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Home / Retirement savings / Age 55, $500 a month

Retirement Savings Starting at 55 With $500 a Month

Retirement at 65 after starting at 55 gives 10 years to save. See the balance for $500 a month at 5.5 percent.

On the starting figures the balance at 65 is $79,754. Growth accounts for 25 percent of it.

years
years
$
$
%
Balance at retirement
$79,754
Total you put in
$60,000
Growth
$19,754
Years of saving
10
Year by year
YearTotal put inBalance
56$6,000$6,154
57$12,000$12,654
58$18,000$19,522
59$24,000$26,776
60$30,000$34,440
61$36,000$42,537
62$42,000$51,090
63$48,000$60,125
64$54,000$69,670
65$60,000$79,754
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How the balance is worked out

The calculation runs month by month. The yearly return of 5.5 percent becomes a monthly rate of 0.4583 percent. Each month the balance grows by that rate and then the deposit of $500 is added. Every deposit keeps growing for the rest of the 10 years.

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Worked example

Picture saving $500 a month for the 10 years between age 55 and 65. At a steady 5.5 percent that adds up to $79,754.

Each dollar you deposit becomes about 1.33 dollars by 65. For $500 a month that turns $60,000 into $79,754.

Questions about this calculator

What is $79,754 worth after 10 years of inflation?

At 2.5 percent a year prices rise by a factor of 1.28. The $79,754 would then buy about as much as $62,304 does at the start.

What if you retired 3 years earlier, at 62, when saving $500 a month from age 55 to 65 at 5.5 percent?

The balance would be $51,090 instead of $79,754. That is $28,664 less.

What if you worked 3 years longer, to 68, when saving $500 a month from age 55 to 65 at 5.5 percent?

The balance would reach $113,547 instead of $79,754. That is $33,793 more.

What would an extra $100 a month add when saving $500 a month from age 55 to 65 at 5.5 percent?

The balance at 65 would be $95,705 instead of $79,754. The extra deposits total $12,000.

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