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Home / Retirement savings / Age 50, $1,000 a month

Retirement Savings Starting at 50 With $1,000 a Month

How much could you have by 65 if you begin at 50? The page assumes $1,000 a month and a return of 5.5 percent a year. You can change both.

The balance at 65 on the starting figures is $278,746. Your deposits total $180,000.

years
years
$
$
%
Balance at retirement
$278,746
Total you put in
$180,000
Growth
$98,746
Years of saving
15
Year by year
YearTotal put inBalance
51$12,000$12,307
52$24,000$25,309
53$36,000$39,043
54$48,000$53,553
55$60,000$68,881
56$72,000$85,073
57$84,000$102,179
58$96,000$120,250
59$108,000$139,341
60$120,000$159,508
61$132,000$180,812
62$144,000$203,319
63$156,000$227,095
64$168,000$252,212
65$180,000$278,746
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How the balance is worked out

Each deposit earns interest from the month it arrives until the end. An early deposit grows for many months while a late one grows for few. The calculator adds up all 180 deposits of $1,000 at the monthly rate of 0.4583 percent to get the final balance.

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Worked example

From 50 to 65 is 15 years. Depositing $1,000 a month over that time and earning 5.5 percent produces $278,746.

Growth supplies 35 percent of the final amount. That is $98,746 that you did not have to deposit.

Questions about this calculator

How much a month would it take to reach $1,000,000 by 65 from age 50 at 5.5 percent, compared with $1,000?

About $3,588 a month at 5.5 percent. That is $2,588 more than the $1,000 in the example.

What if you saved double, $2,000 a month, from age 50 to 65 at 5.5 percent?

The balance at 65 would be about $557,491 instead of $278,746. That is 2 times as much.

What if returns averaged 4 percent instead of 5.5 percent for $1,000 a month from age 50 to 65?

The $1,000 a month would reach $246,090 by age 65. That is $32,655 less than the $278,746 shown at 5.5 percent.

What is $278,746 worth after 15 years of inflation?

At 2.5 percent a year prices rise by a factor of 1.45. The $278,746 would then buy about as much as $192,464 does at the start.

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This page is for education only and is not financial or tax advice.