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How much is enough?

Enter what you have, what you save and what you want to live on. The results update as you type: the pot you are heading for, the income it can sustain in today's money, and the gap, if there is one.

All results are in today's money. Return is before inflation and after fees. Nothing you enter is stored. Nothing here is advice.

Pot at retirement–in today's money
Sustainable income–per month, to your plan-to age
Against your target–per month
To close the gap–monthly saving needed from now
Projected balance by age, today's money
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How to read it

Three numbers that matter.

The pot. What your current savings plus monthly contributions grow to by retirement, after inflation. Most people find it smaller than the headline figure they had in mind, because inflation over twenty-five years roughly halves the buying power of money.

The sustainable income. What that pot can pay you each month, in today's money, from retirement to the age you plan to, if it keeps earning your assumed real return. Plan to a later age than you expect; running out at 85 is a worse problem than leaving something behind.

The gap. The difference between that income plus any other retirement income and what you said you want to live on. If it is negative, the fourth tile shows the monthly saving that would close it from today. Small increases started early are worth more than large ones started late.

Methodology

How the numbers are built, and where they fall short.

The calculation. Up to retirement, your current savings and monthly contributions grow at one constant annual return, adjusted for inflation. From retirement, the pot pays a level income, in today's money, from your retirement age to your plan-to age, still earning the same assumed return throughout. It is a straight-line projection, not a simulation.

Sequence risk. Because the calculator applies the same return every year, it cannot show sequence-of-returns risk: the danger that poor returns in the years just before or after you retire do lasting damage to a portfolio even when the long-run average return is unaffected. Two people with identical average returns can end up in very different positions depending on when the bad years fall, particularly in the first few years of drawdown. Test your plan with a lower return than your central estimate, not only your best guess, and revisit it as retirement approaches.

Longevity risk. The sustainable income is spread only to your plan-to age; the calculator assumes no income is needed after that. Living longer than the age you chose is the main risk to the income figure, which is why the default is 90 rather than an average life expectancy, and why planning to an older age is safer than a younger one.

Tax. The calculator does not model tax. Enter a return that already reflects what you expect to keep after tax, or treat the results as pre-tax and discount them by your expected rate. Tax treatment depends on your country of residence, the account used, and any applicable double taxation agreement, so it is outside the scope of a generic tool.

Fees. The calculator does not deduct fees separately from the return you enter. Use a return that already reflects the management, custody and underlying fund costs you expect to pay, so they are counted once, not twice or not at all.

Questions we are asked

Frequently asked

Why does the calculator show everything in today's money?
Because a number like 'USD 2 million in 2055' means nothing without knowing what it buys. The calculator deducts your inflation assumption every year, so the pot and the income it shows are what they would be worth today. That is the only honest way to compare them with your current spending.
What return should I assume?
The MSCI World Index, a widely used benchmark for developed-market global equities, returned an annualised 7.5% a year in US dollars from December 2000 to August 2026, before fees and before inflation (source: MSCI). That figure is for equities alone; a diversified portfolio that also holds bonds and cash for lower volatility will typically return less. Cash and deposits have returned less than inflation over most of the last two decades. Treat this as history, not a forecast, and use a figure below your genuine expectation rather than above it.
What inflation should I use?
A reasonable starting point is each currency's central bank target: 2% for the US dollar (US Federal Reserve), 2% for the euro (European Central Bank), 2% for sterling (Bank of England), and 3%, within a 2%–4% band, for the rand, lowered from a 4.5% midpoint in November 2025 (National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank). These are targets, not guarantees; use a higher figure if you want to plan conservatively, since actual inflation has run above target in several of these currencies during 2026.
How is the sustainable income calculated?
The projected pot at retirement is spread evenly, in today's money, over the years from your retirement age to the age you plan to, assuming it keeps earning the real return you entered. Living longer than planned or earning less than assumed reduces it; that is why the plan-to age defaults to 90.
Does this account for tax or fees?
No. Enter a return net of the fees you expect to pay. Tax depends on your country and the accounts you use, and is outside the scope of the tool. A conversation with an adviser covers both.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a planning tool built on the assumptions you enter. Nothing here is a personal recommendation. Intrasia Wealth is licensed by the FSC in Mauritius and the FSCA in South Africa; advice is given only after a needs analysis under those rules.

Turn the numbers into a plan.

Bring your result to a 30-minute conversation and we will test the assumptions against a real portfolio.

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