Retirement savings by age
The balance that keeps you on pace at every age, worked out from your salary, your savings rate and the retirement you want, and how far ahead or behind you are today.
Your numbers
Of salary, employer money included.
Today’s dollars.
Social Security, pensions.
Before inflation, after fees.
Result
Ahead of pace by
$200,000
On pace at 40 is $0; you have $200,000 (2.4× salary).
- Needed at 65
- $462,406
- You reach at 65
- $962,392
| Age | On pace | Your savings |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | $0 | — |
| 28 | $0 | — |
| 31 | $0 | — |
| 34 | $0 | — |
| 37 | $0 | — |
| 40 | $0 | $200,000 |
| 43 | $22,576 | $261,442 |
| 46 | $65,216 | $329,395 |
| 49 | $112,373 | $404,550 |
| 52 | $164,529 | $487,670 |
| 55 | $222,212 | $579,598 |
| 58 | $286,008 | $681,268 |
| 61 | $356,564 | $793,713 |
| 64 | $434,598 | $918,075 |
| 65 | $462,406 | $962,392 |
| Age | On-pace balance | × salary |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | $0 | 0.0× |
| 45 | $50,523 | 0.6× |
| 50 | $129,178 | 1.5× |
| 55 | $222,212 | 2.6× |
| 60 | $332,251 | 3.9× |
| 65 | $462,406 | 5.4× |
RetirementPace is an educational tool, not financial, tax or legal advice. RetirementPace is not a registered investment adviser.
Track whether you stay on pace
A calculator answers today. Pace is whether you’re still on track next month and next year. Save this as a plan in the free planner (it stays in your browser), and soon record your real balances each month to see if you’re ahead or behind.
How it works
First the nest egg: the amount that, invested at your return after inflation, pays the spending your other income doesn’t cover every year from retirement to the age you plan to, and runs out exactly then. Then, for every age, the balance that grows into the nest egg by retirement when you keep saving your rate of salary. That line is pace. Your own path is today’s savings plus the same savings.
Everything is in today’s dollars at expected returns, with each year’s savings and withdrawals spread through the year. Taxes are not included: enter spending before tax, or use the retirement calculator, which taxes withdrawals.
Worked example
A 40-year-old earning $85,000 and saving 15% of it, who wants $50,000 a year from 65 to 95 with $26,000 of Social Security, needs $462,406 at 65. On pace today is $0, so $200,000 saved is ahead by $200,000.
Questions
How much should I have saved by 30, 40, 50 and 60?
Rules of thumb give multiples of salary, but the right number depends on when you retire, what you will spend, what Social Security will pay and how much you save from here on. This calculator works the multiples out from your own numbers. The table shows them for every age to retirement.
What does on pace mean?
That your savings today, plus what you keep saving at your current rate, grow into the nest egg your retirement needs by the day you retire. Ahead of pace means you could save less and still get there; behind means you would need to save more, retire later or plan to spend less.
Why is the on-pace balance zero at young ages?
With a high enough savings rate and enough years, future savings alone grow into the nest egg, so you would be on pace even starting from nothing. The line rises from the age where that stops being true.
Should the savings rate include my employer’s match?
Yes. Count everything that goes into retirement accounts each year, yours and your employer’s, as a share of your salary.
Why does the retirement calculator give a different answer?
This calculator uses expected returns every year, so it finds the balance that is exactly enough if markets deliver their average. The retirement calculator also runs 1,000 simulated markets, taxes and healthcare; being exactly on pace here can mean roughly even odds there, or worse. A cushion above the line is what turns a coin flip into a comfortable margin.