Retirement Savings Calculator

Determine if your current savings rate and asset returns will sustain your desired lifestyle goals.

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Awaiting Details

Provide your timelines to calculate savings goals.

How Much Do You Need to Retire?

A typical retirement planning milestone is the 25x expenses rule. This means that to retire comfortably, you should aim to build a retirement nest egg equal to 25 times your annual living expenses. With this portfolio size, drawing 4% annually (safe withdrawal rate) yields sufficient interest returns to sustain your lifestyle costs indefinitely.

Retirement Planning: The Data You Need

Review retirement benchmarks by age, tax-advantaged account limits, and Social Security variables.

Are You On Track? Retirement Savings Benchmarks by Age

Fidelity's widely used retirement savings benchmarks provide a useful rule of thumb for whether your current savings pace is on track for a standard retirement at 65:

Age Fidelity Benchmark Example (at $80k salary) What It Assumes
30 1× annual salary $80,000 Saving ~15% since mid-20s
35 2× annual salary $160,000 Consistent contributions, ~7% return
40 3× annual salary $240,000 No major gaps in savings history
45 4× annual salary $320,000 Employer match included
50 6× annual salary $480,000 Catch-up contributions begin at 50
55 7× annual salary $560,000 Portfolio in moderate allocation
60 8× annual salary $640,000 Approaching drawdown phase
67 10× annual salary $800,000 Full retirement target
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Early Retirement Adjustment
These benchmarks assume Social Security will cover approximately 30–40% of pre-retirement income, and that the retiree maintains a similar lifestyle. If you plan to retire before 65, expect no Social Security income, or have higher lifestyle expenses, multiply these benchmarks by 1.25–1.5×.

The Gap Between 401(k) Contribution Limits and What Most People Actually Save

There's a significant difference between what the IRS allows and what the average American contributes. Understanding this gap is the first step to closing it:

Contribution Type 2024 Limit Average Actual Contribution Gap
401(k) employee contribution $24,500 ~$7,500–$8,000 ~$15,000 underutilised
401(k) catch-up (age 50+) +$7,500 Rarely fully used Often $5,000+ unused
IRA (Traditional or Roth) $7,500 ~$3,000–$4,000 ~$3,500 underutilised
IRA catch-up (age 50+) +$1,000 Rarely used Often fully unused
HSA (individual) $4,150 ~$1,500 ~$2,650 underutilised
HSA (family) $8,300 ~$2,800 ~$5,500 underutilised
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Triple Tax Advantage of HSAs
The most underutilised vehicle is the HSA — it's the only account in the US tax code with a triple tax advantage (pre-tax contributions, tax-free growth, tax-free withdrawals for medical expenses). For investors who can pay current medical expenses out-of-pocket, letting HSA funds compound for decades and withdrawing in retirement for any expense (after 65, with income tax but no penalty) makes it a powerful secondary retirement account.

Closing the Retirement Gap: A Scenario Comparison

If you're behind on retirement savings benchmarks, these are the five levers available — ranked by typical impact:

Strategy What It Does Example Annual Impact Trade-off
Increase contribution rate More capital compounding earlier +$5,000/yr × 15 yrs at 7% = +$126,000 Reduces current take-home pay
Delay retirement by 3 years More accumulation + fewer withdrawal years Equivalent to adding ~20–30% to portfolio Requires continued employment
Reduce projected expenses Lowers the required portfolio target size $5k/yr less spending = $125k less needed (25× rule) Lifestyle adjustment required
Increase return assumption Higher risk tolerance in allocation Shift 60/40 → 80/20 adds ~1–1.5% expected return Higher volatility in drawdown years
Maximise employer match Instant 50–100% return on matched dollars $3,000 match on $6,000 = 50% guaranteed return Must contribute to capture
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Employer Match Optimization Tip
The employer match deserves special attention: it's a guaranteed 50–100% return on your matched dollars, making it the highest-priority use of any investable dollar — ahead of paying off low-interest debt, ahead of additional IRA contributions, ahead of taxable investing. Not capturing the full match is functionally equivalent to refusing a raise.

Social Security as a Variable: Why It Changes Your Target

Social Security estimates shift your required retirement portfolio size. Here's the impact of Social Security on a retirement requiring $60,000/year:

Social Security Benefit Annual Portfolio Requirement Required Portfolio (25×) Notes
$0/yr (none / FIRE) $60,000/yr from portfolio $1,500,000 Self-funded entirely
$18,000/yr (low earner) $42,000/yr from portfolio $1,050,000 ~30% of income covered
$24,000/yr (average) $36,000/yr from portfolio $900,000 ~40% of income covered
$30,000/yr (above average) $30,000/yr from portfolio $750,000 ~50% of income covered
$36,000/yr (high earner) $24,000/yr from portfolio $60,000 ~60% of income covered
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Claiming Delay Benefit
Delaying Social Security from age 62 to 70 increases the monthly benefit by approximately 77%. For someone expecting a $24,000/yr benefit at 62, that delay is worth roughly $17,280/yr more — permanently, for life. That's equivalent to having an extra $432,000 in portfolio (at a 4% SWR). Delaying claiming is the single highest-value retirement decision available.