David Nadelle

Sun, Jun 15, 2025, 8:01 AM3 min read

Your lifestyle, inflation, investments, anticipated health, Social Security and other income sources have to be figured into any comprehensive retirement financial strategy. However, if you’re currently planning more for your weekend than your retirement, a quick ChatGPT query can at least plant some seeds as to what to expect, and how much you might need when your work life comes to an end.

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Of course, ChatGPT struggles with accuracy, context and common sense, but it’s interesting to experiment with. Here’s what the chatbot answered when I asked it, “How Much Money Will I Need to Retire in 20 Years?”

ChatGPT can’t guess your current savings, your expected retirement age or what you think you’ll need every year to be comfortable in retirement. Therefore, it prompts by asking questions, but also provides a basic example of someone retiring in 20 years, at the age of 65, with a desired annual budget of $60,000, a longevity plan of 25-30 years, an inflation rate of 2.5%-3% per year and a 5%-7% investment rate of return (ChatGPT used 6% before retirement and 4% after, which are accurate estimates).

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Your future purchasing power won’t be reduced if your income increases by the same amount as the rate of inflation. Typically, however, income doesn’t keep pace with the rising cost of goods and services due to inflation. Using an inflation calculator, the reduced amount of $60,000 will be around $33,220 in 20 years. But to have the same purchasing power as $60K today, you’ll need $108,360, per ChatGPT.

To figure out how much money you’ll need to retire, you’ll need to factor in value of annuity formulas, both in the future (the value of payments at a future date) and in the present (the amount of money needed today to generate those future payments).

A quick Google search will give you plenty of income annuity calculators and retirement calculators. Using our ChatGPT inquiry,

• Assuming you’ll need $108,360 each year for 25 years of retirement and get 4% returns while withdrawing, you’ll need to build a nest egg of $1.692 million by the time you turn 65.

• To reach that future goal, estimating a 6% return on investments and savings, you’ll need to sock away $3,813 every month.

ChatGPT is an easy target for detractors; it’s at the vanguard of AI chatbot technology, but it lacks the depth of emotional understanding and subjective interpretation that humans possess. However, it’s still in development, and that’s why it scares people. For now, take it for what it is: a brainstorming tool.