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How Much Should I Save for Retirement?

How much should I save for retirement?

Enter your ages, savings and the spending you want, and see the savings you would need and what to save each month, in today's dollars.

One Click Answers · How Much Should I Save for Retirement?
oneclickanswers.com/how-much-should-i-save-for-retirement · Printed
About this tool & how to use it

What it does

See how much you would need saved to retire at your age, what to save each month to get there, and where your current saving leads, in today's dollars.

How to use it

  1. Enter your age now, the age you want to retire, what you have saved and what you save each month.
  2. Enter the yearly spending you want in retirement and any other yearly income you expect, such as Social Security.
  3. Open "More costs and options" to change the return after inflation, the share you take out each year and the inflation figure.
  4. Press "Get a detailed answer" for the full breakdown, charts, side-by-side scenarios and a plain-language explanation of how the answer was worked out.

Leave blank or 0 to see the full amount you would need to save.

In today's dollars, before income tax. A common starting point is somewhat less than your pay now.

Social Security, a pension. In today's dollars. Use 0 if you are not counting on any.

More costs and options

Entered after inflation so everything stays in today's dollars. 4 is a placeholder, not a promise.

A rule of thumb: 4% is the usual starting point. A lower share is more cautious.

Only used to show the goal in the dollars of the year you retire.

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Assumptions

  • The return after inflation, the share you take out each year and the other income are placeholders or your own numbers. None is a forecast.
  • Left out: income tax on withdrawals, investment fees, changes in your income or spending, rising healthcare costs and how long you will live.
  • Saving is added once a year, at the end of the year.
  • Everything you enter, including any income or budget, is worked out in your browser and is never sent anywhere or saved.

Printed from oneclickanswers.com. Results are estimates based on what was entered; see the assumptions above.

How we calculated this

The yearly amount your savings must supply is the spending you want less your other income. Dividing it by the share you plan to take out each year gives the savings you would need.

Your savings are followed year by year, with the return you chose and your saving added at the end of each year, the same way the When Can I Retire? calculator does it. That shows where your current saving gets you and the earliest age it reaches the goal.

The monthly amount that reaches the goal exactly at your retirement age is found from the same year-by-year rule and rounded up to the cent.

Everything is in today's dollars because the return is entered after inflation. The inflation figure is used only to show the goal in the dollars of the year you retire.

Formulas and details
  • Savings needed = (yearly spending - other yearly income) / withdrawal share.
  • Each year: balance = balance x (1 + return) + yearly saving, with the saving added at the end of the year.
  • Monthly saving needed = (savings needed - what current savings grow to) / (growth of $1 saved each year) / 12, rounded up to the cent.
  • Goal in future dollars = goal x (1 + inflation)^years.

Assumptions

  • The return after inflation, the share you take out each year and the other income are placeholders or your own numbers. None is a forecast.
  • Left out: income tax on withdrawals, investment fees, changes in your income or spending, rising healthcare costs and how long you will live.
  • Saving is added once a year, at the end of the year.
  • Everything you enter, including any income or budget, is worked out in your browser and is never sent anywhere or saved.

Example

Input: Age 35, retiring at 65 with $50,000 saved and $500 a month, wanting $60,000 a year with $24,000 of other income, a 4% return after inflation and a 4% yearly withdrawal

Result: Under these assumptions you would need about $900,000 saved, which means saving about $1,096.30 a month; at $500 a month you would have about $498,680, which is short.

Questions

Is 4% a safe withdrawal rate?

It is a common rule of thumb, not a guarantee. You can change it: a lower share needs more savings and is more cautious.

Why are the numbers in today's dollars?

The return is entered after inflation, so every amount keeps today's buying power and is easy to compare with what you spend now.

Does this include Social Security?

Only if you type it in as other yearly income. Use your own statement; the page does not look anything up.

Why does retiring later help so much?

It gives you more years of saving and growth and fewer years to pay for. The table of other retirement ages shows the difference.

Last reviewed 2026-10-09. Report an incorrect result

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