Retirement Calculator

The employer match is the highest-return line in the whole projection

A fifty-cent match on the dollar is an immediate 50 per cent return, before the money is invested in anything. No asset class offers that. Contributing 3 per cent when the match runs to 6 per cent does not halve your match — it forfeits half of it permanently, and the compounding on it as well. Over thirty years that forfeited match is frequently a six-figure number, which is what the “cost of missing the match” line above computes.

Nominal versus real, and why both are shown

A projection of $1.8 million in 2056 dollars is not $1.8 million of purchasing power. At 2.5 per cent inflation, money loses roughly half its value every 28 years. The real figure above deflates the balance back to today's money, which is the number to compare against today's expenses. Ignoring this is the single most common way retirement projections mislead.

The 4 per cent rule is a starting point, not a guarantee

It comes from research on historical US market returns suggesting a 4 per cent initial withdrawal, adjusted for inflation, survived 30 years in almost all historical windows. It assumes a particular asset mix, a 30-year horizon and US market history. Longer retirements, different portfolios, early sequence-of-returns risk and fees all push the safe rate down. Treat it as an order of magnitude, not a promise.

Frequently Asked Questions