Finance & money · Investment
Retirement Savings Calculator
Project how much you'll have at retirement based on current savings, monthly contributions, expected return, and years to invest. Free retirement calculator with compound growth.
How it works
Projects your retirement savings balance based on your current nest egg, monthly contributions, expected annual return, and years until retirement. Uses the future value formula for compound interest with regular contributions. This is an illustrative projection, not a financial guarantee.
Formula
FV = PV·(1+r)ⁿ + PMT·((1+r)ⁿ − 1)/r
- PV
- Current savings (present value)
- PMT
- Monthly contribution
- r
- Monthly return rate (annual rate ÷ 12 ÷ 100)
- n
- Total months (years × 12)
Step by step
- 1Convert the annual return to a monthly rate by dividing by 12 and 100.
- 2Calculate the future value of your current savings growing at that rate over n months.
- 3Calculate the future value of all monthly contributions using the annuity formula.
- 4Add both to get your projected retirement balance.
Examples
$25k savings, $500/month, 7%, 30 years
Starting with $25k and contributing $500/month at 7% return, you'd have roughly $787k after 30 years — of which $582k is investment growth.
Inputs
- current_savings:
- 25000
- monthly_contribution:
- 500
- annual_return:
- 7
- years:
- 30
Result
- future_value:
- 787484
- total_contributed:
- 205000
Frequently asked questions
What annual return should I use?▾
7% is a common estimate for a diversified stock portfolio (US market historical average inflation-adjusted). Conservative investors might use 5–6%; aggressive assumptions might use 8–10%. Actual returns vary significantly year to year.
Does this include inflation?▾
No. To account for inflation, subtract the expected inflation rate from your expected return. For example, if you expect 7% returns and 3% inflation, use 4% as your real return.