Plan Your Retirement With Clear “What-If” Scenarios

Use our free Retirement Planner Calculator to model how your retirement savings may grow over time, and whether those savings could support your estimated retirement spending. This tool is designed for scenario testing—so you can explore trade-offs like saving more, delaying retirement, or adjusting investment return assumptions.

The Retirement Planner Calculator is built for the US market and focuses on the core inputs most people can estimate: your age, current retirement balance, contributions, retirement age, expected investment returns, and retirement spending goals. The results are based entirely on the inputs you provide and simplified assumptions. This tool is for educational purposes only and does not provide financial advice.

Tip: If you are also balancing debt payoff and investing, try our Debt vs Invest Calculator.

Retirement Planner Calculator for the United States estimating retirement savings and income needs

Free Retirement Planner Calculator (US)

Estimate retirement savings growth, retirement income needs, and potential gaps using a simple, educational retirement planning simulator for the United States.

All Tools

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Educational simulator

Scenario testing, not advice.

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Transparent inputs

You control assumptions.

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Compare trade-offs

Save more vs retire later.

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Privacy-first

No account required.

Retirement Planner Calculator

Enter your assumptions below. We’ll estimate a projected retirement balance and compare it to your retirement income needs.

Results Summary

Your projected outcomes appear here after you calculate.

Years until retirement

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Projected balance at retirement

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Estimated spending at retirement (inflation-adjusted)

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Target “needed nest egg” (using withdrawal rate)

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Estimated gap (surplus/shortfall)
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What this suggests

Run your scenario to see practical next steps.

Methodology & Assumptions

This calculator is designed for quick, realistic scenario testing of retirement planning.

This Retirement Planner Calculator uses a simplified retirement accumulation model. It estimates how your retirement savings may grow from today until your planned retirement age based on a starting balance, regular monthly contributions, and a constant annual return assumption. Investment growth is modeled with monthly compounding for clarity and repeatability.

Retirement spending is entered in today’s dollars and then inflation-adjusted to estimate what the same lifestyle may cost at retirement. To estimate a “needed nest egg,” the tool divides your inflation-adjusted retirement spending by a user-selected withdrawal rate (often called a safe withdrawal rate). This creates a simple benchmark for comparing your projected balance at retirement to an estimated retirement funding target.

Key limitations: the model does not include market volatility, sequence-of-returns risk, changing contribution levels, employer matching, Social Security claiming strategies, healthcare cost shocks, or taxes unless you explicitly reflect them in your inputs. The goal is educational scenario testing, not precise forecasting.

For a full overview of how InvestingLab calculators work, see How Tools Work. For additional retirement education, see the official U.S. Social Security Administration retirement planning hub: Social Security Retirement Benefits (SSA) .

FAQ

Common questions about the retirement planner calculator.

How accurate is this retirement planner calculator?

The calculator provides estimates based on simplified assumptions and the inputs you enter. Real-world retirement outcomes can differ due to market conditions, inflation changes, savings behavior, taxes, and personal circumstances. Use it to compare scenarios and identify potential gaps—not to predict exact outcomes.

What withdrawal rate should I use for retirement planning?

Many US retirement planning discussions reference a 4% withdrawal rate as a rough starting point, but appropriate rates vary by time horizon, risk tolerance, and market conditions. This tool lets you test different withdrawal rates to see how sensitive your retirement “need” is to this assumption.

Does the retirement planner calculator include Social Security?

This tool does not automatically model Social Security. If you expect Social Security income or pension income, you can reduce your “desired retirement spending” input to reflect spending that must be covered from savings.

Can I use this retirement planner calculator for 401(k) or IRA planning?

Yes. You can use the tool to model contributions and balances from retirement accounts such as a 401(k), Traditional IRA, or Roth IRA. However, the model does not calculate taxes or contribution limits. It is designed for educational scenario testing only.

What if I’m behind on retirement savings?

If the tool shows a shortfall, try testing a few scenarios: increasing your monthly contribution, postponing retirement, lowering spending assumptions, or using a more conservative withdrawal rate. The goal is to help you see which levers have the biggest impact.

Disclaimer

InvestingLab.com provides educational calculators, tools and simulations only. We do not provide financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Outputs from this Retirement Planner Calculator are hypothetical estimates based on user inputs and simplified assumptions, and actual outcomes may differ materially.