Dave Ramsey
Retirement
Preset
$9,114,933
$60,766
$8,000 from investments /mo
100%
$7,914,933 surplus
You're exceeding your retirement goal!
Year-by-Year Projection
35 years until retirement
| Age | Start Balance | Contribution | Growth | End Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | $50,000 | +$15,000 | +$6,000 | $71,000 |
| 36 | $183,410 | +$15,000 | +$22,009 | $220,419 |
| 41 | $418,523 | +$15,000 | +$50,223 | $483,746 |
| 46 | $832,874 | +$15,000 | +$99,945 | $947,819 |
| 51 | $1,563,101 | +$15,000 | +$187,572 | $1,765,673 |
| 56 | $2,850,011 | +$15,000 | +$342,001 | $3,207,013 |
| 61 | $5,117,986 | +$15,000 | +$614,158 | $5,747,145 |
| 65 | $8,124,941 | +$15,000 | +$974,993 | $9,114,933 |
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Important Disclosure
Independent tool for estimation only. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Ramsey Solutions. Does not constitute financial advice. Past returns do not guarantee future results.
What this does
Projects your retirement nest egg from today to your target retirement age using Dave Ramsey's Baby Step 4 methodology: invest 15% of your gross household income into growth stock mutual funds. Then estimates your monthly retirement income using Ramsey's recommended 8% withdrawal rate, plus any pension and Social Security income you expect. A couples mode combines both spouses' incomes and savings for a household projection.
Who it is for
Anyone following Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps who wants to project their retirement, especially couples planning jointly, people with pension income, and those who want to test whether they're on track using Ramsey's specific assumptions (12% average return, 8% withdrawal rate, 15% savings rate).
How it works
The accumulation phase loops year by year from your current age to retirement age, applying your expected return to the balance, then adding your 15% contribution and any employer match. The retirement phase takes the projected nest egg, multiplies by the withdrawal rate to get annual income, adds pension and Social Security, and compares the result to your desired monthly retirement income.
Limitations
Does not model inflation, taxes, early withdrawal penalties, required minimum distributions (RMDs), contribution limits, vesting schedules, or sequence-of-returns risk. Assumes constant annual returns which never happens in real markets. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Ramsey Solutions.
Key calculations
- Annual Accumulation
- Each year: balance = previous balance × (1 + returnRate) + (income × contributionRate) + employerMatch. The match applies to capped salary: match = min(contribution, income × matchCap%) × matchRate%.
- Monthly Retirement Income
- monthlyIncome = (nestEgg × withdrawalRate / 12) + monthlyPension + monthlySocialSecurity. Ramsey recommends an 8% withdrawal rate based on 100% equity mutual fund portfolios.
- Target Nest Egg (Ramsey Math)
- targetNestEgg = (desiredMonthlyIncome − monthlyPension − monthlySocialSecurity) × 12 / withdrawalRate. If you need $5,000/month from investments, target = $5,000 × 12 / 0.08 = $750,000.
- On-Track Percentage
- onTrackPercent = min(100%, projectedNestEgg / targetNestEgg × 100). Shows how close you are to the nest egg required for your desired retirement income.
Reference ranges
- Return Rate
- Dave Ramsey teaches that growth stock mutual funds average 12% historically. The S&P 500 long-term average is about 10% nominal (7% real). Conservative investors often use 6–8%. Small changes compound dramatically over long horizons.
- Contribution Rate
- Ramsey's Baby Step 4 says invest 15% of gross household income. The IRS 401(k) contribution limit for 2025 is $23,500 ($31,000 including catch-up for age 50+). IRAs add another $7,000/$8,000.
- Withdrawal Rate (8% vs 4%)
- Ramsey recommends an 8% withdrawal rate based on 100% equity mutual funds averaging 12% returns. The traditional 4% rule comes from the Trinity Study for balanced portfolios over 30 years. The 8% rate is controversial among financial planners — many consider it risky for long retirements.
- On-Track Percentage
- Below 50% means significant catch-up savings are needed. 50–80% is making progress with room to improve. 80–100% is approaching or at the target. Over 100% means you're exceeding your goal under current assumptions.
How to use it
- 1.Enter your basic informationSet your current age, target retirement age, and expected investment return rate. The default 12% matches Ramsey's growth stock mutual fund assumption.
- 2.Input income and savingsEnter your household income and current retirement savings. The 15% contribution rate follows Baby Step 4. Toggle employer match on if your workplace plan offers matching.
- 3.Switch to couples mode if neededToggle 'Separate Incomes' to enter individual incomes, ages, and savings for both spouses. The calculator combines both projections into a single household retirement picture.
- 4.Add retirement income sourcesEnter your desired monthly retirement income, plus any expected pension and Social Security benefits. These offset how much you need to withdraw from your nest egg.
- 5.Choose a preset scenarioUse the Ramsey preset for locked 15%/12%/8% assumptions, Conservative for 15%/8%/6%, or Custom to adjust all values freely.
- 6.Review your resultsCheck your projected nest egg, monthly retirement income, on-track percentage, and the year-by-year projection table to see how your savings grow over time.
Baby Step 4 instructs you to invest 15% of your gross household income into retirement accounts. Ramsey recommends using tax-advantaged accounts first (401k up to the match, then Roth IRA, then back to 401k) and investing in four types of growth stock mutual funds: Growth, Growth & Income, Aggressive Growth, and International. This calculator uses the 15% rate as the default contribution percentage.
Dave Ramsey teaches that a portfolio of 100% equity growth stock mutual funds averaging 12% returns can sustain an 8% withdrawal rate. This is different from the traditional 4% rule, which was based on balanced portfolios (60% stocks / 40% bonds) over 30-year retirements. Financial planners generally consider 8% aggressive. The calculator lets you adjust the withdrawal rate in Custom mode so you can test both approaches.
Pension income directly offsets your retirement income need. If you want $10,000/month in retirement and have a $2,000/month pension, you only need $8,000/month from your investments. The calculator subtracts pension (and Social Security) from your desired monthly income before calculating the target nest egg, which means pension income significantly reduces how much you need to save.
Yes. By default the calculator uses combined household inputs — one household income, one savings total, one retirement target. Toggle 'Separate Incomes' to enter individual ages, incomes, and savings for each spouse. The calculator projects each person's nest egg independently and combines them for the retirement projection, using the older spouse's retirement age as the target.
Ramsey uses 12% based on long-term stock mutual fund averages. The S&P 500's historical nominal average is about 10%. Conservative planners often use 6–8%. The return rate is the single most impactful assumption — a 2% difference over 30 years can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars difference in your projected nest egg. Test multiple rates to see the range of possible outcomes.
Dave Ramsey's retirement framework does not explicitly model inflation. His approach focuses on the nominal (non-inflation-adjusted) numbers — nominal return rates and nominal withdrawal amounts. The logic is that if your investments average 12% and you withdraw 8%, the remaining 4% covers inflation and growth. If you prefer to model inflation explicitly, the Coast FIRE calculator on this site may be a better fit.
Ramsey recommends contributing enough to get the full employer match first (it's 'free money'), then funding Roth IRAs, then going back to the 401k to reach 15% total. This calculator applies the employer match as additional contributions on top of the 15%. If your employer matches 50% of contributions up to 6% of salary, and you earn $100,000, the match adds $3,000/year (50% × 6% × $100,000) to your nest egg projection.
No. This is an independent calculator built to follow Dave Ramsey's publicly taught methodology. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Ramsey Solutions or Dave Ramsey personally. Always verify projections with a qualified financial professional before making retirement decisions.
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