What's a good retirement readiness score?

Anything 80 or above (B grade) means your plan is broadly on track using mainstream assumptions. A score of 90+ (A grade) means you have meaningful margin of safety — including for sequence-of-returns risk, healthcare inflation, or claiming Social Security earlier than planned.

What's the 4% rule and why does this tool use it?

The 4% safe withdrawal rule (Bengen, 1994; updated by Trinity Study) says a retiree can withdraw 4% of their starting portfolio each year, adjusted for inflation, with a high probability of the money lasting 30 years. We use it to convert your projected nest egg into a monthly retirement income figure.

How much do I need to retire?

A common rule of thumb: 25× your desired annual retirement spending (the inverse of the 4% rule). If you want $80,000/year in retirement, you need roughly $2 million. This tool calculates your specific target based on your replacement-income goal.

What's a good savings rate by age?

Fidelity's benchmarks are 1× income saved by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60, and 10× by 67. Saving 15% of gross income (including employer match) typically gets you there. This tool flags whether you're ahead, on pace, or behind these benchmarks.

Should I include Social Security in my retirement plan?

Yes — Social Security replaces ~40% of pre-retirement income for the average earner. Use our Social Security Optimizer to estimate your specific benefit, then reduce your nest egg target accordingly. This Readiness Score tool focuses on the gap your portfolio needs to fill.

Why does the tool recommend a small gold allocation in some cases?

When you're within 10 years of retirement with ~100% in stocks, a single bear market (e.g., 2008's −37%) can delay retirement 5+ years through sequence-of-returns risk. A 5–15% allocation to physical gold has historically reduced peak-to-trough drawdowns without materially lowering long-term returns.

What if my actual returns are worse than 7%?

Lower the Expected Return slider to stress-test the projection. A common conservative assumption is 5% real (after inflation). If your plan still earns a B grade at 5%, you have meaningful resilience. If it drops to D or F, your plan depends on bull-market returns to succeed.

Does this account for taxes and inflation?

Returns are nominal (before inflation). The 4% rule itself adjusts for inflation. Taxes are not deducted — most retirement accounts (Traditional IRA, 401k) are taxed as ordinary income on withdrawal. Use our Tax Impact Calculator to model after-tax outcomes.

How often should I rerun this?

At minimum annually, ideally every 6 months. Major life events (job change, marriage, large windfall, market crash) are also good triggers. The Readiness Score is most useful as a longitudinal track-record — watch the trend, not just the snapshot.

What does retirement readiness mean?

A measure of whether your projected retirement assets + guaranteed income will sustainably cover your expected retirement expenses. Common scoring: green (90%+ of needs covered), yellow (70–89%), red (<70%). Scoring usually accounts for Social Security, pension, savings, expected returns, inflation, healthcare, and longevity.

How much do I need to retire comfortably in 2026?

Rough rule: 25× annual expenses. For typical U.S. middle-class spending of $60k–$80k/yr → $1.5M–$2M. With Social Security covering $30k–$45k/yr, the portfolio target shrinks to $750k–$1.4M. High-COL areas or early retirement push these numbers higher.

What's the 10× rule for retirement savings?

Fidelity's benchmarks: 1× salary by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60, 10× by 67. A $100k earner should have $1M saved by 67 to maintain a similar lifestyle. Most Americans are well below these targets — median age-65 balance is ~$280k vs. recommended $1M+.

Am I on track for retirement?

Quick check: (current savings × expected real return)^(years to retirement) + (annual contribution × growth factor) should equal or exceed (annual expenses × 25 - guaranteed income × 25). The Retirement Readiness Calculator runs this math automatically with your specific inputs.

What's a healthy savings rate for retirement?

10% of gross income is the floor; 15% is the standard target; 20–25% is needed to retire early or to catch up if started late. Include the employer match in the 15%. Late starters (40+ with little saved) often need 25–30% to reach a conventional retirement.

What return assumption should I use for retirement planning?

Conservative: 5% nominal (3% real). Moderate: 7% nominal (4% real). Aggressive: 8% nominal (5% real). Most retirement calculators default to 6–7%. Better to plan with the conservative number — if you outperform, you retire early; if you underperform, you're not surprised.

How does inflation affect retirement readiness?

Massively. At 3% inflation, $60k of expenses today is $109k in 20 years and $145k in 30 years. Always plan in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars: estimate today's-dollar expenses, today's-dollar Social Security (adjusted by COLA), and use a real return (3–4%) to project the gap.

What's the biggest retirement readiness mistake?

