Skip to main content

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).

Updated · By Berkay Kolay

The calculator

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. To compare your number with what households your age have saved, see the average 401(k) balance by age, retirement savings by age and average net worth by age.

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, and the Coast FIRE calculator asks when you could stop saving. 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.
FIRE calculatorTry the live demoStart for free