Retirement Savings Goal Calculator

The number you're really chasing in retirement planning is a single figure: the size of the nest egg that can fund the lifestyle you want once you stop working. Because prices keep climbing, that target has to be built in tomorrow's dollars, not today's. With the average inflation rate for 2026 projected at around 2.5%, and with Social Security unlikely to stretch far enough to cover every expense, a concrete savings goal is what turns vague intentions into a plan you can actually fund with monthly contributions.

Two steps produce the target. First, the tool works out the annual income you'll need in retirement, inflating today's spending forward across your remaining working years. Then it applies the well-known 4% Rule to convert that income figure into a lump sum. The premise behind that rule is that you can draw 4% of your starting portfolio in year one, raise the dollar amount with inflation each year afterward, and reasonably expect the money to last across a 30-year retirement.

Treat the result as a projection rather than a promise. A serious medical bill or a deep market decline can move your real requirements well away from the estimate. Where the math earns its keep is in capturing how steadily inflation erodes purchasing power over decades, the variable people most often shortchange. For a strategy tailored to your own circumstances, a financial advisor can help you stress-test and refine these numbers.