Sample forecasts

Six households, run through the same engine the calculator uses. Every figure on this page is computed at build time from the inputs listed with it — nothing is estimated or rounded by hand — and each one opens in the calculator with its inputs filled in, so you can change a number and see what moves.

Starting out at 28 — $15,000 saved, $800 a month going in, 35 years to go.
Mid-career with a 401(k) match — 40 years old, $120,000 salary, a taxable account and a pre-tax 401(k) with a 50%-of-6% employer match.
Retiring at 65 on $60,000 a year — $1,500,000 saved, withdrawing $60,000 in the first year and 3% more each year after, taxed at 15%.
The 4% rule — $1,000,000 at 60, taking 4% of whatever the balance is each year.
A house in the picture — 35 years old, $200,000 invested and $1,500 a month going in, plus a $650,000 home with a $450,000 mortgage.
Reach $2,000,000, then retire on it — A dual-income household at 38 with $400,000 saved, adding $3,000 a month and raising that 3% a year, retiring after 20 years.

Starting out at 28

$15,000 saved, $800 a month going in, 35 years to go.

The plainest case the calculator handles: one pooled portfolio, a steady monthly contribution, no drawdown inside the horizon. It shows how much of the ending balance is growth rather than deposits once compounding has three decades to work, and when the balance first crosses $1,000,000.

Age today: 28
Starting balance: $15,000.00
Contribution: $800.00 a month
Horizon: 35 years
Growth: Bear 5% · Base 7% · Bull 9%
Withdrawals: None within the horizon
Target: $1,000,000.00

What the forecast says

After 35 years (age 63) the base case ends with $1,537,020.90 invested.
Under the other growth assumptions — Bear: $973,123.54, Bull: $2,476,656.42.
$336,000.00 of that was deposited over the horizon; the rest is growth.
The $1,000,000.00 target is first reached at age 58.

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Year-by-year schedule, base case (35 years)

Age	Phase	Deposited	Growth	Ending balance
29	Saving	9,600	1,410	26,010
30	Saving	9,600	2,181	37,791
31	Saving	9,600	3,006	50,397
32	Saving	9,600	3,888	63,885
33	Saving	9,600	4,832	78,317
34	Saving	9,600	5,842	93,759
35	Saving	9,600	6,923	110,283
36	Saving	9,600	8,080	127,963
37	Saving	9,600	9,318	146,881
38	Saving	9,600	10,642	167,122
39	Saving	9,600	12,059	188,781
40	Saving	9,600	13,575	211,956
41	Saving	9,600	15,197	236,753
42	Saving	9,600	16,933	263,286
43	Saving	9,600	18,790	291,677
44	Saving	9,600	20,778	322,054
45	Saving	9,600	22,904	354,558
46	Saving	9,600	25,179	389,337
47	Saving	9,600	27,614	426,551
48	Saving	9,600	30,219	466,370
49	Saving	9,600	33,006	508,976
50	Saving	9,600	35,989	554,565
51	Saving	9,600	39,180	603,345
52	Saving	9,600	42,594	655,539
53	Saving	9,600	46,248	711,387
54	Saving	9,600	50,157	771,144
55	Saving	9,600	54,340	835,085
56	Saving	9,600	58,816	903,501
57	Saving	9,600	63,605	976,706
58	Saving	9,600	68,730	1,055,036
59	Saving	9,600	74,213	1,138,848
60	Saving	9,600	80,080	1,228,528
61	Saving	9,600	86,357	1,324,485
62	Saving	9,600	93,074	1,427,160
63	Saving	9,600	100,261	1,537,021

Mid-career with a 401(k) match

40 years old, $120,000 salary, a taxable account and a pre-tax 401(k) with a 50%-of-6% employer match.

Two accounts modelled separately: the employer match is computed monthly from the salary and deposited alongside the employee contribution, and reported on its own so money you put in and money your employer put in stay distinguishable. With inflation set, the summary also states the ending balance in today’s dollars.

Age today: 40
Starting balance: $90,000.00
Contribution: $500.00 a month
Pre-tax 401(k): $180,000.00, adding $1,000.00 a month, employer matches 50% of the first 6% of salary
Salary (for the match): $120,000.00 a year, raises of 2%
Horizon: 25 years
Growth: Bear 5% · Base 7% · Bull 9%
Withdrawals: None within the horizon
Inflation (for real values): 3% a year

What the forecast says

After 25 years (age 65) the base case ends with $2,929,493.53 invested — $1,399,142.43 in today’s dollars.
Under the other growth assumptions — Bear: $2,011,618.41, Bull: $4,302,568.87.
$565,309.08 of that was deposited over the horizon ($115,309.08 of it by the employer); the rest is growth.

