Build a plan that works — from first contribution to final withdrawal.
Retirement planning isn't a single calculation. It's a system of interconnected decisions: how much to save, which accounts to use, when to claim Social Security, how to sequence withdrawals, and how to manage taxes along the way. These tools help you model the whole picture.
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Social Security Calculator
Project your retirement nest egg across multiple account types. Model employer matches, catch-up contributions, and different return scenarios to see whether you're on track — and what levers you can pull if you're not.
Social Security & Medicare
Retirement Savings & Accounts
Retirement Savings Calculator
Project your retirement nest egg growth
FIRE Calculator
Calculate your path to financial independence
Understanding Retirement Accounts
IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth, 403(b)s, SEPs — a comprehensive guide to retirement account types, tax treatments, and contribution limits.
How Much Do You Really Need to Retire?
Beyond the 25x rule — a nuanced look at retirement savings targets based on your spending, income sources, and retirement timeline.
The FIRE Movement: Financial Independence Math
How to calculate your FIRE number, the math behind early retirement, and realistic assumptions for your financial independence plan.
Historical Market Returns Explorer
Interactive chart: pick a time range and see how $10K would have grown across stocks, bonds, REITs, and more since 1970.
Compound Interest Galaxy
Immersive particle visualization showing the exponential power of compound interest — watch dollars spawn new dollars in real time.
Monte Carlo Retirement Simulator
500 simulated retirement futures — adjust savings, spending, and allocation to see how your odds shift in real time.
Retirement Income & Withdrawals
RMD Projector
Project required minimum distributions
Pension Lump Sum Calculator
Lump sum vs. annuity — which is better for you?
Core Retirement Spend Calculator
Determine your essential retirement expenses
How Interest Rates Impact Your Pension Lump Sum
Understand how IRS 417(e) segment rates affect your pension lump sum value and how to evaluate your options.
RMD Planning: Required Minimum Distributions Explained
Understanding RMD rules, calculation methods, strategies to minimize tax impact, and how the SECURE Act changed the timeline.
Defining Your Core Retirement Expenses
How to separate essential from discretionary spending, build a reliable income floor, and stress-test your retirement budget.
Cost of Living Comparison
Compare cost of living across 77 major U.S. metros with salary equivalence calculator
Living Inflation Heatmap
See how category-level inflation varies — essential for understanding purchasing power erosion in retirement.
Quick Reference
Roth & Tax Strategy
Roth Conversion Calculator
Analyze the tax impact of Roth conversions
Tax-Deferred Growth Analyzer
Visualize the power of tax-deferred compounding
NUA Calculator
Evaluate the NUA strategy for employer stock in your 401(k)
Roth Conversion Strategy: When and How Much to Convert
The tax math behind Roth conversions, optimal conversion windows, and how to build a multi-year conversion ladder.
Tax-Deferred vs. Tax-Free: Optimizing Your Accounts
How to analyze the tax-deferred vs. Roth trade-off based on your current and projected tax brackets.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do I actually need saved to retire?
The most cited benchmark is the 4% rule: your portfolio should equal 25 times your planned annual spending. If you expect to spend $80,000 per year, you'd need $2 million. This estimate is based on historical U.S. market data and assumes a 30-year retirement horizon. For longer retirements or more conservative assumptions, a 3% withdrawal rate (33x expenses) provides additional buffer. The key variable most people underestimate is healthcare: a 65-year-old couple can expect to spend $300,000 or more on out-of-pocket healthcare costs throughout retirement, not counting long-term care. Social Security income meaningfully reduces how much your portfolio needs to generate.
When should I claim Social Security benefits?
You can claim as early as age 62 (at a reduced benefit) or delay up to age 70 (at the maximum benefit). Each year you delay past your full retirement age (67 for those born after 1960) increases your monthly benefit by approximately 8%. Delaying from 62 to 70 can mean a benefit that's 76% higher. The break-even analysis matters: delayed claiming typically pays off if you live past your mid-to-late 70s. Your health, other income sources, spousal claiming strategy, and tax situation all factor in. For married couples, coordinating claiming strategies — particularly having the higher earner delay — can significantly increase lifetime household benefits.
What's the practical difference between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA?
Traditional accounts offer a tax deduction now; you pay ordinary income tax on withdrawals in retirement. Roth accounts are funded with after-tax dollars; qualified withdrawals — including all growth — are completely tax-free. The core decision depends on whether your marginal tax rate is higher now or in retirement. If you're early in your career or in a low-income year, Roth generally wins. If you're in your peak earning years and expect lower income in retirement, traditional saves more today. Most financial planners recommend diversifying across both account types to preserve tax flexibility in retirement, when you can choose which bucket to draw from based on your current-year tax situation.
What are Required Minimum Distributions and when do they begin?
RMDs are mandatory annual withdrawals from pre-tax retirement accounts — traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and most other employer-sponsored plans. Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, RMDs begin at age 73 for those born between 1951 and 1959, and at age 75 for those born in 1960 or later. The IRS calculates each year's RMD by dividing the prior year-end account balance by a life expectancy factor from the Uniform Lifetime Table. Failing to take the full RMD incurs a 25% penalty on the shortfall (reduced to 10% if corrected promptly). Roth IRAs have no RMDs during the original owner's lifetime, which is a significant long-term advantage for estate planning.
How does a Roth conversion work and when is the optimal time?
A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA. The converted amount is added to your taxable income for that year and taxed as ordinary income. Conversions are most valuable when your taxable income is temporarily lower than usual — an early retirement gap before Social Security begins, a sabbatical year, or a year with large deductions. The strategy is to convert up to the top of your current tax bracket without crossing into the next one. You should also model whether the conversion will trigger Medicare IRMAA surcharges two years later. The goal is paying tax at today's lower rate rather than a potentially higher rate when RMDs force withdrawals later.
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