The required nest egg is the capital needed at retirement to generate your desired annual income at a sustainable withdrawal rate. This calculator projects your current trajectory and shows any shortfall.
Withdrawal rate assumption
The classic 4% rule suggests you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one and adjust for inflation annually without running out. Modern research often uses 3.5% for added safety, particularly for early retirees with longer horizons.
Closing the gap
Three levers: contribute more, work longer, or reduce target retirement income. Most people find the largest impact comes from maximizing the years of compound growth, which means starting to save as early as possible.