How much do you need to retire?
A savings target should come from the spending you want, not from a round number. Enter what you will need each year from savings and see your target, your projection, the saving it takes, and the point where you could stop contributing.
How much is enough?
Turn the spending you want in retirement into a savings target, then see your projection, the saving it takes, and when you could stop contributing.
The example, step by step.
The situation
- Age 40 with $200,000 saved, adding $20,000 a year
- Retiring at 65 and needing $80,000 a year from savings, after Social Security and pensions
- A 4% planning withdrawal rate and a 5% yearly return after inflation
What the calculator finds
- Target: $2,000,000 ($80,000 ÷ 4%), in today’s dollars.
- Projected at 65: about $1,631,813, which is $368,187 short.
- Saving about $27,714 a year, $7,714 more than now, would reach the target at 65. At the current rate it is reached at 69.
- Coast number: $590,606 today would grow to the target by 65 with no further contributions.
A target comes from spending, not a round number. Savings that are already large enough to grow into it let you “coast”: stop contributing and still arrive on time.
What goes in.
What comes out.
Your target is the yearly spending you need from savings divided by a planning withdrawal rate, such as 4%. A lower rate is more conservative and raises the target.
Your savings and yearly contributions grow at one steady return after inflation, so every amount is in today’s dollars.
The coast number is what you would need today to reach the target by your retirement age without saving more. Once your savings pass it, you could stop contributing and still reach the target under these assumptions.
What it does not cover.
- It uses one steady return. Real returns vary, and weak returns just before or after retirement matter most.
- A withdrawal rate is a planning assumption, not a guarantee that the money will last.
- Enter spending after Social Security and pensions. Taxes on withdrawals are not calculated separately.
Questions
How much money do I need to retire?
One common estimate divides the yearly spending you will need from savings by a withdrawal rate. At 4%, $80,000 a year implies $2,000,000; at 3.5%, about $2,285,714. The right rate depends on your time horizon and how much risk of running short you can accept.
What is a coast number, or Coast FIRE?
It is the amount that would grow to your target by your retirement age with no further contributions, at an assumed return. In the example, $590,606 today grows to $2,000,000 in 25 years at 5% a year.
Is the 4% rule safe?
The 4% figure comes from historical studies of 30-year retirements, and it is not a guarantee. Longer retirements, higher fees or poor early returns argue for a lower rate. This calculator lets you test different rates; it does not tell you which one is safe for you.
See the decision inside a full plan.
Explore retirement cash flow, compare scenarios and review the assumptions in a free Amicus sample plan.