The Retirement Planner Calculator helps you get a grip on reality It allows you to compare your retirement aspirations against your current financial situation.

• Enter ballpark values by clicking on and dragging the diamond-shaped sliders left or right. Enter exact numbers by clicking on the number in the box on the right and type your number (no commas).
• Solve for different variables by clicking on a label name. A red check mark appears on the label of the variable for which you are solving. You cannot change red-checked values.
• The results of your calculations show in the box at the bottom of specific tabs.
• Click on tabs for details and for more options.

The Personal Information Tab gathers age and gender information.

Male or Female

Click the appropriate radio button.

Life Expectancy Table

Click the radio button to tell the calculator to use your life expectancy estimate or that of an actuarial table.

Life Expectancy Slider

This slider works only if you pick the radio button that allow you to enter your own life expectancy estimate.

Current Age

Enter your current age.

Retirement Age

Enter the age at which you hope to retire.

The Retirement Needs Tab gathers details on your financial situation and allows you to enter a couple of your financial projections.

Inflation Rate

Enter your estimate of how inflation will grow annually from now through your retirement.

Income Growth

Enter your estimate your income will grow annually from now until retirement.

Tax Rate

Enter your current income tax bracket.

Annual Income

Enter your current annual income.

Retirement income Needed

Enter your estimate of how much of your current income you will need at retirement. Consider if your mortgage will be paid, if you plan to do a lot of traveling and factor in other personal issues surrounding your retirement.

Results

Based on your entries, the results box estimates the amount of money you'll need annually in retirement.

The Retirement Tab gathers more financial details and calculates how far along you are in meeting your stated retirement goals.

Retirement Contribution

Enter the percentage of your annual salary that you are contributing to your tax-deferred retirement plan.

Company Match

Enter the percentage of your retirement contribution that your company matches.

Retirement Savings

This is the amount of savings that you currently have in your retirement accounts. Click this button to figure out how much you need to have in retirement accounts right now in order to meet your retirement needs.

Annual Rate of Return

This is the interest that your retirement account is expected to earn annually. Click on this button to figure out how much your tax-deferred investments should earn on the average for you to reach your retirement goal.

Annual Retirement income

. Click on this button to figure out how much money will be available to you annually in retirement based on all the sources.

Results

Based on your entries, the results box estimates the amount of money you'll need annually in retirement.

These are a sampling of issues you should take into consideration when planning for your retirement.