Retirement number calculator

The nest egg that funds a chosen annual spend, and how many years of saving get you there from today's balance. Not the FIRE calculator (same identity, FIRE label) and not the 4% rule calculator (income at a locked 4%, no wait).

The calculator

Annual spending (today's $)

Withdrawal rate (%)

Current age

Retire age

Already invested ($)

Annual saving ($)

Real return (%)

Retirement number$2,000,00025× spending

Years of saving19.6 years

Portfolio at 60$2,053,298On track for that retirement age

Retire at 40, 45, 50, 55

The same identity, prefilled for the four ages people actually search. Each page has its own inputs and a written answer, not a cloned shell.

Assumptions

End-of-year contributions, one real return, no fees, no taxes. A longer retirement argues for a lower withdrawal rate — see the rule of 25 and the 4% study. The FIRE calculator is this same pair of questions under the FIRE label. The 4% rule calculator locks the rate at 4% and does not compute the wait.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate my retirement number?

Annual spending divided by the withdrawal rate. At 4% that is 25 times spending; at 3.5%, about 29 times. Then add the years of saving needed to get from today’s balance to that target.

Is the retirement number the same as the 4% rule?

The 4% rule is one way to pick the divisor. The number itself is just spending ÷ rate. A longer retirement argues for a lower rate and a larger number.

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