Retirement Simulator for the United States
See your monthly income in retirement from Social Security, your 401(k), IRA, brokerage account and savings, in today's dollars and after federal tax, and how big the gap to your target really is.
1About you
Life expectancy at 65 is about 84 for men and 87 for women in the US; planning to 92 or later keeps a margin.
$
Gross pay before tax. Social Security counts earnings up to the $184,500 wage base; your 401(k) contribution and the employer match are percentages of this figure.
Filing status
Couples file one joint return with the married brackets; turn on the spouse block to add their Social Security, 401(k) and salary, including the spousal benefit.
2Social SecurityFine-tune
Estimate: $2,746 a month from age 67 (100 % of the $2,746 you would get at your full retirement age of 67). Turn on to enter your statement figure.
3401(k) or 403(b)
$
All your workplace plans together, Roth and pre-tax, from your latest statement. Old plans from previous employers count too.
%
%
%
%
$4,500 a year from you plus $2,250 from your employer. The employee limit is $24,500 for your age in 2026, more with the catch-up from 50.
The Roth share applies to your balance and to your future contributions; the employer match is always pre-tax. Pre-tax withdrawals are taxed as income in retirement, Roth withdrawals are tax-free.
4IRA and pensionOptional
IRA of $15,000, no pension. Turn on to change the contribution or the Roth share, or to add a pension.
5Brokerage account and savings
$
$
%
Nominal, on all accounts until you retire. 7 % is a common long-run figure for a stock-heavy mix; the return after retirement is set under assumptions.
Monthly savings go into the brokerage account on top of the 401(k) and IRA contributions above. Gains are taxed at the capital gains rate as you sell.
%
The share of today's brokerage value that is gain over what you paid; only that share of a sale is taxed, at 15 %. Savings from now on are tracked.
6Life in retirement
$
In today's dollars, after housing, before health insurance premiums (entered separately below). A common rule of thumb is 70 to 80 % of your take-home pay.
$
$
The 2026 Medicare Part B premium is $202.90 a month per person; add a Part D and Medigap or Advantage premium for the full picture. The income surcharge (IRMAA) is added automatically when your income two years earlier is above the thresholds. Both premiums are added on top of your spending target.
7AssumptionsOptional
Inflation 2.5 %, 4 % return after retirement, 15 % capital gains tax, 0 % state income tax. Turn on to change them.
In today's dollars · after federal taxRetiring at 65
$2,509 a month to spare
From age 65 you could spend $6,009 a month for the rest of your life, after tax and health premiums. You said you want $3,500.
of your spending target
172 %
capital lasts past age
92+
Your first year of retirement (age 65), month by monthFull width = your target of $3,500
Withdrawals from your accounts$3,500
Already net of $275 income tax on the pre-tax withdrawals, $203 health premiums a month in the first year.
What pays you, and from when
Social Security, 100 % of the full benefit · from 67$2,746 / month
Pre-tax accounts (401(k), traditional IRA), taxed as withdrawn · at 65$694,150
Brokerage account, gains taxed as sold · at 65$465,810
Spending $3,500 a month, your capital lasts beyond age 92, with about $1,143,969 still left.
Your Social Security gapWhat Social Security alone pays after tax and premiums, against what you want to spend.
Social Security alone, after tax$2,543
Gap$957
Closed by your accounts and savings$957
Social Security alone pays $2,543 a month after tax and premiums, 73 % of your target: a gap of $957 a month. Your accounts and savings close $957 of it.
$2,746 a month gross at your claiming age, from a primary insurance amount of $2,746 at 67; the 2026 maximum at full retirement age is $4,152. Health premiums are deducted here too.
The waiting years
Between 65 and 67, before Social Security and required distributions, your taxable income leaves about $20,813 a year of room under the top of the 12 % bracket ($50,400 taxable): space to convert pre-tax money to Roth at 12 % instead of at your rate later.
Between 65 and 67 Social Security is not paid yet: 2 years to finance from your accounts alone, about $84,000 at your target of $3,500 a month.
Social Security cannot be claimed before 62, and every month before 67 cuts the benefit for life. Moving the retirement age closer to your claiming age shortens the bridge.
