Financial perspective
Can I stop working earlier?
Try a different stopping age or working less and see right away what it does to the chance that your money is enough. You can also put two plans side by side.
Start filling in
How your savings develop
Show per year as a table
What you want to spend per month and where it comes from
Per year, in today’s money: what comes from state pension, pension and work and what we take from your savings. Tap or hover over a bar for the figures.
More insight
Got a tip or an addition? We’d love to hear it.
Five small buttons
Everything updates as you type and nothing leaves this browser.
What do you need?
With your age and what you’d like to spend each month, we work out the rest: your state pension age, average life expectancy and a pot that may be empty at the end.
What other choices mean
Want to look a little further? Here you can see what other choices would mean.
Compare two plans
Save what you have filled in as plan A or B, change something and see the difference side by side.
First enter what you’d like to spend each month under Overview; the comparisons then appear here.
How the portfolios behave
Capital needed per monthly budget
What if you spent a little more or less? Same assumptions, only the monthly budget changes. The middle row is what you’ve entered now.
What your budget is worth by country
Time to take stock.
Time to move forward.
Button Counter is your personal financial cockpit. We show you what you have, how much room that gives you now and later and how your savings could develop.
You explore scenarios, test choices and see what they mean for your future. Everything is in today’s money and stays in your own browser.
Because it’s not just about what you’ve built up, but about what you can do with it.
Frequently asked questions
What is Button Counter?
Button Counter gives you a view of your financial future: how long your savings will last and what changes when you adjust something. You enter your age, your savings and what you want to spend each month. Button Counter then shows the chance that your money lasts until your end age, based on 4,000 simulations of good and bad market years.
Why Button Counter instead of a simple calculator?
A simple calculator answers one sum, such as how long an amount lasts or how much tax you pay on savings. Button Counter puts everything in one plan: your savings, your pension and state pension, work per period, one or two people and the rules of your country. Instead of one number you see the chance that your money is enough, based on 4,000 simulations. Every number shows whether it comes from a source, is an assumption or was entered by you.
How much savings do I need to stop working?
That depends on your monthly budget, your age and the pension you will receive. Button Counter calculates the amount you need for a 90% chance that your money is enough. As a rough rule of thumb, people often need 25 to 30 times the yearly spending that their pensions do not cover.
How is the chance of success calculated?
Button Counter runs 4,000 simulations in which returns go up and down each year. It does this for three portfolios (defensive, balanced and aggressive), after costs, tax and inflation, so every amount is in today’s money. The chance of success is the share of simulations in which your money lasts until your end age. Two crash scenarios, one like 2008 and one like 2022, are shown separately.
Which countries does Button Counter support?
Button Counter has its own rules for the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus a general setting for other countries. Each country has its own state pension, pension age and tax on investments. Button Counter also compares what your budget is worth in 31 European countries, based on Eurostat price levels.
Is Button Counter free, and what happens to my data?
At the moment Button Counter is free to use, has no advertising and needs no account. What you enter stays in your own browser on your own device and is not sent to Button Counter. Visits and the use of features are counted anonymously, without cookies.
Is this financial advice?
No. Button Counter is a general calculation tool that gives estimates based on simplified rules and assumptions. It does not give advice about your personal situation. Check official sources and consult an independent, licensed adviser before you make important financial decisions.
Your country in Button Counter
Help make Button Counter better
Missing a rule for your country, spotted an error, or have an idea? Tell us. Every tip helps us keep Button Counter right for everyone.
Privacy
Your data stays with you. What you enter (ages, amounts, choices) is stored only in your own browser on this device. It is not sent to Button Counter and nobody else can see it. If you clear your browser data, it is gone.
No tracking. No advertising cookies are used and you are not followed. Visits are counted anonymously (the number of visits, pages and country, and how often features such as the notepad or sharing are used, never what you enter) with GoatCounter, without cookies and without personal data. The storage in your browser only makes the site work and remembers your input.
What does run through others. The site is hosted on GitHub Pages, so GitHub sees technical data such as your IP address when the page loads. The form behind “Share a tip” is a Google Form: what you write there reaches the maker and possibly Google. Don’t enter anything there that you want to keep private. Links to sources lead to other websites with their own rules.
Contact. Button Counter is a personal, non-commercial project. What you send through “Share a tip” is used only to improve the site and is not kept longer than needed. Want something deleted, or have a question about this text? Send a message through “Share a tip”.
Disclaimer
Button Counter is a general calculation tool for information only. It is not financial, investment, tax, pension or legal advice, and no advice is given about your personal situation.
Results are estimates based on simplified rules and assumptions about returns, inflation and life expectancy. The future can differ from what is shown, and the rules per country may be incomplete or out of date. No rights can be derived from the results.
Use of this site is at your own risk. To the extent permitted by law, the maker accepts no liability for decisions made or damage suffered based on this site. Check official sources and consult an independent, licensed adviser before making important financial decisions.