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Investing & Retirement

Retirement Goal Calculator

Compare a projected retirement balance with your target and estimate the monthly contribution needed under the assumptions you enter.

Quick mode

Start with the few inputs that usually move the answer most. MFA keeps transparent defaults for the rest until you open them.

$
$
%

Effective annual return assumption. Negative values can be used for downside stress tests.

yr
$

MFA will grow this target with inflation so the retirement-date amount has similar modeled purchasing power.

Quick-mode assumptions: your goal is currently treated as today's purchasing power with 2.5% inflation. Open Full to change the goal basis or inflation rate.

Projected Balance

$1,316,175

Shortfall ⚠️

Goal · today's dollars

$1,000,000

Retirement-date target

$2,097,568

Shortfall

$781,393

Monthly needed from now

$1,468

A $1,000,000 goal in today's purchasing power becomes about $2,097,568 in 30 years at 2.5% modeled inflation. That keeps the future balance and the goal in the same type of dollars.

Visual projection

Projected balance vs. target

7% return · 2.5% inflation

Yr 1Yr 4Yr 7Yr 10Yr 13Yr 16Yr 19Yr 22Yr 26Yr 30$0k$550k$1100k$1650k$2200k
  • Projected balance
  • Retirement target

At these assumptions, projected savings do not meet the modeled target within 30 years.

The modeled retirement-date shortfall is $781,393. Reaching the same target with the return/timeline assumptions entered requires about $1,468/month from now.

What this means for you

The projection is about $781,393 below the retirement-date target.

  • Your goal is stated in today's purchasing power, so MFA inflates it to $2,097,568 at retirement rather than comparing today's $1,000,000 with future nominal dollars.
  • The model assumes constant 7% annual returns and level $800 monthly contributions. Actual returns are uneven, fees/taxes can matter, and contributions often change with income.
  • A target account balance is only one retirement-planning lens. Spending needs, Social Security, pensions, taxes, healthcare, longevity and withdrawal strategy can materially change the amount needed.
Check your 401(k) contribution rate

Educational projection only. Inflation and return assumptions are not forecasts or guarantees.

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Go deeper in Excel

Retirement & 401(k) Planner

Contribution limits, employer match, Roth vs Traditional, growth assumptions and retirement-gap analysis. The workbook is being built as a reusable companion to MFA's free web tools.

Planned workbook: 401(k) · IRA · Roth/Traditional · retirement projections.

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Educational estimates only. Not financial, tax, investment, legal, payroll, mortgage, or insurance advice. Results may vary based on rates, tax rules, lender terms, state laws, and personal circumstances. Financial values entered into supported calculators may be stored privately with technical data such as IP address for MFA analytics, security, debugging and product improvement. Do not enter account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers or login credentials. Privacy details.