Most European retirement fear is really one unknown number: the gap between the life you want and what the state pension will pay. This calculator finds it — and then closes it. Enter your desired monthly income, your expected state pension, and your timeline, and you get the portfolio size that bridges the difference plus the exact monthly investment that gets you there.
By Kestutis Balciunas · Last reviewed: 17 July 2026 · Figures and rules are 2026-vintage estimates — verify current data before acting. Educational tool, not advice.
The math behind it
The gap is annualized and divided by a sustainable withdrawal rate — 3.5% is the European long-retirement default, with 3% and the classic 4% selectable (the reasoning lives in our examination of the 4% rule for Europeans and the companion safe withdrawal rate calculator). Your current portfolio is projected forward at your expected return; whatever the projection does not cover becomes a required monthly saving, computed with standard future-value-of-annuity math.
Every European country mails or publishes a personal state-pension forecast — Germany’s Renteninformation, France’s info-retraite.fr, the Netherlands’ mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl, the UK’s State Pension forecast. Five minutes finding that number turns this from a guess into a plan.
What to do with the result
If the monthly number looks impossible, the levers are (in order of power): time — every year earlier is worth more than any optimization; the second-pillar question — an employer match beats everything, weigh it with our pension-fund vs UCITS cost comparison; and expectations — a smaller gap is still a smaller gap. If the result says you are already covered, congratulations: you have found your Coast FIRE point. Either way, the money itself belongs in the boring machine: broad accumulating UCITS funds on an automatic monthly plan.
These numbers make more sense with the guide
The free 12-page Starter Kit turns them into decisions: your first fund, a safe broker, and the tax basics for your country.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Should I enter figures in today’s money or future money?
A: Today’s money is simpler and recommended: state your income wish and pension in today’s euros, and use a real (after-inflation) return of 4–5% instead of a nominal 7%. Mixing today’s wishes with nominal returns overstates how ready you are.
Q: Where do I find my expected state pension?
A: Every EU country provides a personal forecast: Germany’s annual Renteninformation letter, France’s info-retraite.fr, the Netherlands’ mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl, Sweden’s minPension, the UK’s online State Pension forecast. Use the figure at your planned retirement age.
Q: Is 3.5% really safer than the famous 4% rule?
A: For long European retirements, yes — the 4% rule comes from 30-year US market history; international data and longer horizons support 3–3.5%. The difference moves your target portfolio by roughly 15%, so the tool lets you compare all three.
Q: Does the calculator account for taxes?
A: No — it is a gross planning tool. Depending on your country, withdrawals may face capital-gains tax and pensions may be taxed as income; your country’s rules are covered in our tax guides and shift the required pot somewhat upward.
Q: What if I expect no state pension at all?
A: Enter zero — the tool then computes a fully self-funded retirement. That is a conservative planning stance some younger Europeans deliberately choose, though most EU systems will realistically pay something.