— Retirement & FIRE
Retirement Corpus Calculator
Calculate how big a retirement corpus you need. Enter target income, withdrawal rate or retirement length, return, tax, pension income, and legacy goal to see the required nest egg in today’s and future money.
Required corpus
$1,250,000
- × your annual expenses
- 25
- At a 3% rate (safer)
- $1,666,666.67
- At a 5% rate
- $1,000,000
Try: $50k expenses at 4%, Present value: $50k for 30 years, $60k, $20k pension, cautious 3%, $50k now, retiring in 15 years
— Corpus by withdrawal rate
| Withdrawal rate | Corpus needed |
|---|---|
| 3% | $1,666,667 |
| 3.5% | $1,428,571 |
| 4% | $1,250,000 |
| 4.5% | $1,111,111 |
| 5% | $1,000,000 |
| 6% | $833,333 |
— Corpus vs withdrawal rate
Download— How it works
SWR method: corpus = (annual expenses − other income, grossed up for tax) ÷ safe withdrawal rate, plus any legacy. PV method: the lump sum that funds those inflation-adjusted withdrawals over your retirement length at the real return, ending at the legacy.
Your retirement number
The corpus is the pot that throws off your retirement income. The quickest way to size it is the safe-withdrawal-rate rule: if you can draw 4% a year, you need 25 times your annual expenses. The other way is a present-value calculation — the lump sum that, growing at your return, exactly funds your inflation-adjusted spending across a set retirement length (and leaves any legacy). The first assumes the pot roughly lasts forever; the second targets a specific horizon, so it usually needs a little less.
Worked example — $50,000 a year of spending: At a 4% withdrawal rate you need $1,250,000 (25×). At a cautious 3% it’s $1,666,667 (33×). The present-value method over 30 years at a 5% return (2.5% inflation) needs about $1,081,000.
What moves the number
Other income is the biggest reducer: a pension or Social Security covering part of your spending means your corpus only has to fund the rest, cutting the target sharply. A lower withdrawal rate, a legacy you want to leave, and tax on withdrawals all push it up — tax especially, since you must withdraw more than you spend to cover it. The sensitivity table shows the corpus at withdrawal rates from 3% to 6%, so you can see how much safety costs.
Today’s money vs future money
The headline is in today’s money — what the pot is worth in spending power now. If you’re still years from retiring, set the years-until-retirement figure and it also shows the corpus in future money: the same purchasing power costs more in nominal terms once inflation has done its work. To turn the target into a monthly savings plan, use the Retirement Savings or FIRE calculator. As always, the safe-withdrawal-rate rule is a planning guide, not a guarantee — it ignores sequence-of-returns risk.
— Reader questions
How much do I need to retire?
A common rule is 25 times your annual expenses — so $50,000 a year of spending needs about $1.25 million. Net off any pension or Social Security first, and use a lower multiple (closer to 33×) if you want extra safety or a long retirement.
What’s the difference between the two methods?
The withdrawal-rate method divides expenses by a safe rate (25× at 4%) and assumes the pot roughly lasts indefinitely. The present-value method funds your spending over a specific number of years at your return, so it targets a horizon and usually needs slightly less.
How does Social Security or a pension change it?
It reduces the corpus a lot, because your savings only need to cover spending above that guaranteed income. $60,000 of expenses with a $20,000 pension means the corpus funds $40,000 — at 4%, $1,000,000 instead of $1,500,000.
Should I use 4%, or something lower?
For a ~30-year retirement, 4% has held up historically. For an early or long retirement, 3–3.5% is safer — and means a bigger corpus. The sensitivity table shows the target at each rate so you can choose your margin.
Is the corpus in today’s or future money?
The main figure is in today’s money. Enter your years until retirement and it also shows the future (nominal) amount — the same spending power costs more in tomorrow’s dollars.