Finance & Money

Retirement Goal

Monthly contribution needed to hit your retirement number.

This calculator works backwards from your goal: you tell it how much you want to retire with, how much you already have, and how many years you have left, and it tells you exactly how much to save each month.

Enter your numbers

Retirement Goal ($)

Current Savings ($)

Years Until Retirement

Expected Return (%)7%

Results update as you change the inputs. Calculations run in your browser.

Monthly contribution needed

$881.07

future Value Of Current Savings: $286270.91
new Contributions: $264320.71

See the formula

Formula and method

Monthly = [FV - PV(1+r)^n] × r / [(1+r)^n - 1]

Uses the future value of annuity formula in reverse to solve for the required monthly payment given a target future value, current savings, and growth rate.

Worked examples

Classic $1M retirement

Retirement Goal ($):: 1000000
Current Savings ($):: 25000
Years Until Retirement:: 30
Expected Return (%):: 7

Monthly contribution needed: $653.37

Late starter at 45

Retirement Goal ($):: 600000
Current Savings ($):: 80000
Years Until Retirement:: 20
Expected Return (%):: 6

Monthly contribution needed: $725.44

Assumptions and limits

Monthly compounding
Constant rate of return
No tax drag on growth

This tool provides an educational estimate. Rules, rates and personal circumstances can change the answer. Review the assumptions before relying on a result. Report a correction.

Common mistakes to avoid

Not accounting for inflation — $1M in 25 years buys less than $1M today.
Assuming a constant high return — sequence-of-returns risk is significant near retirement.
Forgetting to include employer matching when calculating required personal contributions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 4% withdrawal rule?

The 4% rule suggests you can safely withdraw 4% of your portfolio per year in retirement without running out of money over 30 years. To find your target: divide annual retirement expenses by 0.04.

Should I use my RRSP or TFSA first?

Generally, contribute to RRSP if you're in a high tax bracket now and expect a lower bracket in retirement. Use TFSA if you expect to be in the same or higher bracket in retirement.