How much should I save for retirement? Start from the rate, not the amount
The share of your take-home pay that you save decides, almost on its own, how many years you need to work, whatever your income.
Years until financial independence
21.6 years
Income does not matter here: the rate sets both what you save and what you must replace.
| At 20 % | 36.7 years |
| At 35 % | 24.6 years |
| At 50 % | 16.6 years |
| At 65 % | 10.5 years |
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · figures read on irs.gov and healthcare.gov · not personal financial advice
How much to save for retirement is best answered as a share of take-home pay, because that one rate fixes both what you put away and the lifestyle your savings must replace. Starting from zero, with a 5 % return after inflation and a 4 % withdrawal rate, saving 10 % of pay takes about 51.3 years to reach financial independence, 20 % takes 36.7, 30 % takes 28, 50 % takes 16.6 and 70 % takes 8.8. Income drops out of the math: a household on $90,000 saving 30 % and one on twice as much at the same rate reach their own targets in the same time. The 2026 limits cap how much of that saving fits in tax-advantaged accounts: $24,500 in a 401(k), $7,500 in an IRA and $4,400 in a self-only HSA, $36,400 in all for one person under 50.
Why the rate beats any dollar figure
Advice such as "save 15 %" or "have ten times your salary" hides the mechanism. Each dollar you save does two things at once. It adds to the pile, and it is a dollar you have learned to live without, which lowers the pile you need. A household with $90,000 of take-home pay that saves 30 % puts away $27,000 a year and lives on $63,000. Its target at a 4 % withdrawal rate is $1,575,000. Double the income and keep the rate, and both the yearly saving and the target double: the years do not move.
The calculator above therefore asks for one rate and nothing in dollars. It assumes you will spend in retirement what you spend now, in today's money, and it starts from what you already hold, expressed in years of spending.
Try a quarter of your pay
Years until financial independence
31.9 years
| At 20 % | 36.7 years |
| At 35 % | 24.6 years |
| At 50 % | 16.6 years |
| At 65 % | 10.5 years |
The table of years
| Savings rate | Years at 5 % real | Years at 3 % real | Years at 5 %, 3.5 % withdrawals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 % | 51.3 | 69.3 | 53.9 |
| 15 % | 42.8 | 56.1 | 45.2 |
| 20 % | 36.7 | 46.9 | 39 |
| 25 % | 31.9 | 39.9 | 34.1 |
| 30 % | 28 | 34.2 | 30.1 |
| 40 % | 21.6 | 25.5 | 23.5 |
| 50 % | 16.6 | 18.9 | 18.2 |
| 60 % | 12.4 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| 70 % | 8.8 | 9.4 | 9.8 |
Three things stand out. The first steps are the most valuable: going from 10 % to 20 % removes about 14.6 years, while going from 60 % to 70 % removes about 3.6. The return matters most at low rates, where the money has decades to compound, and barely at high rates. And a more cautious withdrawal rate costs a couple of years at most levels, a fair price for someone whose retirement may last fifty years.
Money already saved shortens the list
Few people start from zero. The second field of the calculator counts existing savings in years of spending, which keeps the arithmetic free of income again. At a 40 % rate, starting from nothing takes 21.6 years; with three years of spending already invested it takes 17.5; with eight years, 12. Someone in their forties with a decent balance can therefore reach the finish line with a moderate rate, and the table above overstates the wait for them.
The 2026 ceilings on tax-advantaged saving
A savings rate tells you how much to save. The contribution limits tell you how much of it can go into accounts with a tax break. For 2026 the IRS sets the employee deferral to a 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457(b) at $24,500, with $8,000 more from age 50 and $11,250 instead for ages 60 to 63; the IRA limit is $7,500, plus $1,100 from 50 (IRS IR-2025-111). A health savings account takes $4,400 with self-only coverage or $8,750 with family coverage (Rev. Proc. 2025-19).
| Account | Under 50 | Ages 50 to 54 |
|---|---|---|
| 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) deferral | $24,500 | $32,500 |
| IRA, traditional or Roth | $7,500 | $8,600 |
| HSA, self-only coverage | $4,400 | $4,400 |
| Total for one person | $36,400 | $45,500 |
Put the two together. A single saver who spends $60,000 a year and fills all three accounts saves $36,400, a rate of 38 % of the $96,400 total, enough for financial independence in about 22.9 years from zero. Anything saved beyond that goes to a brokerage account, which has no limit and no age rule. For an early retiree that overflow is useful rather than a second-best: it is the money that pays the years before 59½, when most of the 401(k) and IRA are still under the 10 % additional tax.
Your 2026 room at 50 with family HSA coverage
You can put away in 2026
$49,850
| 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) deferral | $24,500 |
| Catch-up for your age | $8,000 |
| IRA (Roth or traditional) | $8,600 |
| HSA | $8,750 |
What the table of years leaves out
The rate model is deliberately simple, and two simplifications matter for anyone aiming to stop early. It ignores tax on the way out: a portfolio held mostly in a 401(k) and a traditional IRA must also pay income tax on each withdrawal, so the real target is somewhat higher than spending divided by the withdrawal rate. And it treats every dollar as reachable on the day you stop, which the tax code does not: before 59½, money in those accounts owes the 10 % additional tax unless an exception applies. A plan that reaches the target at 45 with nearly everything in pre-tax accounts may need several more working years, or a bridge such as a Roth ladder or a 72(t) series. The early retirement calculator adds both effects year by year.
Using the rate to set a monthly figure
Once the rate is chosen, the monthly amount follows from your own pay. At $90,000 of take-home pay, 30 % is $2,250 a month. Raises are the easiest place to move the rate: saving half of each raise lifts the rate every year without cutting what you already spend. Social Security is left out of these years entirely. The retirement date calculator uses dollars instead of a rate, the savings by age page checks whether a balance is on track, and the contribution limits page explains which account to fill first when you plan to stop before 59½.