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THE 1% BETTER RETIREMENT CALCULATOR
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Your Number: how much you need to never work again, and the year you get there
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YOUR INFORMATION (edit the yellow cells)YOUR NUMBER
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Current age40In today's dollars
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Annual spending you want in retirement (today's $)$400,000$4,000,000
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Safe withdrawal rate10%
That is this many times your annual spending
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Current savings and investments$14,000
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Annual contributions (what you add each year)$24,000
You reach your number in
40+ yrs
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Expected annual return4.0%
Calendar year / your age
not within 40 yrs
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Inflation rate4.0%Years from now-
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This year2026Try different rates: 4.7% = Bengen 2025 (about 21x) | 4.0% = classic rule (25x) | 3.5% = early / 40+ yr retirement (about 29x)
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HOW MUCH YOU NEED, AND WHAT YOU WILL HAVE
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Years from nowYearYour ageProjected savingsNumber needed to retireSurplus / (Gap)Can you retire?OK
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0202640$14,000$4,000,000($3,986,000)not yet0
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1202741$38,560$4,160,000($4,121,440)not yet0
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2202842$64,102$4,326,400($4,262,298)not yet0
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3202943$90,666$4,499,456($4,408,790)not yet0
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4203044$118,293$4,679,434($4,561,141)not yet0
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5203145$147,025$4,866,612($4,719,587)not yet0
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6203246$176,906$5,061,276($4,884,370)not yet0
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7203347$207,982$5,263,727($5,055,745)not yet0
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8203448$240,301$5,474,276($5,233,975)not yet0
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9203549$273,913$5,693,247($5,419,334)not yet0
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10203650$308,870$5,920,977($5,612,107)not yet0
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11203751$345,225$6,157,816($5,812,591)not yet0
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12203852$383,034$6,404,129($6,021,095)not yet0
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13203953$422,355$6,660,294($6,237,939)not yet0
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14204054$463,249$6,926,706($6,463,456)not yet0
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15204155$505,779$7,203,774($6,697,995)not yet0
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16204256$550,010$7,491,925($6,941,914)not yet0
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17204357$596,011$7,791,602($7,195,591)not yet0
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18204458$643,851$8,103,266($7,459,415)not yet0
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19204559$693,605$8,427,397($7,733,791)not yet0
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20204660$745,350$8,764,493($8,019,143)not yet0
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21204761$799,164$9,115,072($8,315,909)not yet0
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22204862$855,130$9,479,675($8,624,545)not yet0
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23204963$913,335$9,858,862($8,945,527)not yet0
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24205064$973,869$10,253,217($9,279,348)not yet0
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25205165$1,036,824$10,663,345($9,626,522)not yet0
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26205266$1,102,296$11,089,879($9,987,583)not yet0
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27205367$1,170,388$11,533,474($10,363,086)not yet0
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28205468$1,241,204$11,994,813($10,753,609)not yet0
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29205569$1,314,852$12,474,606($11,159,754)not yet0
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30205670$1,391,446$12,973,590($11,582,144)not yet0
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31205771$1,471,104$13,492,534($12,021,430)not yet0
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32205872$1,553,948$14,032,235($12,478,287)not yet0
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33205973$1,640,106$14,593,524($12,953,418)not yet0
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34206074$1,729,710$15,177,265($13,447,555)not yet0
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35206175$1,822,899$15,784,356($13,961,457)not yet0
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36206276$1,919,815$16,415,730($14,495,916)not yet0
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37206377$2,020,607$17,072,359($15,051,752)not yet0
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38206478$2,125,431$17,755,254($15,629,822)not yet0
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39206579$2,234,449$18,465,464($16,231,015)not yet0
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40206680$2,347,827$19,204,083($16,856,256)not yet0
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HOW IT WORKS
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• Your Number = the annual income you want, divided by your safe withdrawal rate. At 4.7% that is about 21 times your yearly spending.
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• The number needed grows each year with inflation, because $80,000 of spending costs more in the future. That is why waiting raises the target.
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• Projected savings grows your current savings at your expected return, plus everything you add each year. Where the gold line crosses the dark line is the year you can retire.
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• Bill Bengen, who created the 4% rule, raised his safe rate to 4.7% in 2025. Morningstar is more cautious at about 3.7%. For a 40-plus year retirement, many use 3.5%. Pick your own comfort level in the yellow cell.
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This calculator is for education, not financial advice. It uses simple assumptions and does not account for taxes, Social Security, or market ups and downs. The safe withdrawal rate is a historical rule of thumb, not a guarantee. Talk to a fee-only fiduciary before making decisions.
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