Retirement Number Calculator

It depends on your expenses in retirement, any income you'll already have (Social Security, a pension), and what return you expect your investments to earn once you're living off them. The formula: annual income gap ÷ expected income rate. A $40,000 annual gap at a 5% income rate means roughly $800,000 invested. There's no single number that applies to everyone.

For the rate your assets pay you during retirement, conservative dividend stocks and bonds typically run 2-5%, while real estate or a mixed portfolio might support 5-8%. For the growth rate needed to build your nest egg beforehand, it depends entirely on your savings, timeline, and monthly contributions — that's what this calculator solves for.

A high required rate is information, not a verdict. Your real levers are saving more each month, retiring later, spending less in retirement, or accepting a more aggressive investment strategy. Most people end up adjusting some combination of all four.

It's a reasonable starting point, though many planners now suggest 3-3.5% given lower expected future returns and longer lifespans. This calculator lets you set your own target income rate rather than assuming one fixed number.

Use your total expected retirement spending — essentials like housing and healthcare plus discretionary spending like travel and hobbies. Leaving out the discretionary side tends to produce a number that looks achievable on paper but doesn't match the retirement you actually want.