How much do you need to retire?
There isn't one. $1 million is enough for someone who spends $3,000 a month and nowhere near enough for someone who spends $8,000, though both get quoted the same round number. A more useful question is what monthly income your savings can produce, and whether it covers what you spend. Enter your numbers below to see your own answer, no account needed.
Run your own numbers
In today's dollars
90% odds of lasting to 95 · 89% chance your $4,000/mo spending is covered
Add accounts, Social Security, and your partner/spouse — still no account needed.
Why isn't there one “right” number, like $1 million?
A lump sum on its own doesn't say much. What matters is how much income it can safely turn into every month, and that depends on what you spend. Someone with $1 million who spends $3,000 a month has room. Someone with the same $1 million who spends $8,000 a month is likely to run out. Those are two very different situations behind one headline number. “How much do I need” only has an answer once you attach it to “to produce how much income.” The estimate above solves for that, using your own spending instead of a generic target.
Social Security and any pension matter here too: guaranteed, inflation-adjusted income on top of your savings lowers how much your investments alone need to cover, which is part of why the same lump sum supports different lifestyles for different people even before spending is factored in.
What about the 25x rule (the 4% rule)?
The 4% rule says: save 25 times your annual spending, withdraw 4% of it in year one, and adjust for inflation after that. That is the arithmetic behind most “you need $X” headlines. It is a reasonable starting heuristic, but it assumes one generic 30-year retirement and one generic sequence of market returns, and it doesn't know your retirement age, Social Security, taxes, or how long your money needs to last. It also can't see sequence-of-returns risk: a few bad market years right after you retire can hurt far more than the same bad years spread out evenly, and a fixed percentage doesn't adjust for when the bad years land. Running 5,000 simulations, each built from a historical U.S. market year (back to 1928) drawn independently for every year of your plan, shows that risk instead of averaging it away. Our companion article on how your retirement paycheck is calculated has the full mechanics.
So how do I find my number?
Work backward from spending, not forward from a savings target. Enter your age, savings, contribution, and what you spend today, and the estimate runs your figures 5,000 times against historical markets to find the highest monthly amount your savings could sustainably produce, in today's dollars, already adjusted for inflation. Then it compares that to what you spend and shows the gap directly: covered by a margin, or short by a specific amount, plus the smallest change (more savings, or a couple more or fewer years of work) that closes it. That comparison is your number.
Frequently asked questions
Is $1 million enough to retire?
It depends on what you spend. At a roughly 4% withdrawal rate, $1 million supports about $3,300 a month before tax and before any Social Security or pension on top. That is comfortable for a low-spending household and short for a high-spending one. No dollar figure is universally “enough” without knowing your spending.
What's a safe withdrawal rate?
Historically debated in the 3-4% range, but a single fixed percentage doesn't adapt to your retirement age, planning horizon, or the sequence of returns markets happen to deliver while you are retired. Our estimate simulates your own figures thousands of times against historical returns instead of applying one flat percentage.
Does Social Security count toward my number?
Yes. It is guaranteed, inflation-adjusted income that reduces how much your savings alone need to produce. The full calculator adds your own benefit and claiming age; the quick estimate above works without it, on savings and contributions alone.
What if I don't know my exact spending yet?
The estimate starts with a reasonable default so a result appears right away. Adjust it to your own figure whenever you have it and the estimate recalculates instantly. The full calculator can also break spending into categories, such as housing and healthcare, for a sharper number.
Do I need to link my bank account?
No. Every number in the estimate is one you type in yourself, and nothing connects to your accounts.
See your own number
In today's dollars
90% odds of lasting to 95 · 89% chance your $4,000/mo spending is covered
Add accounts, Social Security, and your partner/spouse — still no account needed.
MangoDime · Last updated October 5, 2026
MangoDime is built and written by Northstar Digital LLC, Laguna Beach, California.