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Multi-Account Setup (used by Nest Egg Projection)
How this Retirement Calculator solves real problems
Most online retirement calculators apply a single 4 percent rule to a single balance and give a single number. They ignore employer match, ignore the difference between pre-tax and Roth accounts, ignore required minimum distributions at age 73, ignore Social Security claiming age break-even math, ignore inflation adjustment to today's purchasing power, ignore multi-account aggregation across 401k, IRA, Roth, savings and brokerage, and ignore withdrawal longevity after retirement. The result is usually a number that is wildly off in either direction. A 35 year old who follows a generic 4 percent rule underestimates their employer match by 50 percent, miscalculates their after-tax retirement income by 25 percent, and misses the break-even between claiming Social Security at 62 versus 70 entirely. This calculator combines 4 modes in one tool: Nest Egg Projection with year-by-year breakdown across multiple accounts, Required Corpus with the 4 percent rule and monthly savings to close any gap, Social Security Estimator with break-even analysis between claiming at 62, 67 and 70, and Withdrawal Planner with longevity check and FIRE verdict. The math is reproducible: same inputs always produce the same projection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do I need to retire?
The 4 percent rule says you need about 25 times your annual expenses in retirement saved. If you spend 50,000 dollars a year you need 1.25 million dollars. If you spend 80,000 dollars a year you need 2 million dollars. This assumes a 30 year retirement and a balanced portfolio returning 5 to 7 percent annually above inflation. The Required Corpus mode of this calculator computes the exact number for your expenses and time horizon.
What is the 4 percent rule?
The 4 percent rule is a guideline developed by financial planner William Bengen in 1994. It says if you withdraw 4 percent of your retirement nest egg in year one and then adjust that dollar amount for inflation each year after, your money has historically lasted at least 30 years in retirement across every 30 year period since 1926. The Withdrawal Planner mode of this calculator checks whether your nest egg can support your desired withdrawal rate and time horizon.
When should I claim Social Security?
Claiming at 62 gives you reduced benefits of about 70 to 75 percent of your full retirement age benefit. Claiming at your full retirement age (67 for people born 1960 or later) gives you 100 percent. Waiting to 70 gives you delayed retirement credits of about 8 percent per year after full retirement age, so up to 124 percent of your full benefit. The break-even age between claiming at 62 and 70 is typically 78 to 80. If you expect to live past 80 waiting to 70 wins on cumulative lifetime income. The Social Security Estimator in this tool computes the break-even for your PIA estimate.
How much will my 401k be worth at retirement?
Take your current 401k balance, add your monthly contribution multiplied by 12 months per year for the years until retirement, add any employer match (typically 50 percent to 100 percent of your contribution up to 3 to 6 percent of salary), and grow the total by your expected annual return compounded annually. For example, 50,000 dollars now plus 500 dollars per month for 30 years at 7 percent return with 50 percent employer match becomes roughly 950,000 dollars nominal or 380,000 dollars in today's purchasing power at 3 percent inflation. The Nest Egg Projection mode computes this with year-by-year breakdown.
What is the difference between traditional and Roth IRA?
Traditional IRA contributions are tax deductible now but withdrawals in retirement are taxed as ordinary income. Roth IRA contributions are after-tax now but qualified withdrawals in retirement are tax free. Roth IRAs have income limits (about 150,000 dollars modified adjusted gross income for single filers in 2026) and no required minimum distributions during the original owners lifetime. Traditional IRAs have required minimum distributions starting at age 73. For most people in their 20s and 30s who expect to be in a similar or higher tax bracket in retirement, Roth wins because you pay tax on a smaller dollar amount now. The Multi-Account Aggregator in this tool separates pre-tax and Roth balances.
What is the FIRE movement?
FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. Practitioners save 50 to 70 percent of their income and aim to retire in their 30s or 40s. The math requires about 25 to 33 times annual expenses saved depending on withdrawal rate. A common aggressive target is 25 times expenses with a 4 percent withdrawal rate. The Withdrawal Planner in this calculator supports 2 to 6 percent withdrawal rates so you can stress-test both conservative and FIRE-style scenarios.
How does inflation affect my retirement savings?
Inflation erodes purchasing power. At 3 percent annual inflation, 1 dollar today is worth only 74 cents in 10 years and 55 cents in 20 years. A 500,000 dollar nest egg in 30 years at 3 percent inflation only buys what 246,000 dollars buys today. This calculator shows nominal and real (inflation adjusted) side by side so you can see the actual purchasing power of your projected nest egg. The historical average inflation rate in the US since 1926 is about 3 percent.
What is the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)?
The IRS requires you to start withdrawing a minimum amount from most retirement accounts at age 73 (rising to 75 in 2033 under SECURE Act 2.0). For 2025 the RMD divisor at 73 is 26.5. So if you have 1 million dollars in a traditional IRA at age 73 you must withdraw at least 37,735 dollars that year. Failing to take the full RMD triggers a 25 percent excise tax on the shortfall. Roth IRAs do not require RMDs during the original owners lifetime. The Projection mode in this calculator applies the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table divisors starting at age 73.
Can AI chatbots calculate retirement correctly?
No. AI text models give a single number using a one-line formula like nest egg equals monthly contribution times years times return rate. They ignore employer match, ignore inflation adjustment, ignore the difference between pre-tax and Roth accounts, ignore required minimum distributions, ignore Social Security claiming age break-even math, ignore the 4 percent rule longevity check, and ignore multi-account aggregation. The same inputs to ChatGPT or Claude give a different answer every prompt. This calculator applies all 12 deterministic factors with reproducible math.
Does this work in metric and other currencies?
Yes. Pick any of the 6 currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, INR, JPY, or CNY. The currency symbol and number formatting update everywhere. JPY uses 0 decimals by default while USD/EUR/GBP use 2. INR uses lakh and crore formatting for big numbers. The math itself is currency-neutral so the projection is identical whether you save in dollars, euros, pounds, rupees, yen or yuan.
Is my financial data private?
Yes. Everything runs in your browser using JavaScript. No balances, contributions, returns or projections are sent to any server. Close the tab and your data is gone. The only data persisted is your last inputs in localStorage so the form reloads when you come back. There is no account, no email capture, no analytics tied to your project.
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