Pension Accumulation Scenario

This is a user-assumption accumulation worksheet, not a defined-benefit entitlement estimate. It applies return monthly, adds employee and employer contributions at each month end, changes salary after each twelve-month block, adjusts the ending balance for entered inflation, and applies the user-entered draw assumption.

Timing and formulas

For each month, the existing balance first grows by the entered annual return divided by 12. That month’s salary-based contributions are then added. Contributions are therefore end-of-month. Salary changes annually. At retirement:

$\text{today's-dollar balance}=\frac{\text{ending balance}}{(1+\text{inflation})^{\text{years}}}$

$\text{illustrative monthly amount}=\frac{\text{today's-dollar balance}\times\text{entered draw rate}}{12}$

At the defaults (age 30 to 65), the scenario produces $604,148.91 total value, $302,091.14 in today’s dollars, and $1,006.97/month at the entered 4% draw assumption. A different draw input changes the result; 4% is not fixed or represented as safe.

Pair the accumulation scenario with the Retirement Withdrawal Calculator to model the drawdown phase, the Compound Interest Calculator for the underlying growth arithmetic, and the Retirement Age Calculator to test how the starting age changes the balance.

Limitations

No tax, plan terms, vesting, guarantee, adequacy, survivor option, entitlement, or individualized advice is included. Check the governing plan documents and obtain appropriate professional guidance before making a retirement decision.

Sources and assumptions

• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov, Compound Interest Calculator — compound-growth context for repeated contributions; accessed 2026-07-09.
• OpenStax, Principles of Finance, 2022 first edition, ISBN 978-1-951693-54-1 — time-value-of-money and annuity context.

These sources explain the accumulation arithmetic. They do not establish pension-plan benefits, guarantee the entered return or draw rate, or replace the terms of an actual plan.

Separate contributions from draw assumptions

Save employee and employer contributions with the salary-growth and investment-return scenario. Change the illustrative draw assumption only after retaining that accumulation record. This keeps the proposed annual draw distinct from the assumptions used to build the projected balance and from the terms of an actual pension arrangement.