Retirement Savings Calculator
Project what your retirement balance becomes by the time you stop working. Enter your age, current balance, monthly contribution, and expected return. The calculator hands back your future balance and the annual income the 4% rule would pull from it.
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How compound growth builds a retirement fund
Every dollar you invest earns a return, and those returns earn returns of their own. Across a multi-decade timeline, compounding does most of the heavy lifting: in the default scenario above, contributions account for about a fifth of the final balance and growth makes up the rest. That is why starting earlier matters more than contributing more. An extra decade of compounding routinely beats a higher monthly contribution started later. If you have a workplace plan, an employer match is an immediate return you cannot replicate anywhere else. Capture the full match before anything else. The full picture lives in our 401(k) guide.
What the 4% rule means
The 4% rule is a retirement rule of thumb: pull 4% of your portfolio in your first year of retirement, then bump that dollar amount up with inflation each year after. Historically, that pace gave a balanced portfolio a strong chance of lasting 30 years. It is a planning shortcut, not a guarantee, and it ignores taxes, fees, pensions, Social Security, and weird market stretches. Use it as a gut check. Then dig into how much you actually need to retire.
Money you plan to spend in the next few years does not belong in the market. A high-yield savings account is the right home for an emergency fund running alongside retirement investing. Our savings calculator projects that side of the plan.