How to use this retirement savings calculator
Choose Project my retirement savings when you want to see where your current savings plan could lead. Enter your current age, retirement age, current retirement savings, starting monthly saving, expected annual return, and any annual increase you expect to make to your monthly saving.
You can also enter a retirement savings target in this mode. The calculator will then show how the projected balance compares with that goal, making it easier to see whether the assumptions you entered put you above or below your target.
Choose Plan for a retirement target when you already have a retirement savings goal and want to work backward from it. Enter your current savings, ages, return assumption, annual saving increase, and target. The calculator estimates the starting monthly saving needed to reach that target under those assumptions.
Understanding your results
Projected retirement savings is the estimated balance at your selected retirement age. It combines the retirement savings you already have, future contributions, and the modeled investment growth associated with your return assumption.
Total contributions represents the money added to the plan over the projection period. Looking at contributions separately from investment growth can help show how much of the projected result depends on your own saving versus the return assumption.
Modeled growth is the portion of the projected retirement balance associated with investment returns rather than contributions. This is a hypothetical planning result, not a forecast of actual market performance.
Ending monthly saving shows how large your monthly contribution becomes by retirement when you include an annual saving increase. This is useful for checking whether a plan that assumes steadily rising contributions still looks realistic over time.
If you enter a retirement target in projection mode, the calculator also shows how the projected savings compare with that target. A projected surplus means the modeled balance is above the goal you entered, while a shortfall means the plan would need some combination of higher saving, more time, a different target, or different investment results to close the gap.
In target mode, the primary result is the estimated starting monthly saving needed to reach your chosen retirement target under the assumptions entered. Treat that amount as a planning estimate rather than a guarantee that the target will be reached.
What can affect your retirement savings projection
How much you have already saved
Your current retirement savings provide the starting point for the projection. A larger existing balance has more time to participate in future investment gains or losses, while someone starting with less may need to rely more heavily on future contributions.
How much you save each month
Regular saving is one of the most directly controllable parts of a retirement plan. Increasing the starting monthly contribution generally raises the projected retirement balance and reduces how much the plan depends on investment performance alone.
Consistency also matters. A contribution amount that looks achievable for many years may be more useful for planning than an aggressive amount that is difficult to maintain.
Increasing your saving over time
The annual saving-increase assumption lets you model a plan in which monthly contributions rise over time. This can reflect a strategy such as directing part of future raises or increases in available cash flow toward retirement savings.
Higher future contributions can materially improve a long-term projection, but check the ending monthly saving shown in the results. A large assumed annual increase can eventually imply a contribution level that may not fit your future budget.
Your expected annual return
The return assumption can have a substantial effect on a long-term retirement projection. Higher assumed returns produce larger projected balances, particularly when retirement is many years away.
That does not make a higher assumption more appropriate. Actual investment returns are uncertain and can vary significantly from year to year, including periods of negative performance. Testing more than one reasonable return assumption can give you a better sense of how dependent your plan is on investment performance.
How long you have until retirement
The difference between your current age and retirement age determines how much time remains for future saving and potential investment growth. Starting earlier generally provides more time for both contributions and accumulated investment gains to affect the result.
Changing retirement age can therefore have more than one effect: it changes the number of years available to save and also changes the amount of time the existing balance and future contributions remain invested.
Using a retirement target
A retirement savings target gives the projection a destination, but the target itself deserves careful thought. A $1 million goal, for example, is not automatically appropriate simply because it is a round number. The amount you may eventually need depends on the retirement lifestyle you are planning for and the financial resources available to support it.
Projection mode is useful when you want to ask, “Where might my current plan take me?” Target mode reverses the question and asks, “What starting monthly saving might be needed to reach this goal?” Using both perspectives can make it easier to see whether the goal and the saving plan are reasonably aligned.
If the required monthly saving in target mode looks unrealistic, the result does not necessarily mean the goal is impossible. It shows the tradeoff created by the assumptions entered. Saving more, increasing contributions over time, allowing more years before retirement, or revisiting the target can all change the estimate.
Why return assumptions deserve extra attention
Long retirement projections can be highly sensitive to expected returns because investment growth has many years to influence the result. A small change in the assumed annual return can eventually produce a large difference in projected savings.
Actual markets do not deliver the same return every year. A calculator necessarily simplifies that uncertainty into a planning assumption, so the projected balance should not be read as a prediction of what your account will be worth on your retirement date.
It can be useful to run the calculator several times with different return assumptions. If the retirement plan appears workable only under an unusually optimistic assumption, that may be a sign that the contribution level, retirement age, or savings target deserves another look.
Important assumptions and limitations
This calculator is a retirement-savings accumulation tool. It estimates how savings may build through the retirement age you enter; it does not determine how much retirement income that balance will ultimately support.
The expected annual return is a visitor-entered planning assumption. Investment returns are not guaranteed, and actual performance can differ substantially from a smooth long-term projection.
The retirement savings target is also supplied by you. The calculator does not determine what your personal retirement target should be or whether the amount entered will be sufficient for your future spending needs.
Taxes, investment fees, account expenses, contribution limits, withdrawal rules, and other real-world factors can affect retirement outcomes. Their impact depends on the accounts and investments you use and should be considered separately when building a retirement plan.
The annual saving increase assumes that you can continue raising your contribution according to the percentage entered. Actual contributions may increase, decrease, pause, or stop as your income and expenses change.
Use the results to test retirement-saving scenarios and understand tradeoffs rather than as a guarantee of future investment performance or retirement security.
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Turn the projection into a retirement plan
A projected balance is most useful when it connects to the rest of your retirement planning, including how much you save, where you invest it, when you expect to retire, and what you eventually want those savings to support. Visit the MarketReview retirement section for more on planning and managing retirement savings.