Savings Rate Calculator

Savings rate = (income saved + employer retirement contributions) ÷ gross income. If you earn $100,000 gross, save $20,000 yourself, and your employer contributes $4,000 to your 401(k), your savings rate is 24%. The FIRE community usually uses gross income; some calculations use net (after-tax) income, which gives a higher percentage.

The personal-finance baseline is 15%–20% of gross income for retirement alone. The FIRE movement targets 25%–50%+ to retire decades early. US median household savings rate has hovered around 5%–10% over the past decade - well below what most people need for a comfortable retirement.

Mr. Money Mustache's famous chart: at a 10% savings rate, working career is about 51 years; 25% takes 32 years; 50% takes 17 years; 75% takes about 7 years. The math assumes a 5% real return and that you'll spend at the same rate in retirement. Saving rate matters far more than investment return for early-career savers.

There's no single right answer. Mortgage principal builds equity, which is a form of forced savings, but home equity isn't liquid and shouldn't be confused with retirement assets. A reasonable approach: track principal payoff separately from financial savings, and don't double-count when calculating retirement readiness.