Estimate your expenses
Start with housing, food, utilities, transportation, healthcare, insurance, taxes, travel, and discretionary spending. Include irregular expenses and a cushion for surprises.
401k Calculator & Guide
Your retirement number depends on the life you want to live, when you plan to stop working, and how much income your savings and benefits can provide. Estimate your goal, explore your savings gap, and build a practical starting plan.
Enter your estimates below to see a potential retirement portfolio target, the future value of your savings, and the approximate monthly contribution that could close the gap. Use today's dollars for your spending and income estimates.
Change the sample values to reflect your situation. All dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars.
An illustrative target based on your estimated spending gap and selected withdrawal rate.
Estimated progress toward your target
Projection assumes monthly contributions and a steady return compounded monthly. Future expenses and income are inflated from today's dollars. Actual investment returns and benefit amounts will vary.
Your retirement number is the amount of money and other income sources needed to cover your expected expenses after you stop working. It is not the same for everyone. Housing costs, healthcare, taxes, location, family responsibilities, and retirement age can all change the amount you need.
Start with housing, food, utilities, transportation, healthcare, insurance, taxes, travel, and discretionary spending. Include irregular expenses and a cushion for surprises.
Estimate Social Security, pensions, and other dependable income. Consider when each income source starts and whether it adjusts with inflation.
Your portfolio may need to cover the difference. The target depends on the withdrawal approach, investment risk, taxes, and how long retirement lasts.
The calculator uses a simplified version of this formula:
Annual portfolio-funded spending = annual retirement expenses − annual dependable income
Illustrative portfolio target = annual portfolio-funded spending ÷ selected initial withdrawal rate
For example, a $24,000 annual gap divided by 4% gives a $600,000 illustrative portfolio target. This is a planning shortcut, not a promise that the portfolio will last for a particular number of years.
These simplified examples show how spending and dependable income can change the portfolio target. They are not benchmarks that every household should follow.
| Monthly expenses | Other monthly income | Monthly portfolio gap | Target at 4% |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 | $1,500 | $1,500 | $450,000 |
| $4,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $600,000 |
| $5,000 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $750,000 |
| $6,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $900,000 |
| $8,000 | $3,000 | $5,000 | $1,500,000 |
Examples assume the stated expenses and income are monthly amounts at retirement, with the income gap funded entirely by a portfolio using a 4% initial withdrawal assumption. They exclude taxes, healthcare surprises, fees, and changes in spending or benefits.
Retiring earlier can mean more years of spending and fewer years to contribute. Working longer may allow more saving and delay portfolio withdrawals or Social Security.
Review workplace retirement plans, IRAs, pensions, and your Social Security estimate. Count assets you intend to use for retirement rather than assuming every asset is available.
Automate contributions where possible. If you have a workplace plan, understand its employer match, vesting schedule, investment options, and fees.
Traditional retirement account withdrawals are generally taxable, while qualified Roth withdrawals can be tax-free. Plan for healthcare costs and consider how housing and debt affect cash flow.
Review your plan periodically and after major life changes. Compare actual savings, spending, investment performance, and benefit estimates with your original assumptions.
An earlier retirement can increase the years your savings must support and may require you to bridge the period before Social Security or Medicare eligibility. A longer life can mean more years of spending.
Inflation reduces purchasing power. Investment returns can be uneven, and poor returns early in retirement can be especially difficult if you are withdrawing money at the same time.
Medicare does not cover every healthcare cost. Premiums, deductibles, prescriptions, dental care, and possible long-term care needs deserve their own place in your plan.
Your spendable income can differ from the amount withdrawn. Tax treatment varies by account type and circumstances, and required minimum distributions may affect withdrawals from some accounts.
Increase contributions when income rises, and check whether you can capture your employer's available match under your plan rules.
Compare investment expense ratios and plan administration fees. Fees reduce the amount of money that remains invested over time.
Consider how you might adjust discretionary spending, retirement timing, or part-time work if savings or markets differ from expectations.
It can be enough for some retirees and insufficient for others. The answer depends on spending, dependable income, retirement length, taxes, healthcare costs, investment performance, and the withdrawal approach. Estimate your annual portfolio-funded gap before deciding whether a target is realistic.
Estimate annual retirement expenses, subtract expected annual income such as Social Security and pensions, then estimate the portfolio needed to cover the remaining gap. A simple method divides the annual gap by an assumed initial withdrawal rate. Test different rates and scenarios rather than treating one result as definitive.
The 4% rule is a historical retirement-planning guideline often described as withdrawing about 4% of a portfolio in the first retirement year and adjusting the dollar amount for inflation in later years. It is not a guarantee, and suitability depends on portfolio mix, fees, taxes, market conditions, and retirement length.
Yes, if you expect to qualify, but use your own estimated benefit and consider when you may claim. Benefit amounts depend on your earnings history and claiming age. Check official estimates through the Social Security Administration rather than relying solely on a generic example.
Yes. It increases the expenses and other income you enter by the assumed inflation rate until your retirement age. This is a simplified estimate: actual costs and benefits may rise at different rates, and inflation after retirement is not separately simulated.
Enter the combined current value of the retirement investments you expect to use in the current savings field. The calculator does not independently track each account's tax treatment, asset allocation, employer match, fees, or withdrawal restrictions.
Start with a clear picture of expenses, balances, income, and retirement timing. Consider increasing contributions gradually, reviewing fees, using available employer matching contributions, and checking whether a later retirement date improves the plan. Avoid making major investment decisions based on a single calculator result.
Yes, as a rough starting point, but early retirement usually requires additional care. You may need to fund more years without employment income, bridge healthcare costs before Medicare eligibility, and account for the timing of Social Security and access to retirement accounts.
Use these U.S. government resources to check benefit estimates, understand retirement account rules, and refine your assumptions.
Estimate your savings target, review your income sources, and explore how your 401(k) and other retirement accounts may fit into your overall plan.
Clear guides, useful calculators and practical retirement resources to help you understand your 401(k), contributions, employer matching, Roth options, rollovers and long-term savings.
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