The number depends on three things only. What you spend, how long the money has to last and what withdrawal rate you trust. Everything else is detail.
Most people work it backwards from a salary they remember rather than the spending they actually have. Spending is the honest input, because it is the thing the portfolio has to replace.
Take annual spending, subtract any Social Security or pension income you will receive, and multiply what is left by 25. If you spend $60,000 and expect $24,000 from Social Security, the portfolio only has to cover $36,000, so the target is around $900,000 rather than $1.5 million.
That falls out of the gap between what you have and what you need, the years remaining and an assumed return. A useful sanity check is that at 7 percent, a dollar invested 30 years out becomes about $7.61, and one invested 10 years out becomes about $1.97. Early money does almost all the work.
Use a real return, meaning after inflation, and plan your spending in today's dollars. Around 5 percent real for a stock heavy portfolio is a defensible middle. Using 10 percent nominal against spending that never inflates is the most common way these calculations flatter themselves.
Only if you are saving enough to hit it. The 2026 employee deferral limit is $24,500, and the IRA limit is $7,500. Above that, extra saving goes to a taxable brokerage, which matters for early retirement because taxable money is reachable before 59 and a half.
Retirement number calculator
Pick your number and the age you want to hit it. See the monthly investment it takes — and how much cheaper it gets the earlier you start.
Treats your target as buying power today, and grows it by inflation to your retirement age.
Invest every month
$294/mo
for 35 years, to reach $1,000,000 by age 65 at 10% a year.
You contribute
$123,573
420 monthly payments
The market adds
$876,427
88% of the final total is growth
What if you'd started earlier?
Monthly investment needed to reach $1,000,000 by age 65 at 10% a year, starting from $0 at each age.
| Start at age | Years invested | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 45 | $111/mo |
| 30you | 35 | $294/mo |
| 40 | 25 | $811/mo |
| 50 | 15 | $2,510/mo |
| 60 | 5 | $13,061/mo |
This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice. Your numbers never leave your browser — nothing you type here is stored, sent, or tracked. Want to know what you could actually invest each month? Deco tracks your real spending automatically.