If you stopped at…Your biggest lever. Pick an age and everything on this page updates.
Monthly income if you retire at
Every extra year of work is worth about $410 a month for the rest of your life.
Medicare starts at 65, Social Security from 62. Retiring before 65 means paying for your own health plan until then.
When to claim Social SecurityThe benefit is paid for life, so the claiming age is a bet on how long you live.
Monthly benefit if you claim at
Claiming at your full retirement age of 67 pays $2,746 a month. Every year of waiting adds 8 % until 70; every year earlier cuts 5 to 6.7 %.
Pick an age to use it everywhere on this page. Claiming while still working is not modelled (the earnings test would withhold part of the benefit): the plan claims at the later of the two ages.
New contributions: pre-tax or Roth?
Today 0 % of your 401(k) contributions go to Roth. The same plan with every new dollar pre-tax, or every new dollar Roth, on the same take-home pay (the employer match stays pre-tax):
Pre-tax (traditional)Selected
$6,009 / month
spendable a month for life, all sources together
Average tax in retirement$244 / month
Capital lasts beyond age92
RothHigher
$6,024 / month
spendable a month for life, all sources together
Average tax in retirement$23 / month
Capital lasts beyond age92
Over your whole plan, going Roth supports $15 more a month for life than pre-tax.
A pre-tax dollar costs you 78 cents of take-home pay at your 22 % marginal rate today, so the Roth route contributes 4.7 % of salary instead of 6 % for the same pay cheque. Roth wins when your tax rate in retirement is higher than today's, pre-tax when it is lower; mixing both keeps the choice open.
Your money, year by yearWhat you own, every payout and what comes in, on one age scale. Hover any year for the detail.
What you own, in USD
$1.28M
$957k
$638k
$319k
$0
Retire at 65
Pre-tax accounts (401(k), traditional IRA)
Roth accounts
Brokerage account and cash
Capital in USD at the start of each year, in today's money, before the payouts due that year. Pre-tax accounts stay in their band while you draw them down, Roth accounts in theirs; the brokerage account is the free band.
What comes in each month, against what you want to spend
$4k
$3k
$2k
$1k
$0
Target · $4kWorking years
35455565758592
Social Security
From your accounts
Monthly figures in USD, today's money. Social Security and pensions after tax, and withdrawals after the tax on them, are stacked against the spending target line; health premiums are deducted; the gap above the stack is what is missing that year.
When the money arrives
2056 · Age 65 · Brokerage account available for withdrawals
Gains taxed at 15 % as sold$465,810
Gains taxed at 15 % as sold$465,810
2056 · Age 65 · IRA pre-tax balance available for withdrawals
Taxed as ordinary income in the year you withdraw$54,436
Taxed as ordinary income in the year you withdraw$54,436
2056 · Age 65 · 401(k) pre-tax balance available for withdrawals
Taxed as ordinary income in the year you withdraw$639,714
Taxed as ordinary income in the year you withdraw$639,714
2058 · Age 67 · Social Security starts at your full retirement age$2,746 / month
2066 · Age 75 · Required minimum distributions start on the pre-tax accounts
First year: $8,938 more than the year needs, reinvested in the brokerage account after tax$23,890
First year: $8,938 more than the year needs, reinvested in the brokerage account after tax$23,890
What this assumes
Inflation2.5 %
Return after retirement4 %
Full retirement age67
Primary insurance amount (benefit at full retirement age)$2,746 / month
Claiming factor at 67100 %
401(k) · IRA open from65 · 65
Required minimum distributions from75
Filing status · standard deductionSingle · $16,100
12 % bracket filled from pre-tax accounts up to (taxable income)$50,400
Capital gains rate · state income tax15 % · 0 %
Health plan a month · Medicare Part B$1,600 · $202.90
Every figure is in today's dollars, so the target you enter buys in retirement what it buys now. The full method and its sources are in the methodology section below.
MyFinanceTools · Portfolio trackerFree account
Run this with your real pension balances.
Add your 401(k), IRA and brokerage accounts to a free account and the simulator prefills from them, while your dashboard tracks the balances, your savings and your retirement goal as they move. See how the portfolio tracker works.
