How does the Retirement Calculator estimate my balance at retirement?

It compounds your current savings at the pre-retirement return you enter and adds the future value of your monthly contributions over the years remaining until your retirement age, using standard monthly compounding.

How does the Retirement Calculator figure out my monthly income in retirement?

It treats your projected balance as an annuity that pays out equally over the number of retirement years you enter, at the post-retirement return you specify, fully depleting the balance by the end of that term.

What does the shortfall or surplus figure in the Retirement Calculator mean?

Shortfall is your expected monthly expenses minus the monthly income your projected balance supports. A positive shortfall means the plan falls short; a negative shortfall (shown as a surplus) means the projected income covers expenses with room to spare.

Is the Retirement Calculator's projection financial advice?

No. It produces mathematical estimates only, not financial advice, based on the numbers and return assumptions you enter. Actual investment returns, inflation, taxes, and expenses will vary, so verify important retirement decisions with a qualified financial professional.

Does the Retirement Calculator upload my savings or income figures?

No. All calculations run locally in your browser. The ages, savings, contribution, and expense figures you enter stay on your device and are never uploaded to ArrayKit.

Can the Retirement Calculator use different returns before and after retirement?

Yes. It uses one expected annual return for the years you're still contributing and a separate expected annual return for the years you're withdrawing, since many people shift to a more conservative allocation after retiring.

Retirement Calculator Online

Project your retirement balance and the monthly income it can support, right in your browser. Estimates only, not financial advice.

Your ages, savings, contribution, and expense figures are estimates only, not financial advice, and are calculated locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded to ArrayKit.

Open the 401(k) Calculator

About Retirement Calculator

Retirement Calculator projects whether your current savings and ongoing contributions are on track to fund the retirement you want. Enter your current age, planned retirement age, current savings, monthly contribution, and expected pre-retirement return, and it grows that balance forward to your retirement age. It then estimates the sustainable monthly income that balance supports over your chosen number of retirement years at an expected post-retirement return, and compares it against your expected monthly expenses to show a shortfall or surplus. It is useful for checking whether to save more, retire later, or adjust planned spending before you get there. These are estimates only, not financial advice — verify with a qualified professional. Everything runs locally in your browser; your figures are never uploaded.

Features

Grows current savings plus monthly contributions to your chosen retirement age
Applies separate pre-retirement and post-retirement expected annual returns
Estimates the sustainable monthly income your projected balance supports
Compares that income against expected monthly expenses to show shortfall or surplus
Clear warning or success banner depending on whether you're projected to fall short
Copy a plain-text summary of the full projection in one click
Clear error messages for an invalid age, savings, or return input
Runs entirely in your browser with no financial figures sent anywhere

How to use the Retirement Calculator

Enter your current age, planned retirement age, and current savings
Enter your monthly contribution and expected pre-retirement annual return
Enter how many years the savings should last and the post-retirement return
Enter your expected monthly expenses in retirement
Review the projected balance, monthly income, and shortfall or surplus

Example

Input

age 30->65, $50k, $500/mo, 7%

Output

Balance at 65: ~$1.1M

Common errors & troubleshooting

Expected return typed as a decimal (0.07) instead of a percentage. — Enter the pre- and post-retirement returns as whole percentages, such as 7, not 0.07 — the calculator already divides by 100 internally.
Retirement age field is rejected with an error. — Enter a retirement age greater than your current age; the calculator needs a positive number of years to project growth over.
Monthly income supported looks lower than expected for a large balance. — Check the years-in-retirement field — a longer retirement spreads the same balance across more months, lowering the sustainable monthly withdrawal.
Shortfall shown even though savings feel substantial. — Compare the post-retirement return and years-in-retirement fields against expected expenses — a conservative return or a long retirement length reduces the monthly income a balance can sustain.

Frequently asked questions

How does the Retirement Calculator estimate my balance at retirement?: It compounds your current savings at the pre-retirement return you enter and adds the future value of your monthly contributions over the years remaining until your retirement age, using standard monthly compounding.
How does the Retirement Calculator figure out my monthly income in retirement?: It treats your projected balance as an annuity that pays out equally over the number of retirement years you enter, at the post-retirement return you specify, fully depleting the balance by the end of that term.
What does the shortfall or surplus figure in the Retirement Calculator mean?: Shortfall is your expected monthly expenses minus the monthly income your projected balance supports. A positive shortfall means the plan falls short; a negative shortfall (shown as a surplus) means the projected income covers expenses with room to spare.
Is the Retirement Calculator's projection financial advice?: No. It produces mathematical estimates only, not financial advice, based on the numbers and return assumptions you enter. Actual investment returns, inflation, taxes, and expenses will vary, so verify important retirement decisions with a qualified financial professional.
Does the Retirement Calculator upload my savings or income figures?: No. All calculations run locally in your browser. The ages, savings, contribution, and expense figures you enter stay on your device and are never uploaded to ArrayKit.
Can the Retirement Calculator use different returns before and after retirement?: Yes. It uses one expected annual return for the years you're still contributing and a separate expected annual return for the years you're withdrawing, since many people shift to a more conservative allocation after retiring.

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401(k) Calculator — Project 401(k) growth with employer match and contribution limits.
Roth IRA Calculator — Project tax-free Roth IRA growth from contributions and returns.
Pension Calculator — Estimate a defined-benefit pension from salary, service years and accrual rate.
Investment Calculator — Solve for the ending amount, return, contribution or time of an investment.
Annuity Payout Calculator — Find the regular payout a lump sum can provide over a set period.
Savings Calculator — See how a starting balance plus regular deposits grow with interest over time.