{
    "name": "Retirement Calculator",
    "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/retirement-calculator",
    "markdown": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/retirement-calculator.md",
    "category": "Finance",
    "description": "Project your savings at retirement, the nest egg needed for an inflation-linked income, any shortfall, the extra yearly saving to close it and how long money lasts.",
    "summary": "Your savings grow until you retire, then fund an income that rises with inflation. The calculator compares what you are on track to have with what that income needs, year by year.",
    "also_called": [
        "Retirement planner",
        "Nest egg calculator"
    ],
    "applies_to": "Worldwide",
    "last_updated": "2026-10-29",
    "computation": "Results are computed in the visitor’s browser on the HTML page. This API describes the calculator; it does not compute results.",
    "inputs": [
        {
            "name": "age",
            "label": "Current age",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "35",
            "unit": "years"
        },
        {
            "name": "retire_age",
            "label": "Retirement age",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "65",
            "unit": "years"
        },
        {
            "name": "end_age",
            "label": "Plan for income until age",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "90",
            "unit": "years"
        },
        {
            "name": "savings",
            "label": "Current retirement savings",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "50000",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "contribution",
            "label": "Amount you save each year",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "10000",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "return_pre",
            "label": "Return before retirement",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "6",
            "unit": "% a year"
        },
        {
            "name": "return_post",
            "label": "Return during retirement",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "4",
            "unit": "% a year"
        },
        {
            "name": "inflation",
            "label": "Inflation",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "2.5",
            "unit": "% a year",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "income",
            "label": "Yearly income wanted in retirement (today’s money)",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "50000"
        },
        {
            "name": "other_income",
            "label": "Pension or other income (today’s money)",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "20000",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "currency",
            "label": "Currency",
            "type": "currency",
            "default": "USD"
        }
    ],
    "outputs": [
        {
            "key": "gap",
            "label": "Shortfall at retirement (negative = surplus)",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "at_retirement",
            "label": "Projected savings at retirement",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "needed",
            "label": "Savings needed at retirement",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "extra_saving",
            "label": "Extra saving needed each year",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "lasts",
            "label": "Savings last",
            "format": "text"
        },
        {
            "key": "at_retirement_today",
            "label": "Projected savings in today’s money",
            "format": "currency"
        }
    ],
    "formula": {
        "text": "Savings at retirement = S(1+g)^n + C((1+g)^n − 1)/g;  W₁ = (Income − Other) × (1+f)^n;  Needed = W₁ × (1 − q^m)/(1 − q), q = (1+f)/(1+h);  Extra = Shortfall × g/((1+g)^n − 1)",
        "variables": {
            "S": "current savings",
            "C": "yearly saving (end of each year)",
            "g": "return before retirement",
            "h": "return in retirement",
            "f": "inflation",
            "n": "years to retirement",
            "m": "years of retirement income",
            "W₁": "first withdrawal, taken at the start of each retirement year"
        }
    },
    "worked_example": {
        "inputs": {
            "age": "35",
            "retire_age": "65",
            "end_age": "90",
            "savings": "50000",
            "contribution": "10000",
            "return_pre": "6",
            "return_post": "4",
            "inflation": "2.5",
            "income": "50000",
            "other_income": "20000",
            "currency": "USD"
        },
        "steps": [
            "Growth over 30 years: 50,000 × 1.06^30 = 287,174.56; 10,000 a year grows to 10,000 × (1.06^30 − 1)/0.06 = 790,581.86; total $1,077,756.42.",
            "The 30,000 a year you need from savings becomes 30,000 × 1.025^30 = $62,927.03 in the first year of retirement.",
            "Funding 25 inflation-linked withdrawals at a 4% return needs $1,328,752.83, leaving a shortfall of $250,996.40.",
            "Closing it needs 250,996.40 × 0.06 ÷ (1.06^30 − 1) = $3,174.83 more saving a year."
        ],
        "result": "On this plan savings reach about $1.08 million but $1.33 million is needed, so the money runs out at about age 84 unless you save $3,174.83 more a year."
    },
    "interpretation": "A shortfall means the plan does not fund the income until the age you chose. Close it by saving more, retiring later, spending less or planning on other income. Try a lower return as well: the result is very sensitive to it.",
    "assumptions": [
        "Returns and inflation are constant every year.",
        "Savings are added at the end of each year before retirement; withdrawals are taken at the start of each year in retirement.",
        "Income figures are before tax; taxes on withdrawals are not modelled."
    ],
    "limitations": [
        "Real returns vary from year to year, and a bad sequence early in retirement can deplete savings sooner than an average suggests.",
        "Pension and social security amounts are your own estimates; no benefit rules are built in."
    ],
    "rules": null,
    "faqs": [
        {
            "question": "What return should I assume?",
            "answer": "Use a cautious long-run figure for your actual mix of investments, net of fees. Lower returns during retirement reflect a more conservative portfolio."
        },
        {
            "question": "Why plan to age 90 or beyond?",
            "answer": "Many people live well into their 90s. Planning for a long life reduces the risk of running out of money."
        }
    ],
    "sources": [],
    "related": [
        {
            "name": "401(k) Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/401k-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Investment Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/investment-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Inflation Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/inflation-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Savings Goal Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/savings-goal-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Compound Interest Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/compound-interest-calculator"
        }
    ],
    "disclaimer": "Returns are illustrations at a constant rate, not predictions or guarantees. Investments can lose value. This is not investment advice.",
    "publisher": "GM¹X CalcVerse"
}