Retirement Funds Calculator
How much will your retirement savings actually become? This retirement funds calculator projects your nest egg from your current balance, monthly contributions and expected return, then shows the number two ways: nominal dollars and inflation-adjusted purchasing power. It also grades your pace against Fidelity’s age-based savings milestones and splits every dollar into what you contributed versus what compounding earned.
Quick Answer
At 30 with $20,000 saved and $500 a month at 7%, you reach $1,130,650 by 65: $230,000 contributed and $900,650 of growth. In today’s purchasing power at 3% inflation that is $401,814, supporting about $3,769 a month at a 4% withdrawal rate. Against Fidelity’s 10x-income benchmark ($750,000), you are at 151%: on track.
- Growth does most of the work. In the example, compounding earns $900,650 while you contribute $230,000: nearly 80% of the final balance is growth.
- Nominal dollars flatter every projection. $1.13M in 35 years buys what $401,814 buys today. Judge every plan in real dollars.
- Behind early does not mean behind forever. The example saver trails Fidelity’s milestones at 40 and 50 but passes them by 60, because compounding accelerates.
- Fees are a silent tax on the return. A 1% annual fee on a 7% return cuts the example’s final balance by roughly a quarter. Subtract fees from your return assumption.
Where the million comes from: contributions vs growth
The projection formula is FV = P(1+r)^n + PMT x (((1+r)^n – 1) / r): your starting balance grown with interest, plus every monthly contribution grown with interest. For the example saver the split is dramatic:
Only one dollar in five of the final $1,130,650 was ever deposited; four came from compounding. This is also why the return assumption matters so much and why starting early beats saving more later: the same $500 a month from 30 to 65 builds $1.13M, but starting at 40 builds only about $520,000. The return you assume should be grounded in market history: our S&P investment calculator shows what equities have actually delivered.
Are you on track? The Fidelity milestones
Fidelity’s widely used savings guidelines call for 1x salary by 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60 and 10x by 67. Here is the example saver ($75,000 income) against them:
| Age | Projected savings | Fidelity target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $20,000 | $75,000 (1x) | Behind |
| 40 | $126,736 | $225,000 (3x) | Behind |
| 50 | $341,238 | $450,000 (6x) | Catching up |
| 60 | $772,315 | $600,000 (8x) | Ahead |
| 65 | $1,130,650 | $750,000 (10x) | Ahead |
The honest story: this saver starts behind and stays behind through 50, then compounding takes over and the milestones fall. That catch-up is normal, not a failure, which is why a single snapshot at 40 misleads. The calculator’s verdict badge grades your full projection against the 10x benchmark the same way. If your mix leans toward funds rather than individual stocks, our ETF investment calculator projects that path specifically.
Nominal vs real: the number that matters
A projection in nominal dollars answers “what will the statement say” but not “what will it buy.” At 3% inflation, prices roughly triple over 35 years, so the example’s $1,130,650 has the purchasing power of $401,814 today. That is the number to compare against your spending: at a 4% withdrawal rate it supports about $16,073 a year, or $1,339 a month in today’s dollars, before Social Security.
Work the problem the other way too: if you know the goal in today’s dollars, our backward compound interest calculator finds what you must have now or save monthly to get there.
What rival calculators get wrong
The retirement projection calculators ranking today do the core math well but hide the context. BuildFormulas is the strongest: it compares retiring at 60, 65 and 70 side by side with inflation-adjusted values and 4% monthly income, which is exactly the framing savers need. RetirementPlannerCalc adds a readiness score, three gap-closing levers and current IRS limits, the most actionable of the bunch. AIOnlineCalculator is clean on the formula and honest about fees and real versus nominal returns. What none of them show is the contributions-versus-growth split that makes compounding tangible, or the milestone catch-up table that rescues savers who feel behind at 40. This calculator leads with both, grades the pace against Fidelity’s benchmarks, and reports nominal and real dollars together, so the projection teaches as well as projects.
Turn the projection into a monthly income plan
A large nominal total is hard to judge on its own, so convert it before deciding whether it is enough. The example projection of $1,130,650 supports about $3,769 a month at a 4% withdrawal rate, and $401,814 in today’s purchasing power at 3% inflation. Compare that monthly figure, not the headline total, with the spending you expect in retirement, and remember Social Security sits on top of it rather than inside it. Then check the two quiet leaks the calculator already exposes: fees, which cut the example to about $875,000 at a 1% annual cost, and any employer match you have not counted, which compounds exactly like your own contributions. If the monthly figure falls short, the same levers apply in reverse: raise the monthly contribution, extend the horizon, or lower the spending the projection must support. Re-run the projection whenever your income, contribution rate, or retirement age changes, because a raise that lifts the monthly contribution and a later retirement age both move the result in your favour at once, while a higher inflation assumption moves the inflation-adjusted figure the other way. A projection checked once and never revisited quietly goes out of date; a projection revisited at each life change stays a usable plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Future value equals P(1+r)^n plus PMT times (((1+r)^n – 1) / r), where P is current savings, PMT is the monthly contribution, r is the monthly return and n is the months until retirement. It compounds the lump sum and the contribution stream separately, then adds them.
Both, for different jobs. Nominal dollars match future statements and contribution limits; inflation-adjusted dollars match your spending plans. A $1.13M nominal projection at 3% inflation over 35 years is $401,814 of today’s purchasing power.
For a stock-heavy portfolio, 7% nominal (about 4-5% after inflation) reflects long-run US market history. Balanced portfolios run lower; conservative savers often plan on 5-6%. Whatever you pick, subtract fund fees from it first.
Add the monthly match to your monthly contribution. A $200 monthly match on a $500 contribution is a 40% raise to your savings rate, and it compounds exactly like your own money.
More than they look. A 1% annual fee on a 7% gross return leaves 6% net, which cuts the example’s $1.13M to about $875,000 over 35 years. Model fees by reducing your return assumption by the fee.
For 2026, the IRS sets the 401(k) elective-deferral limit at $24,500 ($32,500 at 50+ with catch-up), and the IRA limit at $7,500 ($8,600 at 50+). If your planned monthly contribution exceeds these, the excess belongs in taxable accounts.
It is a rule of thumb that you can withdraw about 4% of the nest egg in the first year of retirement, adjusted for inflation after, with a low chance of running out over 30 years. On $1,130,650 that is about $45,226 a year or $3,769 a month: a planning estimate, not a guarantee.
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References
- Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Contribution Limits. Accessed October 18, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service. IRA Contribution Limits. Accessed October 18, 2026.
- Fidelity. How Much Do I Need to Retire? (age-based savings milestones). Accessed October 18, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service. Roth IRAs. Accessed October 18, 2026.
- NYU Stern School of Business (Aswath Damodaran). Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds and Bills. Accessed October 18, 2026.
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investment Products. Accessed October 18, 2026.
- Social Security Administration. Retirement Benefits (age-62 start, 10-year rule). Accessed October 25, 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Planning for Retirement. Accessed October 25, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Labor. Retirement Plans Benefits and Savings. Accessed October 25, 2026.
- Fidelity. Retirement Guidelines (retirement age and savings guidelines). Accessed October 25, 2026.