Retirement Investment Calculator - the best weapon against being unprepared for your future

Nov. 4, 2011 - PRLog -- A retirement investment calculator is an important tool you can use to help you determine how much money you need to be saving now in order to live a similar lifestyle when you retire. Retirement is only a dream for many people who didn't take the time to plan for their golden years. By using calculation tools, planning and saving, you can live comfortably after retirement without going broke or being a burden to loved ones.

What You Will Need to Know

Before you can accurately use a retirement investment calculator, you will need to gather a few pieces of information. To begin with, you will need your current age and the age at which you plan to retire. You will need your current annual income. This should include income from wages, investments and other forms of income such as money from rental property.

Next you will need to estimate the percentage of your current income you think you will need to sustain your lifestyle when you retire in order to complete the retirement investment calculator. Depending on your age, you may have the mortgage on your home paid off by retirement. You would not need as much income if there is no mortgage to pay. A rule of thumb is to plan on 70 percent.

You will need to know if you will be receiving a defined pension at retirement. This is a pension from an employer that promises to pay a certain amount of retirement income, usually based on earned wages and years of service. Have figures available for any income you expect to have from a part-time job, 401k, IRA or any other income.

Making Assumptions

This is only a plan so you will need to make some assumptions about certain conditions in order for the retirement investment calculator to provide accurate information. You will have to estimate how long you expect to live. You will have to assume what the rates of growth for both inflation and your wages will be. Also be prepared to estimate the rate of return you make on any investments you have both before and after you retire.

Social Security

If you are or will be eligible for Social Security benefits, you can visit their website to use a calculator that estimates what your monthly benefit will be. It can also give you that information based on inflation.

The Calculator

There are a number of calculators on the Internet and most will need all of this information. After completing the worksheet, the retirement investment calculator will advise you of how much you need to set aside in order to meet your retirement goals.

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