Projecting Your Retirement Balance
This calculator compounds your current savings and monthly contributions from today until your chosen retirement age, then shows the result two ways: the nominal balance (actual future dollars) and the balance in today's purchasing power, adjusted for your assumed inflation rate.
Real balance = Nominal balance ÷ (1 + inflation)years
The 4% Rule
Popularized by the 1998 "Trinity Study," the 4% rule estimates a starting withdrawal rate with a historically low chance of depleting a diversified portfolio over a 30-year retirement: withdraw 4% of your balance in year one, then adjust that dollar amount for inflation each year after. It is a starting point for planning, not a guarantee — sequence of returns, fees and a retirement longer than 30 years can all change what is truly safe.
Worked Example
Age 30, retiring at 65, starting with $20,000 and contributing $500/month at a 7% expected return: nominal balance ≈ $1,130,650. Adjusted for 2.5% average inflation over 35 years, that is worth about $476,000 in today's dollars — still substantial, but a very different number than the headline figure suggests. Under the 4% rule that nominal balance supports roughly $3,770/month of starting withdrawal income.
Why "Today's Dollars" Matters
A million dollars in 35 years will not buy what a million dollars buys today. Looking only at the nominal number tends to overstate how comfortable retirement will feel — the inflation-adjusted figure is the more honest one to plan around.
Assumes constant contributions and returns. Does not model Social Security, pensions, healthcare costs or required minimum distributions.