acalculator

Can I take early retirement?

Type your age, the age you want to retire, your savings and what you spend. The early retirement calculator projects your savings year by year, shows what you need on the day you retire, and how much more to save if you fall short.

Your numbers

Returns are never guaranteed.
More options
Savings when you retire
$1,056,899.43

Retiring at 55, you would have $1,056,899.43 and need $1,046,138.83 to spend $50,000.00 a year until 95.

Savings you need then
$1,046,138.83
Surplus
$10,760.60
On track?
Yes, to age 95
Left at the planning age
$49,396.77
Years
60

Savings when you retire: $1,056,899.43. Retiring at 55, you would have $1,056,899.43 and need $1,046,138.83 to spend $50,000.00 a year until 95.

How do your savings grow and then pay for retirement?

What does each year look like?

The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use

How to calculate

Projects your savings to a chosen early retirement age and through retirement, and shows the savings you need then, the gap, the extra yearly saving that closes it, and how long the money lasts.

Example with the default inputs (Your age 35, Retire at age 55, Plan until age 95, Saved today $150,000.00, You save $25,000.00, Yearly spending in retirement $50,000.00, Other yearly income in retirement $0.00, Expected yearly return 7%, Inflation 3%): Retiring at 55, you would have $1,056,899.43 and need $1,046,138.83 to spend $50,000.00 a year until 95.

Method: Real return r = (1 + R) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. Each working year: balance × (1 + r) + saving. Each retirement year: (balance − (spending − other income)) × (1 + r). Needed at retirement = need × (1 − (1 + r)^−N) ÷ r × (1 + r) for N retirement years; extra saving = shortfall × r ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1) for n working years.

  • All amounts are in today’s money: your saving, spending and other income rise with prices.
  • Savings are added at the end of each working year; retirement spending is taken at the start of each retirement year.
  • The return and inflation stay the same every year. Real returns go up and down.
  • Taxes, fees and Social Security are not included unless you put them in other income. Taking money from a 401(k) or similar plan before age 59½ usually adds a 10% tax (IRS Topic 558).
  • This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Your age 40, Retire at age 50, Plan until age 60, Saved today $0.00, You save $50,000.00, Yearly spending in retirement $50,000.00, Other yearly income in retirement $0.00, Expected yearly return 0%, Inflation 0% gives Savings when you retire $500,000.00, Savings you need then $500,000.00, Surplus $0.00, Left at the planning age $0.00, On track? Yes, to age 60.Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov compound interest calculator and formula. https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
  2. Your age 40, Retire at age 50, Plan until age 60, Saved today $0.00, You save $40,000.00, Yearly spending in retirement $50,000.00, Other yearly income in retirement $0.00, Expected yearly return 0%, Inflation 0% gives Savings when you retire $400,000.00, Shortfall $100,000.00, Extra to save each year $10,000.00, Money runs out at age 58, On track? No, it runs out at 58.Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov compound interest calculator and formula. https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
  3. Your age 35, Retire at age 55, Plan until age 95, Saved today $150,000.00, You save $25,000.00, Yearly spending in retirement $50,000.00, Other yearly income in retirement $0.00, Expected yearly return 7%, Inflation 3% gives Savings when you retire $1,056,899.43, Savings you need then $1,046,138.83.Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov compound interest calculator and formula. https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
  4. Your age 30, Retire at age 31, Plan until age 33, Saved today $100,000.00, You save $0.00, Yearly spending in retirement $30,000.00, Other yearly income in retirement $10,000.00, Expected yearly return 10%, Inflation 0% gives Savings when you retire $110,000.00, Savings you need then $38,181.82, Surplus $71,818.18.Source: IRS Topic No. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc558

How it works

Everything is in today’s money. Let R be the yearly return, i the inflation rate, and r = (1 + R) ÷ (1 + i) − 1 the real return.

