Using Online Retirement Calculators

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Kimberly,
I was extremely happy to see that you wrote on this subject. I read this article in the most recent issue of U.S. News & World Report and I was glad that you were putting the word out there. Just like yourself most people dont plan to fail, they fail to plan. You, as well as many others save and put away what they think is enough money, and in actuality it really isnt. You are right, a Retirement Calculator is a necessity for those that plan on putting away for Retirement and for it to last all of their Retirement years. I do want to advise, and I dont know if there is a problem with me saying this, but I am a Primerica Financial Analyst. At our company, which is a subsidiary of Citigroup, we sit down with everyday Middle Class Americans and we take down their financial info and input it into what we call a Financial Needs Analysis (FNA). This is also what you would call a Retirement Calculator, but we also assess other portions of that clients'finances and look at them as a whole so that we could create the best possible solution for that client's needs. You should look into our company, and others should do the same. This was just another option for those who are interested in finding a Retirement Calculator.

Melissa F. of NY 6:20PM October 11, 2008

Thanks Bob- I'll be writing more on those points you brought up soon.

Kimberly Palmer of 7:05PM October 02, 2008

Most of these are ballpark tools that are really too crude to give you an accurate answer. Too many say you need at least 80% of your working pay to survive. The key is to figure how much you need to live on.If you take your take home pay and subtract retirement savings, direct work expenses, tuition payments (assuming the kids will be out of school by then), and anything else you won't have to fund in retirement. Take that figure and subtract what social security and any pension will pay you. This lower figure is what you have to provide for each year. Multiply that by a minimum of 25 to give you the savings you are going to need to be fairly certain you can take 4% a year - 20k a year needs 500k at the start of retirement. Try to get by with 3% and you will be more apt to last 30 years.
If you think you will come close to 10% returns I have a bridge to sell you. If you can average 6-7% count yourself lucky. It's obvious we all have to be more conservative with our investments so we can limit the damage from the next bubble, assuming we survive this one.

Bob of MA 5:02PM October 02, 2008

That's so funny Grace! Some people seem to just naturally love doing those calculations. You should give it a try too! :)

Kimberly Palmer of 1:34PM October 02, 2008

Thanks for the post! My husband will love this. He has been saving the maximum amount allowed in his 401k since he's started working and re-calculates our savings for retirement every other week, it seems! Happy to know that he is being wise and not just numbers-happy!

Grace of VA 12:36PM October 02, 2008

I'm cringing at the thought of surviving my retirement in 50ish years. I figure by the time I finish paying off my own student loans, it will be time to start saving for the hypothetical kids to go to college, then maybe....just maybe I'll be able to save for retirement...

Veronica of NY 10:35AM October 02, 2008