A retirement income calculator helps people plan for retirement by taking their current savings strategy and projecting the future income they may need to retire comfortably. This calculator incorporates information you share such as your current age, target retirement age, and your savings and investing strategies.

Our retirement calculator is more than the typical retirement savings calculator. When you input the below factors, you’ll receive a personalized retirement projection based on your current outlook, and an analysis of any retirement income gaps you may have. This will help you discover if you’re on track with your goals based on your current savings strategies, how long you’ll need your money to last, and how much income you’ll need to cover your expected expenses over time. We’ll also provide you alternate projections that may consider the impact of reducing your expected expenses in retirement, or increasing your savings now, to obtain a new retirement savings target at the start of retirement.

Factors you can change in the calculations:

• Current age, intended retirement age, and projected longevity.
  
• Current annual income and any potential retirement income such as social security, pensions, annuities, or part-time jobs.
  
• Current retirement savings and anticipated annual contributions to your retirement savings.
  
• Your current monthly expenses, to provide an understanding of how much you may need in retirement to maintain your standard of living.

Estimate your expected expenses and and contributions  and then we take care of adjusting for inflation, too. You can also change the inflation rate to see what would happen if the inflation rate grew over time during your retirement journey.

Prudential’s retirement calculator can be an important tool for assessing and improving your retirement planning. It can help you:

• Understand how different contribution levels can affect your chances of reaching your goals
• Experiment with different scenarios to see how it affects your retirement plan
• Make strategic decisions when it comes to savings habits or consider alternative investment strategies

Everyone’s situation is different. How much income you’ll need will depend on various factors including when you plan to retire, where you plan to live, the lifestyle you expect to have, and—as much as you may not want to think about it—how long you expect to live. Also remember that while certain expenses (like housing if you’ve paid up your mortgage or trade down to a smaller place) may fall once you’re retired, others (like travel, hobbies, and health care) may rise.

The sooner the better. In fact, thanks to compounding (the earnings on your earnings), the earlier you start saving for retirement, the less you may need to save to reach your goals. (By contrast, the longer you wait, the harder it may be to build a retirement fund that meets your needs.)

The closer you get to retirement, the more you should focus on planning for a comfortable, fulfilling life after work. That may include:

• Choosing where to live and what kind of lifestyle you’ll want
• Prepping for health care coverage and potential costs
• Determining when to start taking Social Security benefits
• Protecting your loved ones and legacy with an estate plan
• Creating a tax-efficient income plan to cover you once the paychecks stop

If your retirement savings estimate is lower than expected, it’s important not to panic. Instead, take proactive steps to enhance your financial outlook. Consulting with your financial advisor can provide personalized strategies to optimize your retirement plan and help ensure you stay on track with your long-term goals.