Every financial service provider on the Web seems to have an answer—and a calculator. But will they give the right answers for you? These articles may help clarify some issues before you use the calculators.
How much will you need to retire? by Robert Brokamp at the Motley Fool uses real consumer spending figures to look at average expenditures by age for such categories as food, housing, health care, transportation and entertainment.
Have I saved enough? by Walter Updegrave on CNN/Money offers an overview of what you need to do to answer this question for your circumstances.
Current vs. retirement income: How much do I need?, another take on the question by Walter Updegrave, on CNN Money.
Retirement Savings Calculators
A number of websites have retirement savings calculators that let you plug in various figures to predict approximate future income based on the factors you provide. You may wish to run the numbers on several in order to compare.
Ballpark Estimate from the American Savings Education Council. This one-sheet calculator “offers users a way to obtain a rough first estimate of what Americans need for retirement. The worksheet assumes you’ll need 70% of current income, that you’ll live to age 87, and you’ll realize a constant real rate of return of 3% after inflation.” Use it online or printout. A Spanish language version is available.
Retirement Planner from CNN/Money
Retirement Calculator from FINRA, the leading private-sector provider of financial regulatory services (overseeing brokerage firms and brokerage agents).
Prepared for Corning Credit Union by Remar Sutton & Associates, May 2005. Reviewed and updated May 2007. All rights reserved.
