial advisor who got this dumb kid to just start putting a set amount aside, but I do wish he'd helped educate me on the mechanics of retirement planning... and that's what I hope to do with this site and this tool.

🎯 Key Takeaways

Your retirement number is based on your actual spending, not arbitrary income replacement ratios—this is why budgeting matters
The 4% rule (25x annual expenses) is a conservative guideline that assumes your portfolio will last 30+ years in retirement
This calculator assumes you're funding 100% of retirement yourself—Social Security could reduce your required portfolio by up to 40%
Inflation erodes purchasing power significantly over time—a dollar today won't buy what it will in 20-30 years, so adjust your target accordingly
Your retirement lifestyle directly impacts your number: Simple (70%), Moderate (85%), Comfortable (100%), or Luxury (125%) of current spending
The earlier you start saving, the less you need to save annually thanks to compound interest—time is your biggest advantage
Focus on what you're retiring TO, not just FROM—without purpose and planning for meaningful activities, retirement can feel empty
Some expenses will increase in retirement (healthcare, travel, hobbies) while others decrease or disappear (mortgage, commuting, work clothes)
Consider all retirement income sources: portfolio withdrawals, Social Security, pensions, rental income, and part-time work
This number isn't set in stone—review annually and adjust as life circumstances, goals, and priorities change
Use the Retirement Planning Dashboard to see your current trajectory and determine if you're on track to hit your target
The Contribution Rate Impact Calculator shows exactly how much to save annually to reach your number based on your timeline

Calculate Your Retirement Number

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