Far Better Off

Retirement Calculator

Free · no sign-up · reviewed September 2026

Retirement can feel far away and fuzzy. This makes it concrete: see roughly how big your nest egg will be, and, using the well-known 4% rule (also called the 25× rule), how much you could withdraw each year and each month once you retire.

Adjust your age, what you save, your expected return, and your withdrawal rate to watch decades of compounding add up, and see the paycheck it buys you. Add your Social Security benefit and the age you plan to claim it, and you get the whole picture: what your savings pay, what Social Security pays, and the total each month.

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Your numbers

A long-run assumption, not a promise. US stocks returned about 10% a year before inflation from 1928 to 2025 (S&P 500 with dividends reinvested), which is roughly 7% once inflation is taken out. Any single year can be far above or below it.

Yearly withdrawal rate

About what a career at the national average wage earns at 67: $2,600 a month under the 2026 benefit formula (SSA, 90 FR 49047). Your own estimate is on your Social Security statement at ssa.gov/myaccount — enter it here, or $0 to leave Social Security out.

Claiming early cuts the check permanently — 30% at 62 — and every month you wait past 67 adds 2/3 of 1%, up to 24% more at 70. Set by law: 42 U.S.C. § 402(q) and § 402(w).

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At age 65 you'll have

$1,368,287

≈ $7,161/mo to spend — $4,561 from savings plus $2,600 Social Security at 67

💡 At a 4% withdrawal rate (the 25× rule), your $1,368,287 nest egg could pay about $54,731 a year, roughly $4,561 a month. In the studies behind this rule, that pace survived at least 30 years in every historical case, and usually far longer: most of the time the balance kept growing, so it can last indefinitely rather than run dry at 30 years. Add the $2,600 a month Social Security pays at 67 and you have about $7,161 a month, or $85,931 a year, with Social Security covering 36% of it. You plan to stop working at 65 and claim at 67, so your savings carry the first 2 years alone. Claiming at 67 instead of 70 pays $2,600 a month rather than $3,224, but starts 3 years sooner: the two even out at age 82 yr 6 mo, when each has collected about $483,600. Live past that and waiting wins; die before it and claiming early does.

$4,561

From savings / mo

4% rule

$2,600

Social Security / mo

claimed at 67

$7,161

Total / month

to spend

NowAge 47Age 65
  • What you put in$277,000
  • Growth$1,091,287
Years until retirement
35
Total contributions
$277,000
Investment growth
$1,091,287
Nest egg at retirement
$1,368,287
Withdraw per year (4%)
$54,731
Withdraw per month
$4,561
Social Security per month (at 67)
$2,600
Total monthly income
$7,161
Break-even age vs claiming at 70
82 yr 6 mo
⚖️ Claim at 62 or wait? The break-even age

Every claim age against yours (67): what it pays a month, when the totals cross, and what each has collected by 85.

Claim ageMonthly checkAgainst claiming at 67Collected by 85
62$1,820Ahead of you until 78 yr 8 mo$502,320
63$1,950Ahead of you until 79 yr$514,800
64$2,080Ahead of you until 79 yr$524,160
65$2,253Ahead of you until 80 yr$540,800
66$2,427Ahead of you until 81 yr$553,280
67 · full$2,600— your choice$561,600
68$2,808Passes you at 80 yr 6 mo$572,832
69$3,016Passes you at 81 yr 6 mo$579,072
70$3,224Passes you at 82 yr 6 mo$580,320

Level dollars: no cost-of-living increase, and no return earned on the checks an early claimer banks first. A COLA raises every option by the same percentage, so it barely moves the crossing; investing the early checks pushes it later. The reductions and credits themselves are statutory, not estimates — 42 U.S.C. § 402(q) and § 402(w). "Collected by 85" is an illustration of the arithmetic, not a forecast of how long you will live.

Retirement Calculator · Far Better Off

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Open that link to get this calculator back with these exact numbers. Estimates for education only — Far Better Off is not a lender or a financial advisor, and these results are not financial advice.

The 2-minute guide

The 4% rule, simply

A common rule of thumb says you can withdraw about 4% of your savings in your first year of retirement, then adjust for inflation each year after. The "lasts 30 years" you often hear is the worst case, not the expected one: in the research behind the rule, William Bengen's 1994 study and the Trinity Study, a 4% withdrawal survived every 30-year period in US market history, even for people who retired right before major crashes, and in most periods the portfolio actually grew and ended worth more than it started. In those typical cases the money would have lasted indefinitely. Flip the rule around and you get the 25× rule: to spend $40,000 a year, aim for about 25 × $40,000, or $1,000,000, saved. A more cautious 3.5% or 3% withdrawal makes lasting forever even more likely.

Time beats amount

The green 'growth' area on the chart is the magic of starting early. A dollar invested at 25 has 40 years to double and re-double; the same dollar at 45 has only 20. That's why contributing something now usually beats waiting until you can contribute more.