  • Working years (from your age to the year before you retire): balance at the end of the year = balance × (1 + r) + yearly saving.
  • Retirement years (from the retirement age to the year before the planning age): need = spending − other income (at least 0). At the start of the year you take the need; the rest grows: balance = (balance − need) × (1 + r).
  • Money runs out at the first age whose need is more than the balance at the start of that year; that year takes what is left and the schedule stops.
  • Savings when you retire = the balance at the end of the last working year.
  • Savings you need then = need × (1 − (1 + r)^−N) ÷ r × (1 + r) for N = planning age − retirement age (need × N when r = 0).
  • Shortfall = needed − savings when you retire, when above 0; otherwise surplus = savings − needed.
  • Extra to save each year = shortfall × r ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1) for n = retirement age − your age (shortfall ÷ n when r = 0).
  • Left at the planning age = the balance after the last retirement year, or 0 if the money runs out.

A monthly saving, spending or income is multiplied by 12.

Output format. Money shows in dollars and cents, rounded half up. Arithmetic is in 64-bit floats.

When there is no answer. A retirement age at or before your age now, or a planning age at or before the retirement age.

Assumptions

  • The return and inflation are the same every year (7% and 3% by default).
  • Taxes, fees and Social Security are left out unless you add them to other income.
  • Ages: you are 18 to 90; retirement at 19 to 100; planning to 20 to 110.

Worked examples by hand

No growth, ages 40 to 50 to 60, saving $50,000, spending $50,000. 10 × 50,000 = $500,000 at 50; needed 10 × 50,000 = $500,000; surplus $0; the money lasts to 60.

The same, saving $40,000. $400,000 at 50; shortfall $100,000; extra 100,000 ÷ 10 = $10,000 a year; 400,000 pays ages 50 to 57, so the money runs out at 58.

The defaults: age 35, retire at 55, plan to 95, $150,000 saved, $25,000 a year, $50,000 spending, 7% return, 3% inflation. r = 1.07 ÷ 1.03 − 1 = 0.0388350. After 20 years, 150,000 × (1 + r)^20 + 25,000 × ((1 + r)^20 − 1) ÷ r = $1,056,899.43; needed 50,000 × (1 − (1 + r)^−40) ÷ r × (1 + r) = $1,046,138.83.

Age 30, retire at 31, plan to 33, $100,000 saved, 10% return, no inflation, spending $30,000, other income $10,000. 100,000 × 1.1 = $110,000; need 20,000 for 2 years: 20,000 + 20,000 ÷ 1.1 = $38,181.82; surplus $71,818.18.

Other questions people ask

How much do I need to retire early?

Enough to pay your yearly spending, less any other income, every year from your retirement age to the age you plan to. At a real return r for N years, that is spending × (1 − (1 + r)^−N) ÷ r × (1 + r). At 0% it is simply spending × years: $50,000 a year for 10 years is $500,000.

How is this different from the FIRE calculator?

The FIRE calculator finds when your savings reach a target from the 4% rule. This page starts from the age you choose, plans to the age you choose, and tells you the gap and the extra saving that closes it.

What return should I use?

Use a return you expect on average before inflation; the page takes inflation off to get the real return. With 7% and 3% inflation the real return is 1.07 ÷ 1.03 − 1 = 3.88% a year. Returns are never guaranteed, so also try a lower one.

How much more do I need to save each year?

Divide the shortfall by what $1 saved each year grows to by your retirement age: shortfall × r ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1) for n working years. At 0% a $100,000 shortfall over 10 years is $10,000 a year.

Can I take money from my 401(k) before 59½?

Usually with a 10% additional tax on top of income tax. The IRS lists exceptions, such as leaving your job in or after the year you turn 55 for that employer’s plan, and substantially equal periodic payments. Plan which accounts pay for the years before 59½.

Why does the page use today’s money?

So the numbers mean what they buy today. Your saving, spending and other income all rise with inflation, and growth is the return after inflation.