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Year-by-year schedule, base case (25 years)

Age	Phase	Deposited	Growth	Ending balance	In today’s dollars
41	Saving	21,600	19,711	311,311	302,243
42	Saving	21,672	22,605	355,588	335,175
43	Saving	21,745	25,707	403,040	368,839
44	Saving	21,820	29,032	453,892	403,277
45	Saving	21,897	32,594	508,383	438,536
46	Saving	21,975	36,411	566,769	474,660
47	Saving	22,054	40,501	629,325	511,698
48	Saving	22,135	44,883	696,343	549,700
49	Saving	22,218	49,578	768,139	588,715
50	Saving	22,302	54,607	845,048	628,795
51	Saving	22,388	59,993	927,430	669,995
52	Saving	22,476	65,763	1,015,669	712,370
53	Saving	22,566	71,944	1,110,179	755,978
54	Saving	22,657	78,563	1,211,398	800,877
55	Saving	22,750	85,652	1,319,800	847,129
56	Saving	22,845	93,243	1,435,888	894,798
57	Saving	22,942	101,373	1,560,204	943,949
58	Saving	23,041	110,079	1,693,323	994,649
59	Saving	23,142	119,401	1,835,866	1,046,969
60	Saving	23,245	129,383	1,988,493	1,100,981
61	Saving	23,349	140,071	2,151,913	1,156,760
62	Saving	23,456	151,514	2,326,884	1,214,383
63	Saving	23,566	163,766	2,514,216	1,273,932
64	Saving	23,677	176,884	2,714,776	1,335,490
65	Saving	23,790	190,927	2,929,494	1,399,142

Retiring at 65 on $60,000 a year

$1,500,000 saved, withdrawing $60,000 in the first year and 3% more each year after, taxed at 15%.

A pure drawdown: no contributions, the withdrawal starts in year one and rises with inflation, and a flat tax rate is applied to every gross draw. The question the schedule answers is whether the balance outlasts a 30-year retirement under Bear, Base and Bull growth.

Age today: 65
Starting balance: $1,500,000.00
Horizon: 30 years
Growth: Bear 3% · Base 5% · Bull 7%
Withdrawals: $60,000.00 a year from year 1, rising 3% a year, taxed at 15%
Inflation (for real values): 3% a year

What the forecast says

After 30 years (age 95) the base case ends with $514,671.98 invested — $212,038.04 in today’s dollars.
Under the other growth assumptions — Bear: -$728,178.70 (runs out at age 91), Bull: $3,096,469.67.
$2,854,524.91 is withdrawn in total, of which $428,178.74 goes to tax, and the balance never runs out.

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Year-by-year schedule, base case (30 years)

Age	Phase	Withdrawn	Growth	Ending balance	In today’s dollars
66	Drawing	60,000	72,000	1,512,000	1,467,961
67	Drawing	61,800	72,510	1,522,710	1,435,300
68	Drawing	63,654	72,953	1,532,009	1,402,005
69	Drawing	65,564	73,322	1,539,767	1,368,063
70	Drawing	67,531	73,612	1,545,849	1,333,463
71	Drawing	69,556	73,815	1,550,107	1,298,190
72	Drawing	71,643	73,923	1,552,387	1,262,233
73	Drawing	73,792	73,930	1,552,524	1,225,577
74	Drawing	76,006	73,826	1,550,344	1,188,210
75	Drawing	78,286	73,603	1,545,660	1,150,117
76	Drawing	80,635	73,251	1,538,277	1,111,284
77	Drawing	83,054	72,761	1,527,984	1,071,697
78	Drawing	85,546	72,122	1,514,560	1,031,342
79	Drawing	88,112	71,322	1,497,771	990,203
80	Drawing	90,755	70,351	1,477,366	948,265
81	Drawing	93,478	69,194	1,453,082	905,513
82	Drawing	96,282	67,840	1,424,640	861,931
83	Drawing	99,171	66,273	1,391,742	817,502
84	Drawing	102,146	64,480	1,354,076	772,211
85	Drawing	105,210	62,443	1,311,309	726,040
86	Drawing	108,367	60,147	1,263,090	678,973
87	Drawing	111,618	57,574	1,209,046	630,992
88	Drawing	114,966	54,704	1,148,783	582,079
89	Drawing	118,415	51,518	1,081,887	532,217
90	Drawing	121,968	47,996	1,007,915	481,386
91	Drawing	125,627	44,114	926,403	429,568
92	Drawing	129,395	39,850	836,858	376,744
93	Drawing	133,277	35,179	738,759	322,894
94	Drawing	137,276	30,074	631,558	267,999
95	Drawing	141,394	24,508	514,672	212,038

The 4% rule

$1,000,000 at 60, taking 4% of whatever the balance is each year.

