{
  "slug": "retirement",
  "title": "Retirement Calculator",
  "heading": "Retirement Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/retirement",
  "summary": "Project your retirement nest egg.",
  "description": "Estimate the balance you'll have at retirement based on current savings, monthly contributions, and expected return.",
  "formula": null,
  "dateModified": "2026-10-03",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=retirement",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "currentAge",
      "label": "Current age",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 30,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "retireAge",
      "label": "Retire at",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 65,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "current",
      "label": "Current savings",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 20000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "monthly",
      "label": "Monthly contribution",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 800,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "label": "Annual return",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 7,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": -50,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "future",
      "label": "Projected balance",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "contributed",
      "label": "Total contributed",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Years until retirement",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Current age: 30",
      "Retire at: 65",
      "Current savings: 20000 $",
      "Monthly contribution: 800 $",
      "Annual return: 7 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Projected balance: $1,670,966.72",
      "Total contributed: $356,000.00",
      "Years until retirement: 35"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter current age.",
      "Enter retire at.",
      "Enter current savings ($).",
      "Enter monthly contribution ($).",
      "Enter annual return (%).",
      "Read your projected balance on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "currentAge": 18,
        "retireAge": 39,
        "current": 12000,
        "monthly": 500,
        "rate": 7
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "currentAge": 30,
        "retireAge": 65,
        "current": 20000,
        "monthly": 800,
        "rate": 7
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "currentAge": 48,
        "retireAge": 100,
        "current": 32000,
        "monthly": 1300,
        "rate": 7
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the retirement calculator work?",
      "a": "Estimate the balance you'll have at retirement based on current savings, monthly contributions, and expected return."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "5 values: current age, retire at, current savings, monthly contribution, and annual return. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the projected balance result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/investment",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/savings",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/compound-interest"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Retirement Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/retirement)"
}