Underestimating healthcare. Fidelity says couples need $345k for healthcare alone in retirement. Most readiness calculators treat healthcare as part of general expenses, missing the 5%+ medical inflation rate. Allocate a separate $250k–$400k healthcare line item.

Should I include Social Security in my retirement number?

Yes for ages 50+; conservatively (75% of projected benefit) for 35–49; not at all for under 35. The SSA itself projects benefit cuts to 80–83% if the trust fund isn't replenished by 2034 — building a haircut into your projection is prudent.

What's the safe withdrawal rate for early retirement?

3.5% for 30+ year retirements; 3% for 40+ year retirements (e.g., FIRE retirees in their 40s); 4% for traditional 25–30 year retirements starting at 65. A 5–15% gold allocation can support a slightly higher safe rate by reducing sequence-of-returns risk.

How does a Gold IRA fit retirement readiness?

Gold doesn't increase your readiness score directly (no income, no compounding growth) — but the diversification typically supports a higher safe withdrawal rate by reducing portfolio volatility in the early retirement years when sequence-of-returns risk is highest. Most calculators model gold as 5–15% of the portfolio.

What if I'm not on track?

Three levers, in order of impact: (1) work longer — each year past 65 increases Social Security by 8% and shrinks the years your portfolio must support; (2) save more — increase contribution rate by 2–5% of salary; (3) reduce expectations — a $50k retirement vs. $80k needs $750k less in savings. Most under-prepared retirees use a combination.

Retirement Readiness Score — Free A–F Grade in 60 Seconds (1970)

Plan · Updated 1970

Are you on track to retire comfortably?

Get your personalized A–F grade in 60 seconds, with a 30-year projection and clear next steps to close any retirement gap.

Current age

Target retirement age

Current retirement savings

All accounts: 401k, IRA, Roth, brokerage

Annual household income

Contribution rate

0%10%30%

% of income saved annually (incl. employer match)

Income replacement target

50%80%100%

% of pre-retirement income needed in retirement

Expected annual return

3%7%10%

Nominal, before inflation. 7% is a common stock-heavy assumption

Stock allocation

0%70%100%

% of portfolio in equities (rest in bonds/cash/alts)

Your readiness grade

D55/100

Projected at age 65

$928,484

≈ $3,095/mo (4% rule)

Target nest egg

$1,900,000

Shortfall: $971,516

Funded ratio

20/40

Savings rate

13/20

Time horizon

9/15

Diversification

8/15

Current cushion

5/10

Your projected path to retirement

Gold line = target nest egg. Filled area = projected balance.

Personalized recommendations

Push your savings rate toward 15%
10% is good — bumping to 15% materially shrinks your retirement gap.
You're projected $972k short of your target
Closing this gap typically requires saving more, working 16 more years, or accepting a lower retirement income.

Next step: See whether adding a small gold allocation closes your gap with the Gold IRA vs Traditional IRA comparison.

Retirement Readiness Score — How It Works

The Retirement Readiness Score blends five weighted measurements into a single 0–100 number that maps to an A–F grade. Funded ratio (your projected balance ÷ target nest egg) carries the heaviest weight at 40 points because it's the single best predictor of whether your plan will succeed. Savings rate (20 pts), time horizon (15 pts), diversification fit-for-age (15 pts), and current savings cushion vs. Fidelity-style age benchmarks (10 pts) round out the score.

Projected balance uses standard time-value-of-money math: future value of your current balance plus annual contributions, compounded at your chosen expected return for the remaining years. Your target nest egg is derived from the 4% safe-withdrawal rule (Bengen 1994; Trinity Study): desired annual retirement income ÷ 0.04. So a $80k/yr retirement requires a $2M nest egg.

Recommendations are generated rule-by-rule based on your inputs — savings rate vs. 10% / 15% thresholds, allocation drift vs. the (110 − age) heuristic, and projected shortfall or surplus relative to target. The tool runs entirely in your browser; no data is sent or stored.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your score combines five weighted factors: funded ratio (40%), savings rate (20%), time horizon (15%), diversification fit for your age (15%), and current savings cushion vs. age-based benchmarks (10%). The total maps to an A–F grade — 90+ is A, 80–89 B, 65–79 C, 50–64 D, below 50 F.

How Gold IRA Blueprint Keeps This Tool Accurate

We refresh the scoring weights and Fidelity benchmark ladders each January, and re-validate the 4%-rule assumptions against the latest Trinity Study updates. Expected-return defaults are reviewed against 30-year rolling S&P 500 averages each quarter.

Last reviewed: January 2026 — next review January 2027

Gold IRA Blueprint|Retirement Readiness Score