Calculators prefill from your real numbers
Net worth, goals & progress tracked automatically
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How to
From your Social Security statement to one monthly number in five steps
1
Enter your age, salary and filing status
The salary sets your 401(k) contributions and the Social Security estimate. Married couples file jointly; turn on the spouse block to plan as a household with two benefits.
2
Copy your Social Security statement
Log in at ssa.gov/myaccount: the statement shows your benefit at full retirement age in today's dollars. Enter it under the Social Security card, then pick a claiming age between 62 and 70.
3
Add your 401(k) or 403(b)
Take the balance from your plan statement and the contribution and match percentages from your payslip or plan summary. Say what share is Roth.
4
Add IRA, pension, brokerage account and savings
An IRA goes in with its Roth share; a defined benefit pension as a yearly amount. Your taxable brokerage account and monthly savings bridge any years before your accounts open.
5
Set your retirement lifestyle and health premiums
Enter the monthly spending you want in today's dollars, plus your health premium before Medicare if you retire before 65. The page shows your gap, what closes it, when the money arrives and how every year of work or waiting changes the result.
Concepts
How the US retirement system turns into monthly income
Primary insurance amount (PIA)
Your Social Security benefit at full retirement age. It comes from your highest 35 years of indexed earnings: 90 % of the first 1,286 dollars of average monthly earnings, 32 % up to 7,749 dollars, 15 % above (2026 bend points). The formula favours lower earners.
Full retirement age and claiming factors
67 for anyone born in 1960 or later (66 to 67 for earlier cohorts). Claiming at 62 pays 70 % of the PIA, waiting until 70 pays 124 %: 5/9 of 1 % per month for the first 36 months early, 5/12 of 1 % beyond, and 2/3 of 1 % per month of delay.
Spousal benefit
A married person can get up to 50 % of their spouse's PIA if that is more than their own benefit, once the spouse has filed. It is reduced for claiming before full retirement age and earns no delayed credits. Survivor benefits (the higher of the two benefits continues) are not modelled here.
Pre-tax versus Roth
Traditional 401(k) and IRA contributions are deducted today and taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn; Roth contributions are taxed today and withdrawn tax-free. The employer match is always pre-tax. Required minimum distributions from 73 (75 for people born in 1960 or later) apply to pre-tax accounts only.
The 59½ rule
Taxable withdrawals from a 401(k) or IRA before 59½ carry a 10 % penalty, with exceptions: the rule of 55 for the 401(k) of an employer you leave in or after the year you turn 55, and substantially equal periodic payments (72(t)). Roth contributions (not earnings) can come out at any time.
Taxation of Social Security
Up to 50 % of your benefit is taxable once provisional income (other income plus half the benefit) exceeds 25,000 dollars for a single filer or 32,000 dollars for a couple, up to 85 % above 34,000 and 44,000 dollars. These thresholds have never been indexed, so more of the benefit becomes taxable every year.
Medicare and the years before it
Medicare starts at 65: Part A is premium-free with 40 quarters of work, Part B costs 202.90 dollars a month in 2026 (more above 109,000 dollars of income), Part D and Medigap come on top. Before 65 a retiree buys their own plan; the full-price benchmark silver premium for a 60-year-old averages about 1,600 dollars a month in 2026, before any premium tax credit.
Today's money
All figures are shown in today's purchasing power. Returns are reduced by the inflation you enter, pensions without a COLA and the unindexed benefit-taxation thresholds lose value each year, and Social Security keeps its value through the cost-of-living adjustment.
Tips
Six levers that change the result most
Get the full employer match
A 50 % match on 6 % of salary is an immediate 50 % return on that money. Contributing below the match cap leaves part of your compensation on the table; the hint under the 401(k) card tells you when that happens.
Check your Social Security statement every year
The statement shows your earnings record and your estimated benefit at 62, 67 and 70 in today's dollars. Missing years lower the 35-year average; a wrong record can be corrected with a W-2 or tax return.
Price the bridge years before Social Security
Retiring at 60 and claiming at 67 means seven years financed from your accounts, plus five years of your own health plan. The simulator prices both; often a slightly later retirement beats claiming early.
