Retirement
Nest egg projection with inflation
The Retirement Calculator projects how large your retirement balance will be at a target age, given your current age, current savings, monthly contributions, expected investment return, and the inflation rate. It also reports the result in today's dollars so you can interpret the number in real terms.
Retirement projections are best treated as scenarios, not predictions. Use this to compare strategies and stress-test assumptions, not as a guarantee.
What it projects
- Nominal retirement balance at the target age.
- Real (inflation-adjusted) balance in today's dollars.
- How sensitive the result is to changes in contributions, returns, and time horizon.
The model
Current balance grows by the assumed annual return, and each year's monthly contributions also compound. The future value formula is the same one used for savings:
FV = PV × (1 + r)^n + PMT × ((1 + r)^n − 1) / r
To get the inflation-adjusted result, the nominal future value is divided by (1 + inflation)^years.
Worked example
Age 30, retire at 65, current savings $25,000, contributing $800/month, expected 7% return, 2.5% inflation:
- Years to retirement: 35
- Projected nominal balance ≈ $1,690,000
- In today's dollars ≈ $715,000 (after inflation)
The inflation adjustment is significant. A nominal number that sounds enormous in 35 years is much more modest in today's purchasing power.
When this is useful
Planning your contribution rate, setting a target retirement age, comparing how much earlier you can retire by saving more, and seeing whether your current trajectory is on track. Particularly useful at age 25–45, when small changes have decades to compound.
What this does not model
Real retirement planning involves tax-advantaged vs taxable accounts, employer matches, social security, withdrawal sequences, healthcare costs, and sequence-of-returns risk. This tool gives you an order-of-magnitude projection; for actionable planning, a fee-only fiduciary advisor or detailed retirement software is appropriate.
Frequently asked questions
What return should I assume?
Common conservative assumption is 6%–7% nominal annual return for a diversified equity-heavy portfolio over 30+ years. Be more conservative if you are closer to retirement or invest mostly in bonds.
Why does this show two numbers?
Nominal future value and inflation-adjusted (real) future value. The latter is what your savings will be worth in today's purchasing power.
How much should I save?
A common starting target is 10–15% of gross income, including any employer match. Lower if you started early and have decades to compound; higher if you started later.