- How much do I need to retire?
- The most-cited answer: 25× your annual retirement expenses (the inverse of the 4% withdrawal rule). If you'll spend $60K/year in retirement, target a $1.5M nest egg. $40K/year → $1M. $100K/year → $2.5M. Adjust DOWN if you'll get significant Social Security (replacing ~40% of pre-retirement income for average earners) or a pension. Adjust UP if you're retiring early — for a 40-year retirement use 28-33× expenses (a 3-3.5% withdrawal rate).
- How much should I save for retirement?
- Save 10-15% of gross income starting in your 20s. Later starters need progressively more — 20% in your 30s, 25-30% in your 40s, max-everything-out in your 50s. The simplest rule: contribute enough to your 401(k) to capture the full employer match (typically 3-6% of salary), then any additional savings goes into IRA / Roth IRA / HSA / taxable brokerage in that priority order.
- What is the 4% rule for retirement?
- Coined by financial planner Bill Bengen in 1994. The rule: in year 1 of retirement, withdraw 4% of your nest egg. Each subsequent year, adjust that dollar amount for inflation. Historical backtests show this strategy has a high probability of lasting 30 years across a wide range of market scenarios. Equivalent rule: save 25× your annual expenses. The rule assumes a 60/40 stock/bond portfolio and a 30-year retirement window.
- Is the 4% rule still accurate?
- It's a guideline, not a guarantee. Some recent research (post-2020) suggests 3.3-3.5% is safer given lower expected future returns. If you're retiring early and need a 40-50 year retirement, use 3% (~33× annual expenses). If you're flexible — willing to reduce spending in bad market years — you can probably stick with 4%. Most retirees use a hybrid: 4% as a target, with the willingness to dial back in down markets.
- Is $1 million enough to retire?
- Depends on your annual expenses. At a 4% withdrawal rate, $1M supports $40K/year of inflation-adjusted spending. Add Social Security (~$2,000-$2,500/mo for average earners, or $24-30K/year) and you're at $64-70K/year of pre-tax income — comfortable for most US households but tight if you live in a HCOL area like NYC or SF, or if you want to travel extensively. $1M is the right number for someone with ~$40-65K in target retirement expenses.
- How long will my retirement money last?
- Use the withdrawal calculator mode above. The rough rule: 4% withdrawal rate ≈ 30 years, 3.5% ≈ 35 years, 3% ≈ 40+ years. But sequence-of-returns risk matters — if you hit a bad market in the first 5 years, the math gets worse fast. To increase longevity: (a) hold more bonds early in retirement, (b) be willing to cut spending 10-20% in down markets, (c) have a cash buffer of 1-2 years of expenses outside the volatile portfolio.
- At what age can I retire?
- Earliest Social Security: 62 (with ~30% reduction in benefit). Full Retirement Age for Social Security: 67 (for anyone born 1960 or later). Maximum Social Security: 70. Earliest 401(k) withdrawal without penalty: 59½. Earliest IRA withdrawal without penalty: 59½ (Traditional) or 5 years after first Roth contribution (Roth). Earliest pension: typically 55-65 depending on plan. Mathematically, you can retire whenever 25× your annual expenses is saved up — at any age.
- What's the difference between Traditional and Roth IRAs?
- Traditional IRA: contributions are tax-deductible NOW, withdrawals in retirement are TAXED as ordinary income. Best if you expect to be in a LOWER tax bracket in retirement than today. Roth IRA: contributions use AFTER-tax money (no deduction now), but all growth and withdrawals in retirement are TAX-FREE. Best if you expect to be in a HIGHER tax bracket in retirement, or value tax-free flexibility. Common advice: have both — diversifies tax risk in retirement.
- Should I prioritize 401(k) or IRA?
- Standard order: (1) 401(k) up to employer match (free money). (2) HSA if eligible (triple tax advantage). (3) Roth IRA if your income qualifies. (4) Max out 401(k) the rest of the way. (5) Traditional IRA if Roth isn't available. (6) Taxable brokerage for anything beyond. The 401(k) match is non-negotiable — it's an instant 50-100% return on those dollars. After the match, the IRA usually wins because of more investment choices and lower fees.
- How much will Social Security provide?
- Replaces ~40% of pre-retirement income for average earners. For high earners (over the Social Security wage base, ~$168K), the replacement rate is much lower (~25-30%) because Social Security caps the contribution. Specific numbers: average monthly benefit for retirees is ~$1,900, maximum at age 70 is around $5,000+. Check ssa.gov/myaccount for your personalized estimate based on your actual earnings history.
- What's the best age to claim Social Security?
- Depends on life expectancy and other income. Break-even math: claiming at 62 vs 67 — cumulative benefits cross around age 78. Claiming at 67 vs 70 — cumulative benefits cross around age 82-83. Rule of thumb: if you expect to live past 80 with reasonable health, waiting maximizes lifetime income. If you have health issues, no surviving spouse who'd benefit from a higher widow's benefit, and need the cash flow earlier, claim at 62-65.
- How does inflation affect my retirement?
- Massively. At 3% average inflation, $1 today is worth only $0.55 in 20 years and $0.30 in 40 years. Your retirement number should be in TODAY's dollars (which the calculator above shows by default), and your savings should grow at a rate that outpaces inflation. The long-run real (after-inflation) return of the S&P 500 has been ~7%, which is why most retirement projections use 7% as the pre-retirement return assumption. Social Security is inflation-adjusted (COLAs), but most pensions are not.
- What if I start saving late?
- Three moves. (1) Save aggressively — 20-30% of gross income in your 40s, 30-40% in your 50s. (2) Take advantage of catch-up contributions: $7,500-$8,000 extra in 401(k) and ~$1,000 extra in IRA at age 50+, plus the SECURE 2.0 enhanced catch-up of $11,000+ for ages 60-63. (3) Consider working a few extra years — adds 3-5× more saving years AND delays drawdown, dramatically improving the math. Working until 70 instead of 65 typically lets you retire on 30-40% less saved.
- How much should I have saved by 30, 40, 50, 60?
- Fidelity's widely-cited benchmarks as multiples of current annual salary: 1× by age 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60, 10× by retirement at 67. Example: at age 40 earning $90K, you should ideally have ~$270K saved across retirement accounts. These benchmarks assume you'll get partial Social Security AND want to maintain ~80% of pre-retirement income.
- How do I plan for healthcare costs in retirement?
- Two phases. Pre-65: you're not eligible for Medicare yet — budget for ACA/marketplace insurance, typically $700-$1,500/month for a couple depending on income and state. This 'healthcare gap' is the #1 reason early retirees keep working part-time (Barista FIRE). Post-65: Medicare Part A is free, Part B is ~$175/mo, Part D for drugs ~$40-60/mo, and a Medigap supplement plan ~$150-300/mo. Total Medicare expense for a couple is typically $400-700/month. HSAs are the BEST account for funding retirement healthcare — triple tax advantage, can be used for Medicare premiums.
- Is this retirement calculator free?
- 100% free with no signup, no email required, no credit pull, and zero data sent to any server. Every projection runs in your browser locally. Unlike Fidelity's tools (login required) or Bankrate/NerdWallet (heavy lender tracking and partner referrals), we don't make money from your data or route you to financial advisors. The tool is supported by general site ads outside the calculator itself.
