InvestmentCalculators
Retirement

Retirement Calculators

Five tools for mapping every stage of retirement — from accumulation, to Coast FIRE, to safe-withdrawal stress testing. Built on the Trinity Study, current IRS contribution limits, and peer-reviewed withdrawal research.

Your path to financial independence.

FIRE Number

Calculate the portfolio size that makes you financially independent.

When can you stop saving?

Coast FIRE

Discover the age at which you can stop contributing and still retire comfortably.

Max out your 401(k).

401(k) Growth

Project your 401(k) balance including employer match and annual returns.

Tax-now or tax-later?

Roth vs Traditional

Compare after-tax retirement value between Roth and Traditional accounts.

Will your money outlast you?

Safe Withdrawal

Test how long your portfolio lasts at a given annual withdrawal rate.

A complete retirement-planning toolkit

Retirement planning has three distinct phases, and this section covers all of them. In the accumulation phase, the 401(k) Growth Calculator projects balances given salary, employee contribution, and employer match schedules — often revealing that a match is worth six or seven figures over a career. The Roth vs Traditional IRA Calculator answers the companion question: which account type optimizes after-tax outcomes given current and retirement tax brackets?

The FIRE Number Calculator and Coast FIRE Calculator address the milestone phase. Your FIRE number is the portfolio size that permanently funds your lifestyle at a given safe withdrawal rate (the classic 4% rule → 25× annual expenses). Coast FIRE is earlier: the balance that, left to compound untouched until retirement age, reaches your FIRE number on its own — the threshold at which you no longer need to save for retirement, only to cover current living expenses.

Finally, the Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator stress-tests the decumulation phase. It inflates a first-year withdrawal by inflation each subsequent year and grows the remaining portfolio at an expected real return, flagging the year (if any) in which the portfolio depletes. The Trinity Study's 4% baseline remains a reasonable starting point for 30-year retirements; for 40 – 50-year horizons or more conservative planners, 3.25 – 3.75% is often preferred.

Frequently asked

About retirement calculators

What's the difference between FIRE and Coast FIRE?
FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) refers to your target portfolio size — the amount that can fund your lifestyle indefinitely. Coast FIRE is an earlier milestone: the smaller portfolio size that, if left to compound untouched at your expected return until retirement age, will grow into your full FIRE number. Reaching Coast FIRE means you no longer need to save for retirement (future contributions only accelerate the timeline) but still need to cover current living expenses.
Should I use the 4% rule as my withdrawal rate?
The 4% rule, derived from the Trinity Study, is a reasonable baseline for a 30-year retirement but becomes less reliable for longer horizons. Researchers including Bill Bengen (who originally proposed the rule) and Michael Kitces now often recommend 3.25 – 3.75% for 40 – 50-year retirements, especially when starting in elevated valuation environments. Our Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator lets you test different rates against your own expected return and horizon.
Is the Roth vs Traditional decision really about tax rates?
Mostly, yes — the core comparison is your current marginal rate versus your expected retirement marginal rate. If you expect to be in a lower bracket in retirement, Traditional wins because you deduct at the higher current rate. If you expect a higher retirement bracket, Roth wins. Roth also has secondary advantages: no Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) for the original owner, tax-free withdrawals that don't affect Medicare IRMAA brackets, and better estate-planning outcomes.
What 401(k) return assumption should I use?
For long-horizon 401(k) projections, most target-date fund sponsors use 6 – 7% real (inflation-adjusted) returns for equity-heavy allocations. That implies roughly 9 – 10% nominal, which aligns with historical S&P 500 averages. Be conservative — use 5 – 6% real if you want a safety margin for below-average decades. Our 401(k) calculator lets you adjust the rate directly and also models annual salary growth.
Does Social Security affect my FIRE number?
Yes. Social Security provides an inflation-adjusted income stream that reduces the portfolio needed to cover your expenses. If Social Security will cover 30% of your annual expenses, your effective FIRE target is based on the remaining 70% — which can be meaningful. For planning, many retirees compute a 'bridge' FIRE number covering the pre-Social-Security years and a separate long-term number assuming full benefits at claiming age.
Should I convert Traditional to Roth during low-income retirement years?
Roth conversions during low-income windows (early retirement, gap years between jobs, after a disability) can meaningfully reduce lifetime taxes. The idea: pay tax on a portion of a Traditional balance at today's low rate, then let that amount grow tax-free forever. The strategy interacts with Medicare IRMAA brackets, Social Security taxation, and ACA subsidies — so it benefits from professional planning. Our Roth vs Traditional Calculator provides a starting-point comparison.