Retirement Calculators
Tools for planning retirement on current rules: project a 401(k) with employer match and 2026 contribution limits, compare Roth against Traditional, work out how big a nest egg you need, calculate your required minimum distribution, and estimate Social Security — every figure tied to its IRS or SSA source.
401(k) Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement with your contribution rate, employer match, salary growth, and the 2026 IRS contribution limits and catch-ups.
Roth vs. Traditional IRA Calculator
Compare a Roth and Traditional IRA side by side. See which leaves more after taxes based on your tax rate now versus in retirement, with the 2026 limits.
RMD Calculator
Calculate your required minimum distribution (RMD) from an IRA or 401(k) using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, updated for the SECURE 2.0 age-73 rule.
Retirement Nest Egg Calculator
Find how much you need to retire. Enter your income, replacement rate, and a safe withdrawal rate to size your nest egg and the monthly savings to reach it.
FIRE Calculator
Free FIRE calculator. Find your financial-independence number (the 25× rule) and how many years until you can retire early, from your savings and return.
Social Security Estimator
Estimate your Social Security benefit from your earnings and claiming age using the 2026 formula. An educational estimate — get your official number at ssa.gov.
Start with the number you are aiming for
Retirement planning gets easier once you have a target. A common starting point is the 4% guideline: a portfolio can support roughly 4% of its value in withdrawals each year, which means you need about 25 times your annual spending saved. Someone who wants $60,000 a year from their savings is aiming near $1.5 million — a big number that becomes reachable when you break it into decades of contributions and growth.
The nest-egg and “how much to retire” calculators work from your spending, your current savings, and the years you have left to a monthly contribution that gets you there. Seeing the target and the path at once turns retirement from a vague worry into a plan you can actually adjust.
The account you choose changes the tax bill
A Traditional 401(k) or IRA gives you the tax break now and taxes the withdrawals later; a Roth is the reverse — you pay tax on the contribution today and take it out tax-free in retirement. Which wins depends mostly on whether your tax rate will be higher now or later, and no one knows that for certain, so many people split the difference across both.
Before optimizing taxes, capture the free money: if your employer matches contributions, that match is an immediate return you cannot get anywhere else. The 401(k) projection includes the match, and the Roth-vs-Traditional calculator shows the two tax paths side by side so the trade-off is a number rather than a guess.
Rules that arrive later
Two dates shape the back half of retirement. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) force you to start withdrawing from Traditional accounts in your 70s whether you need the money or not, and missing one carries a stiff penalty — the RMD calculator tells you the amount for your age and balance. Roth accounts are exempt during your lifetime, which is part of their appeal.
Social Security is the other. Claiming early permanently reduces your monthly benefit; waiting increases it, up to age 70. The estimator shows how the timing changes what you collect, so you can weigh it against your health, savings, and when you actually want to stop working.
Guides & articles
Plain-English explainers to go with the calculators above — every figure tied to its source.
2026 401(k) and IRA Contribution Limits Explained
The IRS lifted the 401(k) limit to $24,500 and the IRA limit to $7,500 for 2026 — plus a bigger catch-up for ages 60–63 and a new Roth rule for high earners. Here is every number that changed.
Roth vs. Traditional 401(k): Which Should You Choose in 2026?
Traditional gives you a tax break now; Roth gives you tax-free income later. The right answer depends on one thing — your tax rate now versus in retirement. Here is how to decide.
How Much Do You Need to Retire? A 2026 Guide to Your Number
You do not need a crystal ball to estimate your retirement number — just two rules of thumb. Here is how to combine income replacement and the 4% rule, and what changes the answer.