How much money do I need to retire?

A common professional method is to grow today's expenses by inflation until retirement, then fund that future expense stream from a corpus using the real (inflation-adjusted) return as the annuity factor. This calculator does exactly that.

What is the real return?

Real return is your nominal investment return minus inflation. It tells you how much your money truly grows in purchasing power, which is the correct rate for retirement planning.

Retirement Calculator

Project your savings, the inflation-adjusted corpus you need, and your monthly retirement income.

Your Details

Current Age

yrs

Retirement Age

yrs

Life Expectancy

yrs

Current Annual Expenses

Current Retirement Savings

Monthly Contribution

Expected Return (before tax)

Inflation Rate

Projected Savings at Retirement

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Corpus Needed at Retirement

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Shortfall / Surplus

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Monthly Retirement Income

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Monthly Expenses at Retirement

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Projected Savings Growth by Year

How professional retirement planning works

1) Grow today's expenses by inflation until retirement — that is the income you will actually need. 2) Calculate the corpus whose real return (return minus inflation) funds that income for your whole retirement. 3) Compare that corpus with the projected value of your current savings plus monthly contributions. The difference is your shortfall or surplus.

Retirement Calculator FAQ

How much of my salary should I save for retirement?▶

A widely used professional guideline is 15% of gross income, starting early. If you start late, you will need to save more to close the gap this calculator reveals.

Should I use 4% withdrawal as a shortcut?▶

The 4% rule is a quick sanity check (corpus = 25x annual expenses). This calculator is more precise because it uses your actual retirement period and real return.

What return should I assume?▶

A balanced portfolio (60% equity / 40% debt) has historically delivered 8-10% nominal in India. Use a conservative 7-8% to be safe, with 5-6% inflation.