Retirement Calculator

Yes. If your employer matches up to, say, 6% of salary and you contribute 4%, you're forfeiting the match on the other 2% — an instant 50% or 100% return that's hard to find anywhere else. That's why capturing the full match is usually the first thing financial advisors point to when reviewing retirement savings.

No — this is a simplified projection that doesn't cap what you enter at the IRS annual elective-deferral limit. If you earn a high salary or contribute a large percentage, use our 401(k) calculator instead: it applies the current year's IRS limit (including the age-50 catch-up) automatically.

A diversified, stock-heavy portfolio has historically averaged around 7%–10% a year before inflation over multi-decade periods, with big swings in any single year. Using 6%–7% keeps the projection conservative; just don't treat any single number as a guarantee — real sequences of returns vary.

Count it in your projection (this calculator does), with two caveats: matches often vest over a few years, so leaving early can forfeit some of it, and common guidance frames the 10%–15%-of-income savings target as including the match rather than on top of it. The calculator shows how far your combined rate actually gets you.

A widely cited rule of thumb is the 4% rule: multiply the annual income you'd want in retirement by 25, and that's a rough nest-egg target — the idea being you could withdraw about 4% a year, adjusted for inflation, with a low chance of running out over a 30-year retirement. So $60,000 a year points to roughly $1.5 million. It's a starting point, not a guarantee: it came from historical U.S. market data, assumes a balanced portfolio, and doesn't account for Social Security (which lowers what your savings need to cover) or a very early retirement (which stretches the money further). Use the projected balance here against your own 25× number to see whether your current savings rate is on track.