Free Tool

The Retirement Calculator

See how long your retirement savings could last. Enter a few simple numbers for an instant estimate of your retirement income, withdrawals, and how long your money may last. No email required.

This is a back-of-the-napkin estimate, not a plan. The plan is what the Bonfire Method is for.

How old are you? At what age do you want to make work optional? Current monthly expenses ($) Amount currently saved for retirement ($) Amount you are saving per year ($) Yearly Social Security you expect (household, $) Any yearly pensions ($)

Assumptions (tap to adjust)

Growth before retirement (%/yr) Growth after retirement (%/yr) Inflation (%/yr) Social Security starting age Average tax rate on withdrawals (%)

Your money could last until age–The age your savings run out on these assumptions. 100+ means they outlast the whole projection.

Projected savings at retirement–What you would have on the day work becomes optional.

First-year withdrawal, with taxes–What comes out of savings in year one, after Social Security and any pension pitch in.

Projected portfolio balance by age

The orange line is your projected savings at each age. It climbs while you are saving, then gets drawn down once work is optional (the dotted line). Hover anywhere on the chart to see the number for that age.

View as a table

How the math works: a year-by-year cash-flow projection, not the 4% rule.

Before your work-optional age, savings grow at the before-retirement rate, with your yearly saving added along the way.
After that, expenses rise with inflation and are paid first from Social Security (starting at the age set above) and pensions, both with cost-of-living increases.
The portfolio covers whatever remains. Every withdrawal is grossed up for taxes at the average rate set above (22% by default, roughly where many retired households land).
Whatever is left keeps growing at the after-retirement rate, projected to age 100.

Educational estimate only, not advice, and not a guarantee of any outcome. Your actual taxes depend on your account mix and withdrawal order, and markets will not move in a straight line.

Your retirement is more than a number.

The calculator gives you a starting point. A retirement plan considers the pieces it can’t: taxes, withdrawal strategy, Roth conversions, Social Security, and changing markets.

See how the Bonfire Method brings it all together.

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More Free Resources

The Retirement Calculator

Projected portfolio balance by age

Your retirement is more than a number.

Social Security & Medicare Cheat Sheet

Contribution Limits

The Enough Line

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