Retirement Income Gap Calculator
The difference between the retirement income you want and the income you can currently expect.
Your retirement picture
Monthly income you expect
Assumptions
Not guaranteed. Try a lower figure to see the effect.
The share of the portfolio drawn each year.
Estimated monthly income gap
$1,373
About $16,478 a year.
How this was calculated
Projections use the assumptions you selected. Investment returns are not guaranteed and actual results will differ. This is not a carrier quote or a recommendation.
What this calculator does
Most retirement planning comes down to one comparison: the monthly income you want, against the monthly income your savings and guaranteed sources will actually produce. The difference is the gap.
Every assumption this uses — expected return, inflation, withdrawal rate — is shown and editable, because small changes to them move the answer a lot. None of them is a guarantee of anything.
How the maths works
- Project your current savings forward to your retirement age, adding contributions and applying the expected return.
- Convert that projected balance into a monthly figure using the withdrawal rate.
- Add guaranteed income: Social Security, pension and anything else.
- Compare the total against the monthly income you said you want.
- The shortfall, if any, is the monthly gap.
A worked example
Someone wanting $6,000 a month who expects $4,300 a month from savings, Social Security and a pension has an estimated gap of $1,700 a month — about $20,400 a year.
Frequently asked questions
- What return should I assume?
- There is no correct answer, which is exactly why it is an editable field. Lower it and see what happens — if the plan only works at a high assumed return, that is useful to know now rather than later. Returns are never guaranteed.
- What is the withdrawal rate?
- The share of the portfolio drawn each year in retirement. Four percent is a common planning convention, not a rule, and it says nothing about whether your particular portfolio will sustain it.
- Should I adjust my desired income for inflation?
- By default the figure you enter is treated as today’s dollars, so the result is easy to interpret. Turning on the inflation adjustment restates that figure in the dollars of your retirement year, which will be a larger number.
- Does a gap mean I need an annuity?
- No. A gap means the income you expect falls short of the income you want. Closing it could involve saving more, retiring later, spending less, or converting part of your savings into income. This tool does not recommend a product.
Projections are illustrative and depend entirely on the assumptions you enter. Investment returns are not guaranteed, and actual results will differ.
This calculator produces an educational estimate only. It is not financial, tax or legal advice, and it does not recommend any specific product.
You may have enough retirement assets to begin evaluating an income strategy.
See how a portion of retirement savings might be converted into more predictable retirement income. Figures shown are illustrative planning scenarios, not carrier quotes.