Retirement Plan Calculator
Coordinate your 401(k), Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and ETF investments instead of projecting each account in isolation.
Your retirement profile
Your age determines the projection length and when current catch-up contribution limits begin.
The age at which account balances are compared and converted to estimated retirement income.
Used to estimate employer matching contributions and future salary-based match thresholds.
The amount you plan to direct across accounts each year. Employer match and reinvested estimated tax savings are tracked separately.
The real monthly income goal used to show a projected surplus or shortfall under the planning withdrawal rate.
Used for the 2026 direct Roth IRA phase-out and Traditional IRA deduction estimate.
IRA contributions generally cannot exceed eligible taxable compensation.
Accounts and employer match
Enter zero if the account is new. Existing money grows independently of future contribution room.
Enter zero if the account is new. Modeled as pre-tax at retirement.
Enter zero if the account is new. Modeled as tax-free at retirement when qualified.
Enter zero if the account is new. Taxable investments have no retirement-account contribution limit.
The percentage your employer contributes for each eligible dollar you put into the 401(k).
The employee contribution percentage of salary eligible for matching.
The share of projected employer matching contributions expected to belong to you under the plan’s vesting schedule.
Used to estimate tax savings from deductible 401(k) and Traditional IRA contributions.
Applied to projected 401(k) and Traditional IRA balances for the after-tax comparison.
ETF and portfolio assumptions
The account controls tax treatment. The stocks, ETFs, bonds, funds, and cash held inside it control investment risk, return, diversification, and fees.
Portfolio share invested in individual stocks, broad-market ETFs, index funds, or other equity investments.
Portfolio share invested in bonds or bond funds. Remaining allocation is treated as cash.
A planning assumption, not a market forecast. Use a long-term return consistent with the chosen equity mix.
Expected annual return for bonds and bond funds before the portfolio fee assumption.
Expected annual return on the unallocated cash portion of the portfolio.
Include weighted fund expense ratios, advisory fees, and other recurring asset-based costs.
Used for real purchasing-power results and estimated future contribution limits.
Simplified rate applied to positive projected gains in the taxable brokerage account at retirement.
Social Security and Medicare
Add retirement income and health premiums so the target comparison is based on a more complete monthly cash-flow estimate.
Determines exact Social Security full retirement age in years and months.
Claiming before full retirement age reduces the benefit; delaying through age 70 can add delayed credits.
Enter the retirement benefit at full retirement age shown on your latest Social Security Statement or in your my Social Security account.
Approximate your average annual earnings from jobs covered by Social Security. The estimate uses up to 35 working years.
Social Security generally uses your highest 35 years of indexed covered earnings. Fewer years include zero-earning years in this simplified estimate.
Optional: enter AIME from a detailed estimate. When provided, it replaces the average-earnings approximation.
Planning assumption used to project current-law bend points to your Social Security eligibility year.
Applies current 2026 IRMAA thresholds as a planning snapshot. Future thresholds and premiums are unknown.
Growth and custom strategy
Changes future salary and employer-match calculations.
Changes your annual retirement savings budget over time.
Converts the real after-tax retirement value to an estimated first-year monthly income.
Target share for the custom strategy. Account limits still apply and overflow moves to taxable investments.
Target Traditional IRA share before the shared IRA limit and deduction estimate.
Target Roth IRA share before income eligibility and the shared IRA limit.
Your results update automatically whenever you change a value.
First-year guided allocation
- Complete the planner to compare account strategies.
Planning assumptions will appear here.
Estimated after-tax value by strategy
Guided retirement plan growth
Guided account composition at retirement
Monthly retirement income plan
Strategy comparison
| Strategy | After-tax value | Real after-tax value | Monthly income | First-year allocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided | — | — | — | Enter your plan |
Year-by-year guided plan
| Year / age | Savings budget | 401(k) | Employer | Traditional IRA | Roth IRA | Taxable | Total balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection | — | — | — | — | — | — | Enter your plan |
How the retirement accounts work together
A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored account and may include an employer match. A Traditional IRA is an individual account whose contribution may be deductible. A Roth IRA uses after-tax contributions and can provide qualified tax-free withdrawals. A taxable brokerage account has no retirement contribution limit, but dividends, interest, and realized gains can create taxes.
The planner applies one annual savings budget, uses the 401(k) employee limit once, and shares one IRA limit across Traditional and Roth contributions. It then compares account-funding sequences rather than adding four isolated calculator results together.
Where ETFs, stocks, bonds, and funds fit
An ETF is an investment, not a retirement-account type. The same broad stock ETF, bond ETF, mutual fund, individual stock, or cash investment may be available inside a 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA, or taxable brokerage account. The account determines tax treatment; the holdings determine market exposure, diversification, volatility, expected return, and fees.
The portfolio step creates one weighted planning return from stocks and stock ETFs, bonds and bond ETFs, and cash. Real portfolios can differ by account because employer plans offer limited menus and taxable accounts may benefit from tax-aware asset placement. This first planner uses a shared allocation so account strategies remain comparable.
2026 rules and projection method
The calculator starts with verified 2026 401(k) and IRA contribution limits, Roth IRA income phase-outs, and Traditional IRA deduction phase-outs. Future limits are estimates grown with inflation; they are not future IRS announcements. The guided strategy captures available employer match first, then considers Roth eligibility, Traditional deductibility, tax-rate assumptions, remaining 401(k) room, and taxable investing.
Estimated current tax savings from deductible contributions are reinvested in the taxable account for a more transparent comparison. Projected 401(k) and Traditional IRA balances are reduced by the entered retirement tax rate, while positive taxable-account gains use the entered capital-gains rate. Actual taxes, investment returns, plan rules, and qualified-withdrawal treatment can differ.
Review the IRS 2026 contribution-limit announcement and IRA contribution rules in Publication 590-A.