Project your retirement nest egg, cross-check it against the classic 4% rule, and simulate month-by-month whether your savings will last through retirement.
Enter Your Retirement Details
Fill in your age, savings, and income goals to see if you're on track.
The retirement calculator answers the broad "will I have enough?" question by projecting your retirement nest egg, comparing it against the widely cited 4% rule, and then running a month-by-month drawdown simulation to see whether your savings realistically last through your life expectancy. It's built for anyone checking their overall retirement readiness across all their accounts combined, not any single account type.
The calculator runs in two phases. In the accumulation phase, it compounds your current savings plus monthly contributions, monthly, at your expected pre-retirement return, from your current age to your retirement age — this produces your projected nest egg. It also inflates your desired monthly retirement income (entered in today's dollars) forward to your retirement date, so the target reflects real future purchasing power, not today's prices. In the drawdown phase, it simulates withdrawing that (continually inflation-adjusted) monthly amount from your nest egg every month from retirement age through your life expectancy, applying a separate, typically more conservative post-retirement return to what remains — tracking whether the balance lasts the full period or runs out early.
This tool is useful for anyone who wants a big-picture check on retirement readiness across all their accounts combined — early-career savers wanting to see the long-term effect of their current contribution rate, mid-career savers checking whether they're on pace, and near-retirees stress-testing whether their nest egg will actually last. It works alongside NeftCal's 401(k) Calculator, Roth IRA Calculator, and Social Security Calculator for a fuller retirement-income picture.
A single "nest egg" number in isolation doesn't tell you much — what matters is whether that nest egg can actually sustain your desired lifestyle for as long as you might live. Combining a simple heuristic (the 4% rule) with a more detailed month-by-month simulation gives you two independent sanity checks on the same question, which is more informative than either alone, and helps you catch a shortfall while there's still time to adjust your plan.
Two simulated phases: monthly compounding growth, then monthly inflation-adjusted withdrawals
The 4% rule gives you a quick, rough target; the month-by-month simulation gives you a more detailed (though still simplified) picture using your specific inputs. Use them together, not in isolation.
This simulation assumes a constant, smooth return every year — real markets don't work that way. A market downturn early in retirement can be far more damaging than the same downturn later, even with identical average returns.
From your current age to a full accumulation-and-drawdown projection
These three ages define your accumulation phase (now to retirement) and your drawdown phase (retirement to life expectancy) — the two simulations this calculator runs.
Combine all retirement accounts (401(k), IRA, brokerage, and similar) into one current savings figure, then enter how much you save toward retirement each month.
Enter an expected annual return while you're still contributing, and a typically lower, more conservative return for the drawdown phase after you retire.
Enter your desired retirement income in today's dollars — the calculator inflates it forward to your retirement date and continues adjusting it for inflation throughout retirement.
See your projected nest egg, the 4% rule target, and a month-by-month drawdown simulation showing whether your savings are projected to last through your life expectancy, plus two charts for a visual read.
Using the calculator's own default scenario — a 30-year-old saving $800/month
Suppose you're 30 years old with $30,000 saved, contributing $800/month, planning to retire at 65 and hoping your savings last to age 90. You expect a 7% return before retirement and a more conservative 4% return after, want $5,000/month in today's dollars, and assume 3% inflation.
Explanation: This default scenario intentionally illustrates a shortfall so you can see what one looks like: a $5,000/month (today's dollars) retirement goal is an ambitious target for a $30,000 starting balance and $800/month contribution. Applying one of the three levers — increasing the monthly contribution, delaying retirement age, or lowering the desired income — moves the projected nest egg and drawdown outcome significantly. Try increasing the monthly contribution to around $2,000, or delaying retirement to 70, to see the projected outcome improve.
What your nest egg, 4% rule comparison, and drawdown outcome actually tell you
The vs 4% Rule Target percentage and the drawdown outcome together give you a quick read on how on-track your current plan is.
| Nest Egg vs. 4% Rule Target | General Read | Typical Next Step |
|---|---|---|
| 100% or more | On track or ahead of the 4% rule benchmark | Confirm with the drawdown simulation; consider if you could retire earlier |
| 70% – 100% | Reasonably close, may still work with adjustments | Small increases to contributions or a slightly later retirement age often close the gap |
| Under 70% | Significant projected shortfall | Revisit contribution rate, retirement age, and desired income together |
If your drawdown simulation shows your savings lasting through your life expectancy: that's a good sign, but remember it assumes smooth, constant returns — a real portfolio experiences volatility that this simplified model doesn't capture, so treat "on track" as a directionally positive signal, not a guarantee.
If your savings are projected to run out early: the depletion age tells you roughly how many years short you are — use that gap to prioritize which lever (contributions, retirement age, or desired income) would close it most efficiently for your situation.
Risk considerations: this calculator doesn't model sequence-of-returns risk, Social Security, pensions, taxes, or healthcare costs — all of which can meaningfully shift your real retirement outcome. Use the result as a planning estimate, not a final answer.
This tool provides general estimates for educational and planning purposes only and does not constitute personalized financial, tax, or investment advice. Actual investment returns, inflation, and life expectancy vary — consult a licensed financial advisor before making retirement decisions.
Where a combined nest-egg-and-drawdown projection earns its keep
Get a periodic big-picture read on whether your current savings rate is on track.
Model an aggressive early retirement age and see how it strains the nest egg lasting.
See exactly how much increasing your monthly contribution moves the projected outcome.
Compare retiring at 62, 65, or 70 to see the effect on both nest egg size and drawdown longevity.
Bring a starting projection into a conversation with a financial planner.
Layer this savings-only projection with NeftCal's Social Security Calculator for a fuller income picture.
Combine balances across accounts to see your total retirement readiness in one number.
Model a household's combined savings and desired retirement income together.
Lower the post-retirement return assumption to stress-test a more conservative market outlook.
See how a higher inflation assumption raises the future dollar amount you'll actually need.
What this retirement calculator does well, and where it can't replace professional advice
Two different ways this calculator checks whether your nest egg is enough
| Feature | 4% Rule Target | Month-by-Month Drawdown Simulation |
|---|---|---|
| What it shows | A single target nest-egg size | Whether your actual projected nest egg lasts the full retirement period |
| Inputs used | Inflation-adjusted desired income only | Nest egg, post-retirement return, inflation, and life expectancy |
| Best for | A fast, rule-of-thumb sanity check | A more detailed, input-specific projection |
| Key limitation | Ignores your specific return assumptions and retirement length | Still assumes a constant, smooth return with no volatility |
Common questions about retirement savings planning
Official guidance to complement this calculator — not a substitute for licensed financial advice
Other US retirement planning tools