Your savings rate matters more than your income. Find your rate in the left column and an expected real return across the top to see roughly how many years of saving it takes to start from zero.
| Savings rate | 3% real return | 4% real return | 5% real return | 6% real return | 7% real return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 69.3 yrs | 58.7 yrs | 51.4 yrs | 45.9 yrs | 41.7 yrs |
| 15% | 56.1 yrs | 48.4 yrs | 42.8 yrs | 38.6 yrs | 35.3 yrs |
| 20% | 46.9 yrs | 41.0 yrs | 36.7 yrs | 33.4 yrs | 30.7 yrs |
| 25% | 39.9 yrs | 35.3 yrs | 31.9 yrs | 29.3 yrs | 27.1 yrs |
| 30% | 34.2 yrs | 30.7 yrs | 28.0 yrs | 25.8 yrs | 24.0 yrs |
| 40% | 25.5 yrs | 23.4 yrs | 21.6 yrs | 20.2 yrs | 19.0 yrs |
| 50% | 18.9 yrs | 17.7 yrs | 16.6 yrs | 15.7 yrs | 15.0 yrs |
| 60% | 13.7 yrs | 13.0 yrs | 12.4 yrs | 11.9 yrs | 11.4 yrs |
| 70% | 9.4 yrs | 9.1 yrs | 8.8 yrs | 8.5 yrs | 8.3 yrs |
The 5% column is highlighted as a middle case. Real return means after inflation. Results are for a person who starts with no savings.
A higher savings rate shortens the path in two ways: you invest more each year and you need a smaller portfolio because you live on less.
Going from a 10% to a 30% savings rate removes decades from the timeline, while moving from 60% to 70% saves only a few years because the early gains are already large.
If you already have savings, your real timeline is shorter than the table shows. Use the main calculator to include your current portfolio.
Years = ln(1 + (1 − s) × r ÷ (s × w)) ÷ ln(1 + r), with s the savings rate, r the real return and w the withdrawal rate
Income is constant in real terms, savings are invested at the end of each year, the withdrawal rate is 4%, taxes are ignored, and the starting balance is zero.