Question 1

How much do I need to retire?

Accepted Answer

A common rule of thumb is 25 times your expected annual spending in retirement, which comes from the 4% rule: withdrawing 4% per year has historically let portfolios last 30 years. So if you expect to spend 40,000 a year, aim for roughly 1,000,000. This calculator shows your projected corpus and the monthly income it can sustain.

Question 2

What is "in today's money" and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

A million in 30 years will not buy what a million buys today. The calculator discounts your future corpus by your inflation assumption, showing its purchasing power in current terms. Judge your plan by the today-money number, not the big future number, or inflation will quietly shrink your goal.

Question 3

What return and inflation assumptions should I use?

Accepted Answer

For a long horizon, 6 to 8 percent annual return before inflation is a common cautious assumption for a stock-heavy portfolio, and 2 to 3 percent for inflation in most developed economies. If your country has higher inflation, raise that number. Lower returns and higher inflation both shrink the result, which is why conservative inputs make safer plans.

Question 4

What if my projection looks too low?

Accepted Answer

You have three levers: contribute more each month, retire later (even two extra years of compounding and contributions helps a lot), or review whether your expected return is realistic for your investments. Starting earlier beats all three, because time is the strongest input in the formula.

Retirement Calculator

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How to use the Retirement Calculator

Enter your situation

Set assumptions

Judge the result

About the Retirement Calculator