A percent-of-balance draw instead of a fixed amount: the withdrawal shrinks after a bad year and grows after a good one, so the balance can never hit zero, but the income is not level. Compare the year-by-year draw column with the fixed-amount example above.

Age today: 60
Starting balance: $1,000,000.00
Horizon: 30 years
Growth: Bear 4% · Base 6% · Bull 8%
Withdrawals: 4% of the balance each year from year 1

What the forecast says

After 30 years (age 90) the base case ends with $1,687,768.75 invested.
Under the other growth assumptions — Bear: $953,097.14, Bull: $2,956,988.66.
$1,563,110.85 is withdrawn in total, and the balance never runs out.

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Year-by-year schedule, base case (30 years)

Age	Phase	Withdrawn	Growth	Ending balance
61	Drawing	40,000	57,600	1,017,600
62	Drawing	40,704	58,614	1,035,510
63	Drawing	41,420	59,645	1,053,735
64	Drawing	42,149	60,695	1,072,280
65	Drawing	42,891	61,763	1,091,153
66	Drawing	43,646	62,850	1,110,357
67	Drawing	44,414	63,957	1,129,899
68	Drawing	45,196	65,082	1,149,785
69	Drawing	45,991	66,228	1,170,022
70	Drawing	46,801	67,393	1,190,614
71	Drawing	47,625	68,579	1,211,569
72	Drawing	48,463	69,786	1,232,892
73	Drawing	49,316	71,015	1,254,591
74	Drawing	50,184	72,264	1,276,672
75	Drawing	51,067	73,536	1,299,142
76	Drawing	51,966	74,831	1,322,006
77	Drawing	52,880	76,148	1,345,274
78	Drawing	53,811	77,488	1,368,951
79	Drawing	54,758	78,852	1,393,044
80	Drawing	55,722	80,239	1,417,562
81	Drawing	56,702	81,652	1,442,511
82	Drawing	57,700	83,089	1,467,899
83	Drawing	58,716	84,551	1,493,734
84	Drawing	59,749	86,039	1,520,024
85	Drawing	60,801	87,553	1,546,776
86	Drawing	61,871	89,094	1,573,999
87	Drawing	62,960	90,662	1,601,702
88	Drawing	64,068	92,258	1,629,892
89	Drawing	65,196	93,882	1,658,578
90	Drawing	66,343	95,534	1,687,769

A house in the picture

35 years old, $200,000 invested and $1,500 a month going in, plus a $650,000 home with a $450,000 mortgage.

The home is projected alongside the portfolio: its value appreciates once a year, the mortgage amortizes month by month, and the difference is equity. Equity counts toward net worth but never toward the investable balance, which is why the schedule has two columns for the two figures.

Age today: 35
Starting balance: $200,000.00
Contribution: $1,500.00 a month
Primary residence: $650,000.00, appreciating 3% a year; $450,000.00 mortgage at 6.25% over 30 years; $16,100.00 a year in tax, insurance and upkeep
Horizon: 30 years
Growth: Bear 4.5% · Base 6.5% · Bull 8.5%
Withdrawals: None within the horizon

What the forecast says

After 30 years (age 65) the base case ends with $2,931,834.20 invested and a net worth of $4,509,554.84 including home equity.
Under the other growth assumptions — Bear: $1,873,777.74, Bull: $4,649,175.36.
$540,000.00 of that was deposited over the horizon; the rest is growth.