Fill the 12 % bracket from pre-tax accounts first
Withdrawals from a traditional 401(k) or IRA up to the top of the 12 % bracket (plus the standard deduction) are cheap; Roth conversions in those years shrink future required minimum distributions. The simulator draws in that order.
Waiting to claim is the cheapest annuity you can buy
Each year of delay adds 8 % to the benefit for life, inflation-protected. If you are healthy and can bridge from savings, waiting from 67 to 70 pays off if you live past your early 80s; a surviving spouse inherits the higher amount too.
Plan health insurance before Medicare
Keeping income below 400 % of the poverty level in the pre-Medicare years qualifies you for premium tax credits that can cut a 1,600-dollar premium to a few hundred; drawing from Roth and brokerage principal rather than pre-tax accounts helps.
FAQ
How much Social Security will I get?+
Your benefit at full retirement age is your primary insurance amount: 90 % of the first 1,286 dollars of your average indexed monthly earnings over your best 35 years, 32 % of the next slice up to 7,749 dollars and 15 % above (2026 bend points). Someone earning 75,000 dollars for 35 years gets about 2,750 dollars a month at 67; the 2026 maximum is 4,152 dollars. Your Social Security statement at ssa.gov/myaccount shows your own figure, and the simulator takes it as the input.
Should I claim Social Security at 62, 67 or 70?+
Claiming at 62 pays 70 % of your full benefit for life, at 70 it pays 124 %. Waiting pays off if you live past about 80 to 83, which most retirees in good health do, and it protects a surviving spouse, who inherits the higher benefit. Claiming early makes sense with a shorter life expectancy, no other income to bridge the years, or when the earlier money lets your investments keep growing. The claiming block on the page shows the break-even age for your plan.
How is Social Security taxed?+
Federally, up to 50 % of the benefit counts as income when your provisional income (other income plus half the benefit) exceeds 25,000 dollars as a single filer or 32,000 dollars filing jointly, and up to 85 % above 34,000 or 44,000 dollars. These thresholds are not indexed for inflation. Most states do not tax Social Security at all; the simulator applies the state rate to your other income only.
What happens if I retire before 59½ or before 65?+
Before 59½, taxable withdrawals from a 401(k) or IRA carry a 10 % penalty, unless you left your employer in or after the year you turned 55 (rule of 55, for that 401(k) only) or set up substantially equal periodic payments. The simulator keeps the accounts locked until then and bridges from your brokerage account; the switch under the retirement age opens them at retirement with the penalty applied, and the bridge block says which route leaves more for life. Before 65 there is no Medicare: you pay for your own plan, about 1,600 dollars a month full price for a 60-year-old in 2026, less with premium tax credits. Both costs appear in the bridge block.
Traditional or Roth 401(k)?+
Pre-tax contributions save tax at your marginal rate today and are taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn; Roth contributions are taxed today and are tax-free later, including all growth. Roth wins when your tax rate in retirement will be higher than today's, pre-tax when it will be lower. The comparison block runs both routes on the same take-home pay. Mixing both gives you the choice each year in retirement of which pot to draw from.
What about required minimum distributions?+
From 73 (75 for people born in 1960 or later) you must withdraw a minimum share of your pre-tax accounts each year, the balance divided by an IRS life-expectancy factor (about 3.8 % at 73, 4.1 % at 75, 6.3 % at 85), and pay income tax on it. The simulator forces them: whatever the year does not spend is reinvested in the brokerage account after tax. A large pre-tax balance therefore means higher taxable income late in the plan, which Roth conversions in the early retirement years can smooth. Roth 401(k) and Roth IRA balances have no lifetime minimums.
Does the simulator handle couples?+
Yes. Set married filing jointly and turn on the spouse block: their Social Security, 401(k), pension and salary while they still work join the plan on the joint return with the married brackets, and the lower earner is topped up to half of the other's benefit (spousal benefit) once both have claimed, reduced if claimed early. Survivor benefits and the family maximum are not modelled.
Which health costs are included?+
A monthly premium before Medicare for the years between retirement and 65, reduced by the premium tax credit estimated from your income in each year (last year's withdrawals, realised gains and benefits against the poverty level; nothing above 400 % of it), and the Medicare Part B premium from 65 (202.90 dollars a month in 2026) plus the income surcharge (IRMAA) when your income two years earlier exceeds 109,000 dollars (218,000 filing jointly), per person, on top of your spending target. Not included: Part D and Medigap premiums (add them to the Medicare field), deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, and Medicaid below the poverty level.
