Free retirement planning calculator
See whether your retirement plan is on track. Project your savings against age-based benchmarks and your income goal, then test how each extra dollar a month or year of work moves the result — updated live, as you type.
On this page12 sections
Estimates only, based on a constant real return and steady saving. Not financial advice.
Results are estimates. Consult a professional.
What a retirement plan actually answers
Retirement planning is the bridge between two numbers: what your savings are on track to become and what you will need them to be. This retirement planning calculator projects the first — your contributions and current savings compounded forward to your retirement age — so you can hold it up against your goal and see whether you are ahead, behind, or on pace.
Where a one-off projection just shows a balance, planning is the loop you run repeatedly: project, compare to a target, adjust the contribution or the date, and re-check. The point is not a single perfect forecast — it is a plan you can steer year after year as your income, savings rate, and retirement date change.
How to build a retirement plan in five steps
- Project what you are on track for. Enter your age, retirement age, current savings, monthly contribution, and expected return. The calculator compounds it forward to a single nest-egg figure.
- Set the income you want. Estimate annual spending in retirement — many planners use 45–80% of your current salary as a starting replacement target.
- Translate the goal into a target balance. A 4% withdrawal rate means you need roughly 25× your desired annual income saved.
- Compare and find the gap. Hold the projection against the target. If it falls short, you have a shortfall to close.
- Adjust a lever and re-run. Raise the contribution, push the date later, or capture the full employer match — then project again.
Savings benchmarks by age
The fastest on-track check is a salary multiple. Fidelity's widely cited guideline suggests aiming for 1× your salary saved by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60, and 10× by 67. These assume a 15% savings rate, retirement at 67, and replacing about 45% of pre-retirement income.
| Age | Target multiple of salary | Example on $80,000 salary |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 1× | $80,000 |
| 40 | 3× | $240,000 |
| 50 | 6× | $480,000 |
| 60 | 8× | $640,000 |
| 67 | 10× | $800,000 |
Fidelity age-based savings milestones (multiples of current salary). Assumptions: 15% savings rate, retirement at 67, ~45% income replacement, no pension. Source: Fidelity Viewpoints.
Fidelity — Retirement guidelines: how much you should have saved by age (1× by 30 … 10× by 67).Treat these as goalposts, not pass/fail lines — most people miss some of them. They are a sanity check on the projection: if the calculator says you are tracking well above the multiple for your age, your plan has slack; well below, and you have a gap to close.
A worked example: planning from age 40 to 67
Daniel is 40, has $80,000 saved, contributes $700 a month, expects a 6% return, and plans to retire at 67 — his Social Security full retirement age. He wants to know whether that plan is on track.
Step 1 — Project the nest egg
Over the 27 years to 67, the calculator compounds the $80,000 and the $700 monthly deposits at 6%. The projected balance is $967,202, worth about $435,424 in today's dollars after 3% inflation.
Step 2 — Check it against the benchmark
At 67 the 10× guideline on an $80,000 salary is $800,000. Daniel's projected $967,202 clears that comfortably, so on the salary-multiple test he is on track.
Step 3 — Translate to income and re-check
How much your monthly contribution changes the plan
The contribution is the lever you control most directly. The table keeps Daniel's plan fixed ($80,000 saved, age 40 to 67, 6%) and varies only the monthly amount, so you can see what each extra $200 a month buys over 27 years.
| Monthly contribution | Projected nest egg at 67 | Real value (today's $) |
|---|---|---|
| $300 | $644,583 | $290,184 |
| $500 | $805,892 | $362,804 |
| $700 (example) | $967,202 | $435,424 |
| $1,000 | $1,209,166 | $544,353 |
Same $80,000 starting balance, age 40 to 67, 6% return. Real value discounts at 3% inflation. Figures computed by this calculator.
Going from $500 to $1,000 a month roughly adds $400,000 to the nest egg — and the right way to find that money is usually to raise the contribution every time your salary rises, so saving more never feels like a pay cut.
2025 contribution limits that shape the plan
A plan only works inside the rules. The IRS caps how much you can put into tax-advantaged accounts each year, and those caps rise as you approach retirement so you can catch up:
| Account | 2025 base limit | Catch-up (50+) | Super catch-up (60–63) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k) / 403(b) / 457 | $23,500 | +$7,500 | +$11,250 |
| Traditional / Roth IRA | $7,000 | +$1,000 | — |
2025 IRS limits. The $11,250 super catch-up for ages 60–63 was created by SECURE 2.0. Source: IRS.gov.
IRS — 401(k) limit increases to $23,500 for 2025; IRA limit remains $7,000.If your plan calls for a higher contribution than fits in one account, the catch-up and super catch-up brackets give older savers meaningful extra room. Build the income side of the plan with the retirement income calculator and size the target with the retirement nest egg calculator.
Where retirement plans go wrong
- Planning once and never revisiting. A plan made at 35 and forgotten until 55 misses 20 years of course-correction. Re-run it yearly.
- Anchoring to a nominal target. "I want $1 million" ignores inflation. Plan around the real, today's-dollars value and the income it produces.
- Underestimating retirement length. Planning to age 85 when many people live into their 90s leaves the last decade unfunded.
- Ignoring the gap until it is large. A shortfall caught at 40 is closable with a modest contribution bump; the same gap caught at 60 may not be.
Accuracy, assumptions, and sources
This retirement planning calculator uses the same month-by-month projection as the main retirement tool — compounding your current savings and monthly contributions at your expected return and discounting at 3% inflation for the real value. The savings benchmarks are Fidelity's published guideline; the 4% income translation reflects the Trinity Study framing. Figures are planning estimates, not guarantees or financial advice: returns vary, and your own circumstances and tax situation differ. Confirm limits at IRS.gov and consult a qualified adviser.
Fidelity — Retirement guidelines and age-based savings factors.IRS — Retirement topics: contribution limits (2025).Frequently asked questions about the free retirement planning calculator
About this retirement planning calculator
This retirement planning calculator runs entirely in your browser, with no data leaving your device. It uses the same month-by-month projection as the main retirement tool, then frames the result against age-based savings benchmarks and the income target your plan requires, so you can see whether you are on track and adjust as you type.
Calculators Cloud offers 400+ free tools with no sign-up. The full retirement calculators shelf includes Retirement shortfall, Savings rate, and Retirement nest egg tools alongside this one. Or browse the full calculator directory.