Retirement calculator

Retirement savings grow from three inputs: what you already have, what you add each month, and how long that money stays invested. This calculator projects your balance forward at a steady annual growth rate and draws a year-by-year chart so you can see how much of the final number comes from your own contributions versus growth.

7% is a common long-run planning assumption for a diversified stock/bond mix - actual years vary widely.

How the math works

Every month, the calculator applies your growth rate to the current balance, then adds your monthly contribution - the same compounding process a real account goes through, just sped up. The result includes an SVG chart plotting your projected balance against your total contributions year by year; the growing gap between the two lines is compounding, not new money you put in. A small change in the growth-rate assumption swings the final number a lot over 20–30 years, which is why the result is framed as a projection based on a steady rate, not a guarantee of what markets will actually return.

For a sense of what target numbers commonly get used, see how much you need for retirement and choosing a target retirement age. If a single savings number feels too rigid, is it realistic to use a single number as a retirement savings goal covers the limits of that approach, and what compound interest is and why it matters for investing explains the growth mechanism this calculator is built on.

Sources & further reading

This tool is a general educational estimate, not financial advice or an investment projection guarantee. Actual returns vary and can be negative in any given year. See our disclaimer.