Retirement
Retirement Savings Projection
Project your balance at retirement and the rough monthly income it could provide.
What this means
On this pace you’d reach about $609,736 by 65 — very roughly $2,032 a month in retirement income under the 4% rule. The 4% rule is a starting guideline, not a guarantee, and your real number depends on Social Security, a pension, and how markets behave.
Notice the last box: adding $100 a month now would grow to about $121,997 more by retirement. Small increases, started early, do a lot of the heavy lifting.
These are estimates to help you think — not personalized legal, tax, or investment advice, and not a promise of any result.
This calculator projects what your retirement savings could grow into by the age you choose — based on what you have now, what you add each month, and the return you assume — then translates that balance into a rough monthly income.
Why it matters: retirement math feels abstract until it becomes a monthly number. Seeing what your current pace produces — and what a slightly stronger pace produces — turns “someday” into a decision you can act on this payday.
How to use it
- 1
Enter where you stand
Your current age, what you've saved for retirement so far, and what goes in each month — including any employer match, which is part of your pay whether you claim it or not.
- 2
Set the target and the assumption
Pick a retirement age and an assumed yearly return. Run it cautious and hopeful — a plan that only works at the hopeful number isn't a plan yet.
- 3
Read the monthly income, not the pile
The big balance is the headline; the rough monthly income is the truth. Ask whether you could live on it. If not, test how a higher contribution or a few more working years changes the answer.
Behind the numbers
Time in the account does the heavy lifting
Retirement savings compound: growth earns growth, year after year. The dollars you put in earliest are the most powerful ones you'll ever save, because they get the most rounds of compounding. Whatever your age, the earliest dollar you can still save is today's.
Contributions you control, returns you don't
Markets move on their own schedule. Your contribution rate, your consistency, and how long you stay invested are yours. Build the plan around the levers in your hands and keep the return assumption humble.
A projection is a compass, not a promise
Real life brings raises, gaps, and markets that don't move in straight lines, so revisit the numbers when life changes. For decisions with big tax or timing consequences — like when to retire or how to draw the money down — have a licensed professional confirm the specifics.
The math behind it
It's compounding again, over a longer runway, with the employer match and the tax break stacked on top. Your future balance is today's balance grown at your return, plus every future contribution compounding for however many years it still has left before you retire.
Worked example
$300 a month for 30 years at 7% grows to about $340,000 — and you only put in $108,000 of it. The other ~$232,000 is growth. Add a 50% employer match and your $300 acts like $450 going in every month.
The match is an instant return
A 50–100% employer match is a guaranteed 50–100% return before the market does anything at all. No investment beats that, so capturing the full match comes before every other move.
Common questions
How much do I need to retire?
Enough saved that the income it generates covers your expenses, alongside Social Security or a pension if you have one. That number is personal — it depends on what your life costs. Start from the monthly income the calculator projects and compare it to what you spend now.
When should I start saving for retirement?
As early as you can, with whatever you can. Early money compounds the longest, and an employer match is an immediate raise you have to claim. Starting small now beats starting big later.
What if I'm starting late?
You still have moves: raise your contribution rate, claim every match dollar, use catch-up contributions when you're eligible, and give the money more years by working a little longer if you can. Run the calculator with those changes and watch the projection respond.
Go deeper
The calculator gives you a number. The Retirement Accounts Brick teaches you what to do with it, in plain English. And if you’re not sure where to start, the free BrickScore checks your whole foundation in about 5 minutes.