Will Social Security still exist when I retire?+
The trustees project the retirement trust fund to be depleted in the early 2030s; after that, incoming payroll taxes would cover roughly 77 to 81 % of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts. Every previous shortfall was fixed before it hit. The confidence setting lets you plan on any share of the scheduled benefit; 80 % is a cautious figure.
How accurate is this?+
Close, not to the dollar. Social Security uses the statutory bend points and claiming factors on your statement figure or on a flat real salary; federal tax uses the 2026 standard deduction (with the extra amounts at 65) and brackets, indexed for inflation; the benefit taxation thresholds and the senior deduction are treated as nominal. Not modelled: itemised deductions and credits, the earnings test, the net investment income tax, state rules beyond one effective rate, HSAs, and the 0 % capital gains bracket. Everything is in today's dollars.
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All amounts are in today's purchasing power: nominal returns are deflated by the inflation assumption and contributions are held constant in real terms. Social Security: the primary insurance amount from your statement (implied average earnings back-solved and scaled down if you stop working before your full retirement age) or estimated from your current salary held flat over the years worked so far plus the years to retirement, pro rata to 35 years, capped at the wage base, at the 2026 bend points; the claiming factor for 62 to 70 (5/9 of 1 % per month for 36 months, 5/12 beyond, 2/3 of 1 % per month of delay); COLA-indexed, so held in real terms; the confidence haircut; the spousal top-up to 50 % of the other PIA with the spousal factors. Claiming before the age work stops is lifted to it. Federal tax: the taxable share of benefits by provisional income (thresholds fixed in nominal dollars, deflated each year), the standard deduction with the additional amount at 65 and the 2025 to 2028 senior deduction (phased out at 6 % above 75,000 / 150,000 dollars), the 2026 brackets (indexed, so constant in real terms), single or married filing jointly; state tax as one effective rate on income other than Social Security. Pre-tax 401(k), 403(b) and traditional IRA balances are ordinary income when withdrawn, grossed up through the tax function; Roth is untaxed; the employer match is pre-tax. Withdrawals fill the 12 % bracket from pre-tax accounts, then the brokerage account (long-term capital gains at the entered rate on the gain share, cost basis from the unrealised gain plus later savings), then Roth, then pre-tax again. Access: a 401(k) at retirement from 55 (rule of 55), otherwise 401(k) and IRA at 60. Contributions: the employee percentage up to the deferral limit with the catch-ups at 50 and 60 to 63, the match on at most the matched percentage of salary, the IRA up to its limit; all stop at retirement. Required minimum distributions from 73 (75 for people born in 1960 or later) are taken out of the pre-tax pot each year (prior year-end balance over the Uniform Lifetime Table factor, by the first person's age for the household pot), taxed, and reinvested in the brokerage account where the year does not spend them. Healthcare: the entered premium before 65 minus the premium tax credit estimated from the previous plan year's income (pensions, wages, pre-tax withdrawals, realised gains and all Social Security against the household poverty level, 2026 applicable percentages, nothing above 400 %; the first bridge year from a conservative estimate), and the Medicare premium from 65 plus the Part B surcharge (IRMAA) from the income of two plan years earlier, per person, as costs on top of spending. The earnings test, penalties and survivor benefits are not modelled.
Sources: SSA, 2026 Social Security Changes (COLA, wage base, earnings test, maximum benefit) · Benefit formula bend points · Retirement age calculator · Starting your retirement benefits early · Delayed retirement credits · Benefits for your spouse · IRS Publication 915 (taxation of benefits) · IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 standard deduction, brackets, capital gains thresholds) · IRS Notice 2025-67 (2026 401(k) and IRA limits) · IRS Topic 409 · CMS 2026 Medicare Parts A and B premiums and deductibles · IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25 (2026 premium tax credit percentages) · HHS poverty guidelines 2025 · KFF marketplace premium analysis (benchmark silver premiums 2026). Figures checked on 28 September 2026.