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CalcTortoise

Retirement Planner

See how much you need at retirement, whether your saving is on track, and how the plan would have fared through every market since 1928.

Written by the CalcTortoise editorial team · How we work

Saving for retirement

From now until 65: 30 years.

Pensions, investments and savings set aside for retirement.

Assumed: saving raised 3% a year. Change

Invested in

60% US shares, 0% corporate bonds, 40% government bonds

Assumed, not predicted. This mix averaged 8.3% a year from 1928 to 2025. Future returns may be lower — try a smaller figure.

About you

Ages and spending — used by both phases.

years
years
years

Plan for longer than you expect to need — many people live past 85.

What you would spend each month in retirement, in today's money.

Assumed: 3% inflation. Change

US consumer prices rose 3% a year on average from 1928 to 2025. Use the rate where you live.

In retirement

From 65 to 90: expenses are withdrawn each month, rising with inflation.

Assumed: no other income. Change

A state or company pension, or rental income, in today's money (assumed to rise with inflation).

Invested in

30% US shares, 10% corporate bonds, 60% government bonds

Assumed, not predicted. This mix averaged 6.8% a year from 1928 to 2025. Future returns may be lower — try a smaller figure.

On track — more than you need by

$115,410

at age 65, at the expected returns

Illustration only, not investment, tax or legal advice. Returns are assumed, not predicted.

Saving for retirement

Savings at 65

$1,535,298

$1.54 million

  • Put in: $372,543 (savings so far plus monthly savings).
  • Growth: $1,162,755 at 8.3% a year.
  • Saving rises from $600 to $1,414 a month in the last year.

The verdict

Needed at 65
$1,419,888
You will have at 65
$1,535,298
Real markets since 1928
Lasted in 63 of 98

In retirement

Left at 90

$597,756

$597,756

  • Lasts to 90, 25 years of withdrawals.
  • Expenses in the first month: $7,282 ($3,000 today).
  • Withdrawn in all: $3,185,863, growing at 6.8% a year meanwhile.
Your retirement replayed through real markets: 63 of 98 lasted

One square per start year. Hover or tap a square.

Lasted to 90✕ Ran out early

Ran out when retiring into the markets of 1934 (at 89), 1935 (at 88), 1936 (at 85), 1937 (at 82), 1938 (at 86), 1939 (at 83), 1940 (at 83), 1941 (at 83), 1942 (at 88), 1944 (at 89), 1945 (at 88), 1946 (at 85), 1955 (at 88), 1956 (at 87), 1957 (at 87), 1958 (at 88), 1959 (at 86), 1960 (at 86), 1961 (at 85), 1962 (at 84), 1963 (at 83), 1964 (at 82), 1965 (at 81), 1966 (at 81), 1967 (at 81), 1968 (at 81), 1969 (at 81), 1970 (at 84), 1971 (at 83), 1972 (at 81), 1973 (at 81), 1974 (at 85), 2020 (at 89), 2021 (at 86), 2022 (at 87).

You are on course for $1.54 million at 65, more than the $1.42 million needed to cover your expenses until 90. Replayed through real markets since 1928, the money lasted in 63 of 98 histories — a bad run of years early in retirement can still empty it.

A 5.7% withdrawal rate has often been exhausted over long retirements; 3–4% is more cautious.

Your savings over your lifetime

Year by year, by age

YearSavedWithdrawnGrowthBalance
Age 36$7,200$0$2,810$40,010
Age 37$7,416$0$3,650$51,076
Age 38$7,638$0$4,579$63,293
Age 39$7,868$0$5,603$76,763
Age 40$8,104$0$6,731$91,598
Age 41$8,347$0$7,973$107,918
Age 42$8,597$0$9,339$125,855
Age 43$8,855$0$10,839$145,549
Age 44$9,121$0$12,486$167,155
Age 45$9,394$0$14,291$190,841
Age 46$9,676$0$16,269$216,786
Age 47$9,966$0$18,436$245,189
Age 48$10,265$0$20,807$276,261
Age 49$10,573$0$23,399$310,233
Age 50$10,891$0$26,233$347,357
Age 51$11,217$0$29,329$387,903
Age 52$11,554$0$32,709$432,166
Age 53$11,901$0$36,398$480,465
Age 54$12,258$0$40,423$533,145
Age 55$12,625$0$44,812$590,582
Age 56$13,004$0$49,596$653,182
Age 57$13,394$0$54,809$721,385
Age 58$13,796$0$60,488$795,669
Age 59$14,210$0$66,672$876,550
Age 60$14,636$0$73,404$964,590
Age 61$15,075$0$80,730$1,060,396
Age 62$15,527$0$88,702$1,164,626
Age 63$15,993$0$97,374$1,277,993
Age 64$16,473$0$106,805$1,401,271
Age 65$16,967$0$117,059$1,535,298
Age 66$0$87,381$101,214$1,549,130
Age 67$0$90,003$102,059$1,561,186
Age 68$0$92,703$102,780$1,571,264
Age 69$0$95,484$103,364$1,579,144
Age 70$0$98,349$103,796$1,584,591
Age 71$0$101,299$104,059$1,587,351
Age 72$0$104,338$104,135$1,587,148
Age 73$0$107,468$104,007$1,583,687
Age 74$0$110,692$103,655$1,576,650
Age 75$0$114,013$103,055$1,565,692
Age 76$0$117,433$102,185$1,550,443
Age 77$0$120,956$101,020$1,530,507
Age 78$0$124,585$99,532$1,505,453
Age 79$0$128,323$97,692$1,474,822
Age 80$0$132,172$95,469$1,438,119
Age 81$0$136,137$92,828$1,394,809
Age 82$0$140,222$89,734$1,344,322
Age 83$0$144,428$86,148$1,286,041
Age 84$0$148,761$82,027$1,219,307
Age 85$0$153,224$77,326$1,143,409
Age 86$0$157,821$71,997$1,057,585
Age 87$0$162,555$65,989$961,018
Age 88$0$167,432$59,244$852,831
Age 89$0$172,455$51,704$732,080
Age 90$0$177,628$43,305$597,756

How to use this planner

  1. Enter your age, retirement age and how long the money must last.
  2. Enter monthly spending in today’s money and your local inflation rate.
  3. Enter savings so far and what you save each month.
  4. Choose a mix for each phase and read the history strip.

History: US shares, corporate and government bonds and US inflation, 1928–2025 (A. Damodaran, NYU Stern), in US dollars.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I need to retire?

Enough to pay for every month from retirement to the end of the plan, after any pension and allowing for inflation. For $3,000 a month in today’s money, retiring at 65 and planning to 90, that is about $1.42 million at 65.

What is the history check?

Your retirement is replayed from each start year since 1928 with the returns and inflation that actually followed. In this example the money lasted in 63 of 98 histories. The data is from the US market, the longest public record; your own market may differ.

Which inflation rate should I use?

The long-run rate where you live. The default is the US average over the data period; many countries have had higher inflation, which raises the amount you need.

Are taxes included?

No. Pension and investment withdrawals are taxed differently from country to country.

Sources and method

Standard compound-interest formulas, tested against worked examples. Nothing here depends on outside data; the rates you type in are your own assumptions.

No outside data is used. The numbers you type in are the only inputs.

Page and formula last reviewed . How we calculate · Editorial policy · Corrections and change log

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Last updated 9 October 2026. For information only — not financial advice. Check the final figures with your lender or bank.