Retirement planning guides
Plain-English explanations of the ideas behind a retirement plan, written for readers in any country.
If you followed a link to one of our older articles: we retired those articles and are rewriting each topic from scratch, with linked sources and dated official figures. Until a guide is ready, the calculators below cover the core math of a retirement plan.
Country-specific guides: US retirement guides (Social Security, 401(k), IRA, Medicare). Official yearly figures: retirement numbers by country.
Getting started and saving
- Starting retirement planning Coming soon
- Saving for retirement
- Retirement planning by age, from your 20s to your 60s Coming soon
- DIY retirement planning Coming soon
- Retirement for the self-employed, freelancers and part-time workers Coming soon
- Retiring on a low income Coming soon
Use now: How much do I need? turns yearly spending into a savings target.
Budget and checklist
- Retirement budget
- Retirement checklist Coming soon
- Healthcare costs in retirement Coming soon
Use now: How much do I need? starts from your yearly spending in today's money.
Income and withdrawals
- Retirement income Coming soon
- Withdrawal strategies
Use now: How long will my money last? shows a year-by-year table.
Compare: Withdrawal scenarios sets fixed, dynamic and guardrail withdrawals side by side.
Investing and risk
- Retirement portfolio basics Coming soon
- Retirement risks
- Inflation and your retirement Coming soon
- Sequence-of-returns risk Coming soon
- Common retirement mistakes Coming soon
Use now: How long will my money last? lets you change the expected return and inflation per year.
See: Withdrawal scenarios shows what happens when bad years come first.
Early retirement
- Early retirement Coming soon
Use now: Can I retire at X? shows the earliest age it could work.
Taxes, estate and life after work
- Tax-efficient retirement Coming soon
- Estate planning basics: wills and legacy Coming soon
- The psychology of retirement: purpose, work and learning Coming soon
Calculators you can use now
How much do I need?
Your savings target from yearly spending, other yearly income and a withdrawal rate, in today's money. Any currency.
Open LiveHow long will my money last?
How many years your savings could pay your yearly spending as it rises with inflation, with a year-by-year table.
Open LiveCan I retire at X?
Compare your projected savings at the age you choose with the nest egg you would need, and see the earliest age it could work.
Open LiveWithdrawal scenarios
Compare fixed, lower-rate, dynamic and guardrail withdrawals under the same steady, bad-first and good-first return paths.
Open LiveHow we write and check content: editorial policy and methodology. Education only, not personal advice: disclaimer.
Get the numbers behind our tools by email
A short weekly email: 1 number, 1 tool, 1 lesson, plus an update when official retirement numbers change. Education only, no products.
Sign-up happens on the Retirement Builders newsletter page, hosted by beehiiv. You enter your email address there; this site does not collect it, and nothing from the calculators is passed on.