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How much do you actually need to retire?

Retirement Calculator · free · no signup

It's about what you spend, not what you earn

There's no single magic number — and anyone who gives you one without asking what you spend is guessing. What you need to retire is driven by your annual spending, not your salary or a round figure off a headline. The rough starting point is about 25x your yearly costs (the flip side of the 4% rule), but that's an anchor, not an answer.

This calculator does the honest version: put in your age, what you've saved and when you want to stop, and it works out whether you're on track for the spending you actually have — and what a real drawdown looks like once markets, inflation and timing get involved. Just try it with your own numbers. The gap between "sounds like a lot" and "is it enough" tends to surprise people in both directions.

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Common questions

What's the 25x rule?
Multiply your expected yearly spending by 25 for a rough retirement target (it's the 4% rule in reverse: $40k a year points to about $1M). Treat it as a starting anchor, then stress-test the real plan above.
Does my salary determine how much I need?
No — your spending does. Two people on the same salary can need very different pots depending on lifestyle. Put your real numbers in rather than working from income.
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