Lose half in year one. Then keep going.

What happens when the market drops? This calculator cuts your starting amount in half before it has a chance to grow, then projects it to 70 with your monthly contributions still going in.

  • A 50% drop, up front

    Your starting amount is halved immediately. Your monthly contributions are not touched.

  • Then 10% a year

    From there, the same long-run average the S&P 500 calculator uses, compounded monthly.

  • Until age 70

    The projection runs from your age today to your 70th birthday.

Your numbers

Filled in with an example. Change any of it.

What you invest on day one, before the drop.

Your age today.

What you add every month.

Projected value at 70

$0

Past returns are not a guarantee of future returns.

How the math works

The same formula, with half the start.

The drop only touches what you had at the start. Every contribution after it is invested at full value, which is why staying in does so much of the recovering.

Value at 70 = (S ÷ 2) × (1 + r)n + M × ((1 + r)n − 1) ÷ r

S
Your starting amount, before the drop.
M
Your monthly contribution.
r
10% ÷ 12, the monthly rate.
n
(70 − your age) × 12, the number of months.

The result is rounded to the nearest dollar. “If the drop never came” is the same formula with S in place of S ÷ 2. Total contributions is S + M × n: everything you put in, counting the full starting amount.

Learning center

Run another set of numbers.

S&P 500 calculator

What could steady investing in the market be worth by the time you turn 70?

Open the calculator

Fee impact calculator

How much does a fund’s expense ratio really cost over the life of your plan?

Open the calculator

Tax refund calculator

What could part of this year’s refund grow into if you invest it instead of spending it?

Open the calculator

Markets fall. Staying in is the decision that counts.

Back to the learning center →