Retirement Calculator

A retirement calculator that answers “how much do I need?”

The retirement calculator estimates the retirement corpus you need to replace your income, what your current savings and monthly contributions are likely to grow to, and whether you are on track. If there is a shortfall, it tells you the extra monthly saving that would close it; if there is a surplus, you can see how far it stretches.

It accounts for the things that matter most over decades: inflation raising your living costs, a yearly step-up in what you save as your salary grows, and different returns before and after retirement. A chart and a year-by-year table show your savings rising to retirement and then being drawn down. It works in rupees, dollars, pounds or any of nearly thirty currencies.

How to use the Retirement Calculator

1. Enter your current age, the age you want to retire and the age to plan until — life expectancy plus a safety margin.
2. Enter your retirement savings today, what you add each month and how much you expect to increase that each year.
3. Enter the monthly income you want in retirement in today’s money — what you would need to live on now.
4. Set the expected yearly return before and after retirement and the inflation rate.
5. Read the corpus needed, your projected savings, the shortfall or surplus and the extra monthly saving, then explore the chart and table.

Retirement Calculator features

How the calculation works

1. Your income at retirement. The income you want in today’s money is grown by inflation until you retire: income at retirement = income today × (1 + inflation)years to retirement. At 6% inflation, ₹50,000 a month today becomes about ₹2.87 lakh a month in 30 years.

2. Corpus needed. This is the present value, at your retirement date, of every monthly withdrawal until the “plan until” age, with withdrawals rising each year with inflation and the remaining money earning your post-retirement return. With that corpus, the money runs out exactly at the end of the plan.

3. Projected savings. Your current savings and monthly contributions are compounded monthly at the pre-retirement return, with contributions made at the start of each month and increased by the step-up rate once a year. Annual returns are converted to an equivalent monthly rate so that 10% a year really compounds to 10%.

4. Gap. Shortfall = corpus needed − projected savings. The extra monthly saving is the starting amount that, stepped up each year and compounded, grows to the shortfall by retirement.

Choosing realistic assumptions

• Returns: long-term returns depend on how you invest. Shares have historically returned more than bonds or deposits but swing more; most people move towards safer assets near retirement, which is why the post-retirement return is usually lower.
• Inflation: use a rate that reflects your country and lifestyle. Healthcare costs often rise faster than general inflation. Check the effect with the inflation calculator.
• Plan until age: plan for longer than average life expectancy — running out of money at 85 is a bigger risk than leaving some behind.
• Other income: if you expect a pension, annuity or rental income, subtract it from the monthly income you need.
• Rules of thumb: the “4% rule” from US research suggests a portfolio of about 25 times your annual spending. It assumes US market history and a 30-year retirement, so treat it as a rough check rather than a plan. For early retirement — Lean, Fat, Coast or Barista FIRE — use the FIRE calculator.

Ways to close a shortfall

Start or increase a monthly investment — the SIP calculator shows how regular investing grows. Raise your step-up rate each time your salary increases, work a few more years (which adds contributions and shortens retirement at the same time), or reduce the income you plan to need. In India, long-term options include EPF, the PPF, NPS and equity mutual funds; in the US, 401(k) plans and IRAs (see the 401(k) calculator with employer match and the Roth IRA calculator); in the UK, workplace pensions, SIPPs and ISAs.

This calculator gives estimates based on the assumptions you enter. Real returns and inflation vary from year to year and taxes are not included, so it is not financial advice — consider speaking to a qualified financial adviser before making major decisions.