Retirement Calculator
Project your retirement savings growth from current savings and monthly contributions.
Retirement savings grow from two combined sources: whatever you've already saved continuing to compound over the remaining years, and new contributions added regularly that each get their own runway to grow — and seeing both pieces separately, rather than just one combined final number, helps clarify how much of your eventual balance comes from what you've already saved versus what you'll add going forward.
This calculator projects your retirement savings by combining compound growth on your current balance with the compound growth of a regular monthly contribution stream, using the same reducing-balance compound interest math that governs real investment accounts. Enter your current savings, planned monthly contribution, an expected annual return rate, and years until retirement to see your total contributed amount, the growth earned on top of it, and your projected final balance.
This is a mathematical projection based on a single constant assumed return rate, not a guarantee — real markets fluctuate year to year, so it's worth running the numbers with a conservative, moderate, and optimistic return assumption to understand a realistic range of outcomes rather than anchoring on one specific number.
How to use Retirement Calculator
- 1
Enter your current savings
Input how much you already have saved for retirement.
- 2
Enter your monthly contribution
Input how much you plan to add each month going forward.
- 3
Set an expected return and timeframe
Enter a realistic annual return rate and years until retirement.
- 4
Review your projection
See total contributed, growth earned, and your projected final balance.
Features
- Combines compound growth on current savings with contribution stream growth
- Separates total contributed from investment growth earned
- Instant recalculation as you adjust any input
- Clear disclosure that projections aren't guaranteed
Frequently asked questions
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating the projected total as a guarantee rather than one possible outcome among a range of scenarios.
- Ignoring inflation's effect on the real purchasing power of a distant future dollar amount.
- Underestimating how much starting contributions earlier, even at a smaller amount, benefits from additional decades of compounding.
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