Project Your Retirement Savings & Future Income
Planning for retirement means estimating how much you’ll have saved and what kind of income that nest egg could provide. Our Retirement Savings Calculator helps employers and employees estimate long-term retirement savings growth and potential monthly income in retirement, empowering you to make better decisions today for tomorrow’s financial security.
How the Retirement Savings Calculator Works
This tool uses your current retirement savings, contribution levels, expected annual increases, and planned retirement age to estimate your projected account balance over time. It then applies assumptions around investment growth and inflation to show what your savings might deliver in terms of future value and potential monthly income at retirement.
The calculator uses long-term return and inflation assumptions similar to industry guidance, but your outcomes may vary based on actual market performance, contribution changes, and life events.
%201-min.png)
Why Projecting Retirement Savings Matters
Estimating your retirement savings helps you understand whether you’re on track to meet your long-term goals. It can show:
- How changing your contribution rate today increases your projected balance tomorrow
- The potential impact of employer contributions — including matches or profit sharing
- How inflation and expected investment returns influence future income
- Whether you may need to adjust savings behavior to reach income goals in retirement
Use this projection as a planning aid — not a guarantee — to help guide decisions about contributions, investment strategy, and retirement timing.
FAQs
What assumptions does this retirement savings calculator use?
This calculator uses the following default assumptions:
- 7% annual investment return (compounded annually)
- 2.5% annual inflation rate (to show results in today’s dollars)
- 8% annual withdrawal rate in retirement (to estimate monthly retirement income)
It also assumes contributions are added once per year and can increase each year based on your selected annual contribution increase.
Does the calculator account for increasing contributions over time?
Yes. Your annual contribution can grow each year based on the contribution increase % you enter. The calculator applies that increase annually and adds the updated contribution amount each year until retirement.
What does “projected value” mean in the results?
Your projected value is shown in today’s dollars (inflation-adjusted). The calculator first estimates your future account balance using a 7% annual return, then adjusts it downward using a 2.5% annual inflation assumption to reflect purchasing power in today’s terms.
How is the estimated monthly retirement income calculated?
The calculator estimates monthly retirement income using an 8% annual withdrawal rate applied to your inflation-adjusted projected value:
- Annual retirement income = projected value × 8%
- Monthly retirement income = annual income ÷ 12
This is a simplified estimate meant for planning purposes.
Is this a guarantee of how much I’ll have or what I can withdraw?
No. Results are hypothetical estimates based on the assumptions above and the inputs you provide. Actual outcomes can vary due to market performance, contribution changes, fees, and real-world inflation.
Can I change the assumed rates (return, inflation, withdrawal rate)?
Not in the current version of this calculator. The return (7%), inflation (2.5%), and withdrawal rate (8%) are fixed assumptions used to provide consistent estimates. If you’d like, we can add optional “advanced settings” so users can adjust these assumptions.
Go beyond a basic 401(k)
Give your employees more than just a 401(k), join the movement.
1 Schwab 2022 401(k) Participant Study - Gen Z/Millenial Focus, October 2022.
2 As of 12/31/2022. Employees include both current employees and terminated participants with a balance.
3 "Morgan Stanley At Work: The Value of a Financial Advisor" Morgan Stanley, March 2022.
4 Sarah Britton was a client when she provided this testimonial through an independent third party review website. She received no compensation for her remarks. There are no known conflicts of interest in the provision of her comments related to the services provided.
*