How much money do I need to retire comfortably?

A common benchmark is the 25x rule: multiply your desired annual income by 25. Wanting $4,000/month ($48,000/year) means targeting roughly $1,200,000, assuming a 4% annual withdrawal rate.

What is the FIRE movement?

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early — saving aggressively, often 40-70% of income, to accumulate 25x your annual expenses and retire well before the traditional age, then living off a 4% or more conservative 3-3.5% withdrawal rate.

Should I include Social Security or a pension in my calculation?

Yes, if you expect one. Estimate your baseline income from it, then enter only the remaining gap — the extra amount you need from personal savings — as your desired monthly income in the calculator.

What rate of return should I use in a retirement calculator?

Common references: a diversified stock and bond portfolio has averaged roughly 6-8% nominal annually over long periods, government bonds 3-5%, and high-yield savings 2-4%. Use a more conservative rate, around 5-6%, for shorter and safety-critical goals like a down payment.

What's the difference between nominal and real returns?

Nominal is the raw growth rate before inflation; real is what that growth is actually worth in today's purchasing power. The calculator shows both the nominal total and an inflation-adjusted figure so you know what your future money will really buy.

Savings Goal Calculator

Free savings goal & retirement calculator — enter your goal, current savings, interest rate, and timeline to see exactly how much to save per month.

Updated May 2026

Input Variables

Current Age

Years

Retirement Age

Years

Initial Investment

Monthly Contribution

Annual Return

Inflation

TOTAL ACCUMULATED

$ 1.02M +361.6%

Nominal value at retirement

EST. MONTHLY WITHDRAWAL

$ 1,203

Based on 4% safe withdrawal rule

Wealth Growth

35-year accumulation projection

PRINCIPAL GROWTH

METHOD: COMPOUND INTEREST + INFLATION

Results are estimates for educational purposes only. Not financial advice.

How this savings goal calculator works

Two modes: project a goal forward, or work backward from a retirement target

1. Choose your mode

Goal Calculator (forward): enter what you're already saving to see what it grows into. Retirement Planner (reverse): enter your desired income and age instead.

2. Enter your numbers

Current age, target age, monthly contribution or desired income, and the annual return you expect.

3. See your target and required contribution

The calculator applies the 25x rule and shows exactly how much to save every month to reach your number.

What this savings & retirement calculator does

Retirement, FIRE, or any savings goal with a deadline

Applies the 25x rule automatically

Required capital equals your desired annual income times 25, adjusted for inflation across your full timeline.

Forward and reverse calculation

Find the monthly contribution you need to hit a goal, or project what a fixed contribution will actually grow into.

Works for any savings goal, not just retirement

A house down payment, emergency fund, wedding, or a kid's college fund use the same math with different numbers.

Inflation-adjusted results

See both the nominal total at your target date and its real value in today's purchasing power.

100% in your browser

No account, no signup, and no financial data is ever sent to a server.

The 25x rule in practice

How much capital a target monthly income actually requires

Desired monthly income

Capital required

$2,000/month

$600,000

$4,000/month

$1,200,000

$6,000/month

$1,800,000

$10,000/month

$3,000,000

When you'll reach for this calculator

The most common scenarios people run through it

Retirement planning

Reverse mode: enter your age, when you want to stop working, and your desired income — get the exact monthly contribution required.

Financial independence (FIRE)

Use an aggressive return (8-10%), an early target age, and 25x annual expenses as the goal instead of the traditional retirement age.

Emergency fund

Target 3-6x monthly expenses, a conservative return, and a 12-18 month timeline in forward mode.

House down payment

Set a dollar goal, a short-term conservative return, and a 24-60 month window to see the monthly savings needed.

College fund

Estimate the number of years until enrollment, factor in inflation, and see the monthly contribution to start today.

Common mistakes

Waiting to start because retirement feels far away

Saving $500/month from age 25 instead of 35 adds roughly $500,000 more by 65 at a 7% return — time in the market matters more than the size of each contribution.

Ignoring Social Security or a pension in the total

If you'll receive Social Security or a workplace pension, calculate only the income gap you need to cover from personal savings, not your full desired income.

Using a nominal return without accounting for inflation

A 7% nominal return with 3% inflation is really closer to 4% in today's purchasing power — set the inflation field explicitly instead of leaving it at zero.

Why use this calculator

It applies the 25x rule automatically and adjusts for inflation, showing what your target is actually worth in today's purchasing power — not just a nominal number decades out that looks bigger than it really is.

It works the same way for a traditional retirement, an early FIRE target, or a short-term goal like a down payment, so you don't need a different calculator for every scenario.

Traditional retirement vs. FIRE

Two ways to apply the 25x rule — pick the inputs that match your plan

Traditional Retirement

FIRE

Typical target age

65-67

35-50

Savings rate

10-15% of income

40-70% of income

Withdrawal rule

4% rule (25x expenses)

3-3.5% rule (28-33x expenses)

Best fit

Steady career, employer match

High income or low expenses, early exit

Frequently asked questions

It depends on your current age, target retirement age, desired monthly income, and expected return. Switch to the Retirement Planner (reverse) mode and enter your own numbers — the calculator applies the 25x rule and returns your exact required monthly contribution.

Resources

Investopedia — The 4% Rule

Explains William Bengen's research behind the safe withdrawal rate this calculator's 25x rule is based on.

Investor.gov — Compound Interest Calculator

The U.S. SEC's official calculator for cross-checking compound growth projections.

Bogleheads Wiki — Retirement Planning

Community-maintained reference covering savings rates, withdrawal strategies, and account types.