Grab the employer match first

If your job offers a 401(k) match, that's an instant, guaranteed return, often 50–100% on the money you put in up to a limit. Before anything fancier, contribute enough to get the full match. Turning it down is leaving free retirement money behind.

When you claim Social Security changes the check for life

Full retirement age is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. Claim earlier and the benefit is cut permanently: 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 early months and 5/12 of 1% for every month before that, which at 62 works out to a 30% cut. Wait past 67 and you earn delayed retirement credits of 2/3 of 1% a month — 8% a year — until they stop at 70, for up to 24% more. On a $2,600 full benefit that is the difference between $1,820 a month at 62 and $3,224 at 70, for the same work history. These are statutory figures, not projections: 42 U.S.C. § 402(q) and § 402(w). Claiming early still makes sense for some people (poor health, no other income, or a need to stop working), but it is worth seeing the number before deciding.

Two yardsticks, one total

The nest egg above is a future number: the return you set is nominal, so it hasn't had inflation taken out. A benefit estimate from your Social Security statement is in today's dollars. Adding them is still the right ballpark, because Social Security gets a cost-of-living increase nearly every year (2.8% for 2026) that roughly holds its buying power while your savings ride inflation up too — but the total is an estimate of your income, not a precise forecast of its purchasing power decades out. That's one more reason to revisit this yearly rather than trust one run of it.

This is a projection, not a promise

Real returns bounce around year to year and inflation eats some of your future spending power. Treat the number as a motivating estimate, revisit it yearly, and lean toward saving a bit more than the calculator says you need.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I need to retire?

A quick answer from the 4% rule: multiply the yearly income you want by 25. Want $50,000 a year? Aim for about $1.25 million. Your real number depends on Social Security, pensions, lifestyle and health costs, so treat this as a starting target.

How much can I withdraw each month in retirement?

Multiply your nest egg by your withdrawal rate, then divide by 12. At the 4% (25×) rule, a $1,000,000 nest egg supports about $40,000 a year, or roughly $3,333 a month. Choosing a safer 3.5% or 3% rate above lowers the monthly figure but adds cushion for a long retirement.

Does the 4% rule mean my money runs out after 30 years?

Usually not. The 30-year figure is the worst case from the studies that created the rule (William Bengen's research and the Trinity Study): a 4% inflation-adjusted withdrawal survived every 30-year stretch in US market history, even for people who retired just before big crashes. In most historical periods the portfolio actually grew and would have lasted far longer, often indefinitely. Sticking to 3.5% or 3% makes never running out even more likely, though no market outcome is guaranteed.

What return rate is realistic?

Many long-term plans use 6–7% for a stock-heavy portfolio after inflation, or a bit less as you shift toward safer investments near retirement. Returns are never guaranteed and vary year to year. This is a projection.

Is Social Security included?

Yes. Enter your monthly benefit at full retirement age (67) and the age you plan to claim, and the results add it to what your savings pay: income from savings, income from Social Security, and the two together. The field starts at $2,600 a month, roughly what a career at the national average wage earns at 67 under the 2026 benefit formula, but your own estimate is on your statement at ssa.gov/myaccount and is a much better number. Set it to $0 to see savings alone.

Should I claim Social Security at 62 or wait?

Waiting pays more every month, permanently. Claiming at 62 cuts the benefit 30% below the age-67 amount, and each month past 67 adds 2/3 of 1% until age 70, worth 24% extra. On a $2,600 full benefit: about $1,820 a month at 62, $2,600 at 67, $3,224 at 70. Those percentages are fixed by law (42 U.S.C. § 402(q) and § 402(w)), so the trade-off is about your health, whether you need the income now, and how long you expect to draw it — not about market timing. Change the claim age above to see it either way, and open the break-even table to see where the two totals cross.

What is the Social Security break-even age?

It is the age at which waiting catches up. Claiming early starts smaller checks sooner, so an early claimer is ahead for years; the later, larger check eventually overtakes that head start, and the age where the two running totals meet is the break-even. On a $2,600 full benefit, claiming at 62 ($1,820 a month) against 67 ($2,600) breaks even at about 78 years 8 months, with each having collected roughly $364,000. Against 70 ($3,224) it is about 80 years 5 months, and 67 against 70 is about 82 years 6 months. Live past the crossing and waiting paid more in total; die before it and claiming early did. The break-even table above recomputes all of this for your own benefit amount.

Does the break-even age account for inflation or investing the money?

No, and that is on purpose. The table compares level dollars: no cost-of-living increase, and no investment return on the checks an early claimer banks first. A COLA raises every claim age by the same percentage each year, so it moves the crossing point only slightly. Investing the early checks does push the break-even later, by how much depending on a return nobody can promise. Treat the crossing as the honest midpoint of the argument rather than a precise date, and remember it ignores taxes and any spousal or survivor benefit, which can matter more than the break-even itself.

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