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Year-by-year schedule, base case (30 years)

Age	Phase	Deposited	Growth	Ending balance	Net worth
36	Saving	18,000	13,628	231,628	456,401
37	Saving	18,000	15,683	265,311	515,782
38	Saving	18,000	17,873	301,184	578,315
39	Saving	18,000	20,205	339,389	644,185
40	Saving	18,000	22,688	380,076	713,587
41	Saving	18,000	25,333	423,409	786,727
42	Saving	18,000	28,149	469,558	863,825
43	Saving	18,000	31,149	518,707	945,115
44	Saving	18,000	34,344	571,051	1,030,843
45	Saving	18,000	37,746	626,797	1,121,273
46	Saving	18,000	41,369	686,166	1,216,685
47	Saving	18,000	45,228	749,395	1,317,374
48	Saving	18,000	49,338	816,733	1,423,656
49	Saving	18,000	53,715	888,448	1,535,866
50	Saving	18,000	58,377	964,825	1,654,359
51	Saving	18,000	63,341	1,046,167	1,779,513
52	Saving	18,000	68,628	1,132,795	1,911,730
53	Saving	18,000	74,259	1,225,054	2,051,436
54	Saving	18,000	80,256	1,323,311	2,199,085
55	Saving	18,000	86,643	1,427,953	2,355,158
56	Saving	18,000	93,445	1,539,398	2,520,167
57	Saving	18,000	100,689	1,658,087	2,694,656
58	Saving	18,000	108,403	1,784,490	2,879,205
59	Saving	18,000	116,619	1,919,109	3,074,427
60	Saving	18,000	125,370	2,062,479	3,280,977
61	Saving	18,000	134,689	2,215,168	3,499,550
62	Saving	18,000	144,614	2,377,781	3,730,883
63	Saving	18,000	155,183	2,550,965	3,975,763
64	Saving	18,000	166,440	2,735,405	4,235,025
65	Saving	18,000	178,429	2,931,834	4,509,555

Reach $2,000,000, then retire on it

A dual-income household at 38 with $400,000 saved, adding $3,000 a month and raising that 3% a year, retiring after 20 years.

Accumulation and distribution in one horizon: contributions escalate each year, the target marks the year the balance first reaches $2,000,000, and from year 21 the household draws $90,000 a year (rising 2.5%) taxed at 12%. The phase column shows where the switch happens.

Age today: 38
Starting balance: $400,000.00
Contribution: $3,000.00 a month, rising 3% a year
Horizon: 30 years
Growth: Bear 4.5% · Base 6.5% · Bull 8.5%
Withdrawals: $90,000.00 a year from age 59, rising 2.5% a year, taxed at 12%
Target: $2,000,000.00

What the forecast says

After 30 years (age 68) the base case ends with $4,646,854.38 invested.
Under the other growth assumptions — Bear: $2,526,692.54, Bull: $8,141,846.82.
$967,333.44 of that was deposited over the horizon; the rest is growth.
$1,008,304.37 is withdrawn in total, of which $120,996.53 goes to tax, and the balance never runs out.
The $2,000,000.00 target is first reached at age 53.

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Year-by-year schedule, base case (30 years)

Age	Phase	Deposited	Withdrawn	Growth	Ending balance
39	Saving	36,000	0	27,255	463,255
40	Saving	37,080	0	31,405	531,740
41	Saving	38,192	0	35,895	605,827
42	Saving	39,338	0	40,750	685,916
43	Saving	40,518	0	45,997	772,431
44	Saving	41,734	0	51,663	865,829
45	Saving	42,986	0	57,778	966,592
46	Saving	44,275	0	64,372	1,075,240
47	Saving	45,604	0	71,481	1,192,325
48	Saving	46,972	0	79,139	1,318,435
49	Saving	48,381	0	87,385	1,454,202
50	Saving	49,832	0	96,261	1,600,295
51	Saving	51,327	0	105,809	1,757,431
52	Saving	52,867	0	116,076	1,926,375
53	Saving	54,453	0	127,113	2,107,941
54	Saving	56,087	0	138,972	2,303,000
55	Saving	57,769	0	151,709	2,512,479
56	Saving	59,502	0	165,386	2,737,367
57	Saving	61,288	0	180,066	2,978,721
58	Saving	63,126	0	195,818	3,237,665
59	Drawing	0	90,000	204,598	3,352,263
60	Drawing	0	92,250	211,901	3,471,914
61	Drawing	0	94,556	219,528	3,596,886
62	Drawing	0	96,920	227,498	3,727,464
63	Drawing	0	99,343	235,828	3,863,949
64	Drawing	0	101,827	244,538	4,006,660
65	Drawing	0	104,372	253,649	4,155,936
66	Drawing	0	106,982	263,182	4,312,136
67	Drawing	0	109,656	273,161	4,475,641
68	Drawing	0	112,398	283,611	4,646,854

Try your own

These are starting points, not advice. Your own numbers — and especially your own growth and inflation assumptions — are the ones that matter. How the forecast works explains what each input does.

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