See how investing early can grow into real money
Change any number above and everything updates right away. Try starting small, then see what happens if you start just a few years earlier — that gap matters more than almost anything else.
Every month during your working years, your account balance grows a little from investment returns, and then your monthly contribution is added. Once a year, if you've told it your employer offers a match, it adds a match amount based on what you contributed that year.
When you reach retirement age, the tool switches to withdrawal mode: each month it grows the balance and then subtracts what you've chosen to withdraw, continuing until the balance reaches zero — that's the "estimated age funds run out" shown above.
All growth rates are averages you choose. Real investments go up and down year to year — this tool smooths that out to make the long-term pattern easier to see.
Growth phase
How much you plan to invest each month, in 5-year steps. Ages are editable — change one and the tool keeps things in order. Company match is a percentage of what you contribute that year (not your salary) — check your real plan documents for exactly how your employer's match works.
Withdraw phase
How much you plan to withdraw each month during retirement, in 5-year steps. The last row you fill in keeps repeating every year after that until the balance reaches zero. The rate above sets every row at once — rows stay individually editable.
Worth a look
Your balance over your lifetime
| Age | You contributed | Company match | Growth | Balance |
|---|
| Age | Balance (start of year) | Withdrawn | Growth | Balance (end of year) |
|---|