How much should I save for retirement?

The most common guideline is the 4% rule: multiply your desired annual retirement income by 25 to get your savings target. For $60,000/year, you need $1.5 million. Financial planners often recommend saving 15% of your gross income (including employer match) starting in your 20s.

What is the 4% withdrawal rule?

The 4% rule suggests you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one of retirement, then adjust for inflation each year, with a high probability the money lasts 30+ years. Based on historical market data, this rule has held in about 95% of 30-year retirement scenarios.

How much should I have in retirement savings by age?

Common benchmarks: 1x your salary by 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60, 10x by 67 (Fidelity's guidelines). These are starting points — your actual target depends on your expected lifestyle expenses in retirement.

What return rate should I use for retirement planning?

For a diversified stock/bond portfolio, 6–7% real return (inflation-adjusted) is a commonly used conservative estimate. Fidelity and Vanguard both use 5.5–7% for long-term projections. Using 7% nominal (before inflation) is reasonable for general planning.

What is the 2025 401k contribution limit?

For 2025, the 401k contribution limit is $23,500 for employees under 50, and $31,000 for those 50 and older (including $7,500 catch-up contribution). IRA limits are $7,000 (under 50) and $8,000 (50+).

Retirement Calculator

Project your retirement savings and see if you're on track. Based on your current balance, contributions, return rate, and years to retirement.

Current Retirement Savings ($)

Monthly Contribution ($)

Expected Annual Return (%)

Years Until Retirement

Retirement Projection

Projected Retirement Balance—

Your Total Contributions—

Total Investment Growth—

Est. Monthly Income (4% rule)—

How to Use the Retirement Calculator

This retirement calculator projects your savings balance at retirement based on four inputs: what you have now, what you'll add each month, your expected investment return, and how many years you have until retirement. The result shows both your projected balance and a rough estimate of the monthly income that balance could sustainably generate.

How Much Do You Need to Retire?

The most widely used framework is the 4% rule: multiply your desired annual retirement income by 25 to get your savings target. Want $5,000/month ($60,000/year)? You need $1,500,000. Want $8,000/month ($96,000/year)? You need $2,400,000. This is based on historical research suggesting a 4% annual withdrawal rate has a very high probability of lasting 30+ years.

Savings Benchmarks by Age

Fidelity Investments recommends these savings-to-salary multiples as benchmarks: 1× salary by age 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60, and 10× by 67. These assume retiring at 67 with a 45% income replacement rate from savings (supplemented by Social Security).

What Rate of Return to Assume

A diversified stock/bond portfolio (like a target-date fund) has historically returned 7–10% nominally. After adjusting for 3% inflation, the real return is approximately 4–7%. Most financial planning tools use 6–7% as a conservative baseline. Using 7% nominal is reasonable for rough projections; use 5–6% for conservative planning.

2025 Contribution Limits

401(k): $23,500/year (under 50); $31,000 (50 and over, with catch-up)
IRA (Traditional or Roth): $7,000/year (under 50); $8,000 (50 and over)
HSA (Health Savings Account): $4,300 individual, $8,550 family — a powerful supplemental retirement vehicle

Always contribute at least enough to your 401(k) to get the full employer match — that's an immediate 50–100% return on your contribution.

Retirement Calculator — FAQs

A common target is to save 15% of gross income (including employer match). For a savings target: multiply your desired annual retirement income by 25 (the 4% rule). To replace $60,000/year, you need $1.5 million. Social Security covers part of this — use SSA.gov to estimate your Social Security benefit.

The 4% rule suggests withdrawing 4% of your portfolio in year one of retirement, then adjusting for inflation annually. Historical analysis (the "Trinity Study") shows this strategy has about a 95% probability of your money lasting 30 years across various market conditions.

Fidelity's guideline is 3× your annual salary by age 40. So if you earn $80,000, you should aim for $240,000 in retirement savings by 40. This keeps you on track for replacing about 45% of your pre-retirement income from savings (with Social Security covering the rest).

A diversified stock/bond portfolio has historically returned 7–10% nominally. After inflation (~3%), real returns are 4–7%. Using 7% nominal or 5% real is a reasonable conservative baseline for long-term planning. More aggressive investors might use 8–9%; more conservative 5–6%.

For 2025: $23,500 for employees under 50, $31,000 for age 50+ (including $7,500 catch-up). IRA limits are $7,000 (under 50) and $8,000 (50+). Always contribute enough to get your full employer match first — it's free money.