Two retirement projections can use the same savings balance, the same contribution and the same return assumption and still disagree by hundreds of thousands of dollars. The difference is almost always inflation. This calculator answers the age-based question — how much will my nest egg be worth when I stop working, measured in money I can actually spend today? It converts your nominal return into a real return using the Fisher relation, then grows both your existing balance and your yearly contributions at that real rate. The headline number is therefore expressed in today's purchasing power, not in inflated future dollars. If you would rather see the raw nominal balance with monthly contributions, the Retirement Calculator at /finance/retirement-calculator/ models that instead; the two tools are deliberately different and reading them side by side is the fastest way to see how much of a projected balance is real growth and how much is simply price inflation.
Retirement math is only as useful as the units it is reported in. This projection is stated in today's dollars, so the number you read is a spending number rather than a statement number.
A nominal projection tells you the number that will appear on a future account statement. A real, inflation-adjusted projection tells you what that statement will buy. Both are correct; they answer different questions. A 7% nominal return alongside 3% inflation is a real return of about 3.88% per year, not 4% — dividing the growth factors rather than subtracting the rates is what makes the difference.
The gap compounds. Starting from $25,000 at age 30 with $6,000 added each year to age 65, a 3.88% real return produces roughly $527,000 in today's dollars. The same inputs run at the full 7% nominal rate produce a much larger headline balance, but the extra amount is the part inflation is expected to take back. Planning against the nominal figure is how retirement budgets end up short.
Pro tips and common mistakes: Enter both rates as percentages, not decimals: 7 for a 7% return, 3 for 3% inflation. Set inflation to 0 to read the projection in nominal future dollars, which is a useful reference point. If the nominal return equals inflation, the real return is 0 and the projection is simply your balance plus every contribution. For nominal balances with monthly contributions, compare against the Retirement Calculator at /finance/retirement-calculator/.
Inflation-adjusted future value of savings plus annual contributions
current_savings * Math.pow((1 + annual_return / 100) / (1 + inflation_rate / 100), Math.max(0, retirement_age - current_age)) + (Math.abs(((1 + annual_return / 100) / (1 + inflation_rate / 100) - 1)) < 1e-9 ? annual_contribution * Math.max(0, retirement_age - current_age) : annual_contribution * (Math.pow((1 + annual_return / 100) / (1 + inflation_rate / 100), Math.max(0, retirement_age - current_age)) - 1) / ((1 + annual_return / 100) / (1 + inflation_rate / 100) - 1))
The real annual return uses the Fisher relation: r = (1 + nominal) / (1 + inflation) - 1. Subtracting inflation from the nominal rate is a rough shortcut; dividing the growth factors is the exact version and the gap widens as both rates rise. Years until retirement is retirement_age - current_age, floored at zero. The projection then combines the future value of a lump sum with the future value of an ordinary annuity, both discounted to today's dollars: FV = PV x (1 + r)^n + PMT x ((1 + r)^n - 1) / r, with contributions treated as paid at the end of each year. When the real return rounds to zero — nominal return equal to inflation — the annuity term would divide by zero, so the tool falls back to PV + PMT x n, which is the mathematically correct limit of that expression as r approaches 0.
You are 30, plan to retire at 65, hold $25,000 in retirement accounts, add $6,000 each year, expect a 7% nominal return and assume 3% inflation.
Result: About $526,573 in today's purchasing power — roughly what $526,573 buys now, not what the statement will read in 2061.
Yes. Every calculator on CalcPlanet is 100% free, requires no signup, and runs entirely in your browser. There are no usage limits and no paywall.
The calculator applies the standard formula (FV = PV(1 + r)ⁿ + PMT × (((1 + r)ⁿ - 1) / r)) and is tested against worked examples. Results are accurate to the precision of the inputs you provide.
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No. All calculations run locally in your browser. Your inputs never leave your device unless you explicitly choose to share or save a result.