PureTools
Retirement Savings & Withdrawal Planner
Project your nest egg, check if you're on track, and see how long your savings will last, all in your browser, nothing uploaded.
Your savings details
Year-by-year projection
| Year | Age | Contributions | Growth | Balance |
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Your nest egg details
Scenario comparison
| Rate | Annual amount | Years until depleted | Assessment |
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How to use the Retirement Calculator
The calculator has two independent tools. Use the Savings Planner to project your nest egg at retirement and check whether your current savings rate will reach your goal. Use the Withdrawal Planner to model how long a given nest egg will last at different annual spending levels, essential for anyone planning to retire soon or testing an early retirement scenario.
- Savings Planner, enter your ages, set your current age and the age at which you plan to retire.
- Enter your savings details, current total savings, how much you add each month, and the annual return you expect from your portfolio (7% is a common conservative estimate for a diversified fund).
- Set your retirement income goal, enter the monthly income you want from your investments. If you expect Social Security or a pension, enter only the amount your nest egg needs to cover.
- Click Calculate, the planner shows your projected nest egg, the required amount based on the 4% rule, a readiness score, and the exact monthly contribution needed to close any gap.
- Withdrawal Planner, switch to this tab to test a specific nest egg size. Enter your annual spending and the expected return in retirement (typically lower and more conservative than during accumulation). The tool models how long your money lasts at 3%, 4%, and 5% withdrawal rates side by side.
- Copy summary, export either result as plain text for a financial advisor, spreadsheet, or personal records.
The 4% rule explained
The 4% rule originates from the 1994 Trinity Study, which analyzed historical US stock and bond returns and found that withdrawing 4% of a balanced portfolio in year one, then adjusting annually for inflation, survived 30-year retirements in 95%+ of historical scenarios. In practice: a $1 million nest egg supports $40,000 per year, or $3,333 per month. Conversely, to fund $4,000 per month in retirement, you need $4,000 × 12 ÷ 0.04 = $1.2 million. The rule is a starting point, not a guarantee: it assumes a diversified stock/bond portfolio, a 30-year horizon, and US market conditions. Early retirees (40–50 year horizon) often target 3–3.5% to add a safety margin.
Nominal vs. real (inflation-adjusted) projections
A nominal projection shows the raw dollar balance at retirement, the number your brokerage account will display. A real projection discounts that number by cumulative inflation to show its purchasing power in today's dollars. Over 35 years at 3% inflation, $1 million nominal is worth only about $356,000 in today's money. This calculator always shows both figures so you can plan around what your savings will actually buy, not just what they will read. The required nest egg is expressed in today's dollars, the comparison to your real projected balance is therefore apples-to-apples.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need to retire?
The 4% rule, a widely cited guideline from the 1994 Trinity Study, suggests you need 25 times your planned annual retirement spending as a nest egg. If you plan to spend $50,000 per year, the target is roughly $1.25 million. This calculator computes your personal goal automatically from your desired monthly income and shows whether your current savings rate will reach it before your target retirement age.
What is the 4% rule and is it still valid?
The 4% rule comes from the 1994 Trinity Study, which found that withdrawing 4% of a balanced stock-and-bond portfolio annually survived 30-year retirements in nearly every historical US market scenario. Some planners now recommend 3.3–3.5% for longer retirements or early retirees. The Withdrawal Planner tab shows years to depletion at 3%, 4%, and 5% withdrawal rates so you can judge the full range rather than relying on a single number.
What annual return should I use for retirement projections?
A common assumption for a diversified stock-and-bond retirement portfolio is 6–8% nominal return before inflation. The S&P 500 has averaged roughly 10% annually over long periods, but most retirement planners use 6–7% to account for bond allocation, fees, and sequence-of-returns risk. This calculator applies your nominal return and inflation separately to show both a nominal projected balance and the real purchasing-power value in today's dollars, always review both figures.
How does inflation affect retirement savings?
Inflation silently erodes purchasing power over decades. At 3% annual inflation, $1 million today is worth only about $550,000 in purchasing power 20 years from now. This calculator shows your projected nest egg in both nominal dollars and today's dollars so you can see what your savings will actually buy at retirement, not just the numerical balance. Always plan with inflation in mind, it is the biggest hidden risk in long-term financial planning. To model how a lump sum grows over time, see the Compound Interest Calculator.
What is a safe withdrawal rate?
The safe withdrawal rate is the annual percentage of your nest egg you can spend without running out of money over a typical 25–35 year retirement. At 4%, a $1 million nest egg yields $40,000 per year or about $3,333 per month. Lower rates such as 3% provide a larger safety margin for long retirements or bad market timing; higher rates such as 5% work only with generous expected returns or shorter time horizons. The Withdrawal Planner models each scenario so you can see the tradeoffs directly.
How much should I save each month for retirement?
A common guideline is saving 15% of gross income including any employer match, starting in your 20s. The exact amount depends on when you start, your current savings, expected return, and your retirement income goal. This calculator solves for the required monthly contribution automatically, enter your details and the Savings Planner shows exactly how much you need to save each month to reach your target nest egg by your retirement age.
Does this calculator account for Social Security or pension income?
The Savings Planner focuses on the personal investment nest egg your savings need to generate. To account for Social Security or pension income, subtract that expected monthly amount from your total desired monthly spending and enter the difference as your desired retirement income. For example, if you want $5,000 per month and expect $2,000 from Social Security, enter $3,000 as the income your nest egg needs to cover.
Is my retirement data stored or shared?
No. All calculations run entirely in your browser, nothing is sent to a server, logged, or shared with anyone. Your inputs are saved only in sessionStorage to preserve your work while the tab is open and are automatically erased when you close the tab. PureTools has no account system and collects no personal financial data of any kind. Your data is never used to train AI models or improve machine learning systems.