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Purchasing Power In Future Calculator

Work out purchasing power in future instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Purchasing Power In Future Calculator

Inflation compounds against you exactly as returns compound for you. At 6% a fixed sum halves in purchasing power in about twelve years, which is why retirement plans must be built in real rather than nominal terms.

Formula

Purchasing power

Future value of today's money = amount / (1 + inflation)^years; halving time = ln2 / ln(1+i)

Worked example

With the default values below, Purchasing Power In Future Calculator returns What The Amount Will Buy In Future of $1,559,023.63. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Amount Todayminimum 0
5,000,000
Inflation Rateaccepts 0–100 %
6 %
Years Aheadaccepts 1–60
20

Results

What The Amount Will Buy In Future
$1,559,023.63
Purchasing Power Lost
$3,440,976.37
Share Of Value Eroded
68.820%
Years For Value To Halve
11.90 years

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Purchasing power
  3. 3What The Amount Will Buy In Future= 1,559,023.63
  4. 4Purchasing Power Lost= 3,440,976.37
  5. 5Share Of Value Eroded= 68.820
  6. 6Years For Value To Halve= 11.90 years

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • Figures are estimates for planning only. Prices, returns, inflation and personal circumstances all change. This is not financial or tax advice — speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Figures are estimates for planning only. Prices, returns, inflation and personal circumstances all change. This is not financial or tax advice — speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the halving time matter?

It is the clearest way to see the cost of holding uninvested cash over a long horizon.

Does a fixed pension suffer the same way?

Yes, severely. An unindexed pension loses roughly half its real value over a typical retirement.

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