How much do I need to retire?

A common starting point is your desired annual income divided by a safe withdrawal rate. At a 4 percent rate, that is 25 times your annual income need from savings. For $60,000 a year, the target is about $1,500,000. A lower withdrawal rate, such as 3.5 percent, raises the target and the safety margin.

What is the 4 percent rule?

It is a guideline suggesting you can withdraw about 4 percent of your nest egg in the first year of retirement, then adjust for inflation, with a low chance of running out over about 30 years. It comes from historical withdrawal-rate studies. It is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee, and works better as a planning anchor than a precise rule.

Does this account for inflation and Social Security?

No. The figures are nominal and exclude Social Security and pensions, so treat the desired income as the amount you want from savings in retirement-year dollars. Because inflation is not modeled, enter a future-dollar income or apply your own inflation adjustment, and subtract expected Social Security from the income your savings must cover.

The calculator shows the extra annual saving that would close the gap at your assumed return. Beyond saving more, the main levers are working a few years longer (more growth and fewer years to fund), lowering your target income, or accepting a higher withdrawal rate with more risk. Small, early increases compound the most.

Retirement On-Track Calculator

See whether your savings are on track: project your nest egg to retirement and compare it with the target needed to fund your desired income at a safe withdrawal rate.

You are on track when your projected nest egg at retirement meets the target needed to fund your desired income at a safe withdrawal rate. The target is your desired annual income divided by that rate (for example, income divided by 4 percent). This calculator projects today's savings plus your contributions to retirement, compares it with the target, and sizes any shortfall as the extra you would need to save each year.

X f in

On-track status

behind

Whether your projected nest egg is ahead of, on, or behind the target.

Surplus or shortfall: -$422,243.58
Projected nest egg at retirement: $1,077,756.42
Target nest egg: $1,500,000.00
Extra annual savings to close the gap: $5,340.92
Years to retirement: 30 years

Projected nest egg vs target

Assumptions

The projected nest egg is today's savings grown at the expected return, plus your annual contributions grown as a series (optionally increasing each year). Both pieces use the shared time-value engine, not a re-derived formula. Growth is applied annually.
The target nest egg is your desired annual retirement income divided by the safe withdrawal rate (for example, $60,000 at 4 percent is a $1,500,000 target). The 4 percent rule is a widely cited guideline from withdrawal-rate research, not a guarantee; a lower rate is more conservative.
All figures are nominal dollars and are NOT adjusted for inflation. The desired income is treated as a retirement-year (future) amount, so if you enter today's dollars the target understates what you will actually need. Returns are assumed steady; real markets vary, and a bad sequence of returns early in retirement raises the risk a fixed withdrawal rate runs out.
Not modeled: inflation, Social Security or pension income, taxes on withdrawals (Traditional balances are taxed, Roth is not), required minimum distributions, fees, and changing contributions or returns over time. The shortfall figure is the level extra annual saving that would reach the target at the same return, and assumes you start saving it now.
This is an estimate for educational purposes only, not financial advice. Use it to gauge direction, not as a precise plan. Consult a qualified professional for retirement planning.

Key terms

Definitions for the terms this calculator uses, in our finance glossary .

Safe Withdrawal Rate (4% Rule)

How it works

Being on track means your projected nest egg at retirement meets the target needed to fund your desired income. The calculator builds both numbers and compares them.

The projection is today’s savings grown at your expected return, plus your annual contributions grown as a series (optionally rising each year as your salary does). Both pieces use the shared time-value engine, so the headline projection and the chart always agree.

The target is the nest egg that supports your desired income at a safe withdrawal rate: desired annual income divided by the withdrawal rate. At a 4 percent rate, that is 25 times the income you want from savings. The 4 percent rule comes from withdrawal-rate research and is a planning guideline, not a guarantee.

The difference is your surplus or shortfall. If you are short, the calculator sizes the gap as the extra level amount you would need to save each year, at the same return, to reach the target. That uses the inverse of the same growth formula, so it is consistent with the projection.

Worked example

Age 35 retiring at 65, with $50,000 saved, adding $10,000 a year at a 6 percent return, wanting $60,000 a year from savings at a 4 percent withdrawal rate:

Projected nest egg at 65: $50,000 grown 30 years, plus 30 years of $10,000 contributions, which is about $1,077,756.42.
Target nest egg: $60,000 divided by 4 percent = $1,500,000.
Shortfall: about $422,243.58 behind.
To close it: saving roughly $5,340.92 more per year (on top of the $10,000) would reach the target by 65 at the same 6 percent return.

The biggest levers on a shortfall are saving more, working a few years longer, or lowering the target income.

Scope and limitations

All figures are nominal dollars and are NOT adjusted for inflation, so treat the desired income as a retirement-year amount. Not modeled: inflation, Social Security or pension income, taxes on withdrawals (Traditional balances are taxed, Roth is not), required minimum distributions, fees, and sequence-of-returns risk (a bad early market can exhaust a fixed withdrawal rate even when the average return holds). This is an estimate for education, not advice.

Sources

Investor.gov (SEC), Retirement planning tools and saving
IRS, Retirement topics: required minimum distributions
The 4 percent rule originates in withdrawal-rate research (Bengen, 1994; the Trinity study, 1998).

Frequently asked questions

How much do I need to retire?: A common starting point is your desired annual income divided by a safe withdrawal rate. At a 4 percent rate, that is 25 times your annual income need from savings. For $60,000 a year, the target is about $1,500,000. A lower withdrawal rate, such as 3.5 percent, raises the target and the safety margin.
What is the 4 percent rule?: It is a guideline suggesting you can withdraw about 4 percent of your nest egg in the first year of retirement, then adjust for inflation, with a low chance of running out over about 30 years. It comes from historical withdrawal-rate studies. It is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee, and works better as a planning anchor than a precise rule.
Does this account for inflation and Social Security?: No. The figures are nominal and exclude Social Security and pensions, so treat the desired income as the amount you want from savings in retirement-year dollars. Because inflation is not modeled, enter a future-dollar income or apply your own inflation adjustment, and subtract expected Social Security from the income your savings must cover.
What if I am behind?: The calculator shows the extra annual saving that would close the gap at your assumed return. Beyond saving more, the main levers are working a few years longer (more growth and fewer years to fund), lowering your target income, or accepting a higher withdrawal rate with more risk. Small, early increases compound the most.

Related calculators

Learn how this works

New to this topic? Our companion guide explains it in plain language: Are You On Track for Retirement? How to Actually Run the Numbers

Last reviewed June 2026.