Calculator
Sort Your Retirement Nest Egg
Enter ages, balances you count toward retirement, monthly savings, and an assumed return to sort a projected nest egg against a target. Social Security, pensions, inflation, taxes, and withdrawals stay outside this model.
A quick way to sort whether ages, current balances, monthly savings, and an assumed return might land near a dollar target by the age you stop full-time work.
Retirement plan
An assumption used for this estimate
Results
Estimated retirement balance
Estimate based on a constant return and uninterrupted contributions.
$1,054,402.17
Total contributions
$291,000.00
Estimated investment growth
$763,402.17
Compared with target
30 years until the retirement age you entered.
May reach target ($54,402.17 surplus)
Sorted Finance is an education site. Our tools and writing help you organize questions—they do not replace advice from a licensed professional.
Modeling notes: methodology.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your age today and the retirement age for this scenario only.
- Count balances you actually plan to use for retirement (workplace plans, IRAs, taxable—your call).
- Set a monthly contribution you can keep, then sort both a moderate and a lower assumed return.
- Pick a target that already reflects how you treat Social Security or a pension—or keep those as a separate layer.
What this estimate includes
- Growth on today’s savings at one constant assumed return
- Future value of ongoing monthly contributions
- A simple reach / shortfall flag against your target
What it leaves out
- Social Security, pensions, and side-income in retirement
- Inflation and healthcare cost paths
- Withdrawal taxes and required minimum distributions
- Sequence-of-returns risk in the early retirement years
How this calculation works
Years until retirement come from the two ages you enter. Current savings grow at the assumed monthly rate, and each contribution is added along the way. The sorter then compares that estimated balance with your desired amount.
Social Security, pensions, inflation, taxes, and post-retirement withdrawals are not modeled. “May reach target” only means the projected balance meets the number you typed under those assumptions—not that spending in retirement is solved.
For account types and contribution ideas, see how a 401(k) works and Roth vs traditional IRA.
Balance = current savings grown monthly + future value of monthly contributions
Months until retirement = (retirement age − current age) × 12. The return you enter stays constant for the whole period.
Worked example
Age 42, retire at 67, $95,000 saved, $550 a month, 5.5% assumed return, and a $650,000 target. In this simplified model the path lands near $728,000—so the sorter may show the target as reachable under those inputs.
Try 4% with the same contributions (about $541,000 here). If the lower path misses while 5.5% clears, you may need higher savings, more time, or a different target—not just a more optimistic rate.
Quick comparison
Round-number scenarios for orientation only—not quotes or approvals.
| Age now → retire | Saved now | Monthly | Assumed return | Planning note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 → 67 | $95,000 | $550 | 5.5% | Baseline path |
| 42 → 67 | $95,000 | $550 | 4% | Lower-return stress |
| 48 → 67 | $140,000 | $750 | 5.5% | Later start, higher save |
Practical tips
Stake the target, then sort the gap
A planning stake like $650,000 or $900,000 clarifies the shortfall. If you miss, decide whether more saving, more years, or a different target is the honest fix.
Smooth returns hide bumpy decades
Portfolios bounce. A flat 5.5% is a teaching average, not a guarantee that the years around retirement look calm.
Fold match into the monthly number
If an employer match is real, include only what you will actually receive—and remember this tool does not parse match formulas unless you bake them into the monthly input.
Bottom line
“May reach target” is a sorted projection, not a retirement plan. Adjust inputs, then confirm with statements, plan docs, and a qualified professional when the stakes are high.
Frequently asked questions
Is Social Security part of this projection?
No. Set a savings target that already reflects how you want to treat Social Security, a pension, or other income—or keep those benefits as a separate layer.
What does a shortfall message mean?
Under the ages, balances, contributions, and return you entered, the projected balance lands below your goal. Saving more, working longer, or changing the assumed return shifts the result.
Are the results guaranteed?
No. This is a sorted illustration with one flat return and no skipped deposits. Live plans still face inflation, fees, taxes, and uneven market years that this page does not fully capture.
Which assumed return should I try first?
Many people sort a moderate case and a lower stress case (for example 5.5% and 4%) with the same contributions. The point is the range, not one “correct” percentage.
Does this cover spending after you retire?
No. The projection ends at the nest-egg balance on your chosen retirement age. How you spend it, RMD rules, and sequence risk belong in a separate drawdown plan.
Related calculators
- Investment Projection SorterSort a future value sketch from principal, monthly investing, and an assumed annual return. Planning math—not a market prediction.
- Savings Goal Timeline SorterSort how long a goal may take at your deposit rate—or the monthly amount a deadline would need. Optional assumed growth included.
- 50/30/20 Cash-Flow SorterSort take-home pay into needs, wants, and savings targets—then compare those targets with what you actually spend.
Related guides
- RetirementRMDs Explained: Ages, Account Types, and How the Amount Is SetSorted Finance walks through required minimum distributions—when they start, how life-expectancy factors set the dollars, penalties for shortfalls, and how Roth and workplace accounts differ.
- BudgetingA Practical Monthly Budget: Net Pay, Must-Pays, Then Everything ElseBuild a U.S. monthly budget with Sorted Finance: start from take-home pay, cover obligations and sinking funds, assign leftovers on purpose, and revise without worshipping viral percentage rules.
- InvestingPurchasing Power: Why Tomorrow’s Dollar Buys LessSorted Finance explains how inflation shrinks what money buys, why nominal balances mislead long-term plans, and how to keep U.S. retirement math in consistent real or nominal units.