If you are planning for retirement, your head is probably
spinning with questions like these:
- How do I calculate retirement needs?
- Will my money last throughout my retirement?
- How much money can I withdraw from my portfolio each
year (retirement withdrawal rate)?
- How should my money be allocated?
- How will inflation impact my purchasing power?
- How will management fees affect my portfolio's
performance?
- How
do I keep up-to-date on the latest news impacting my retirement?
Fortunately,
most of these questions can be answered painlessly through the use of a
retirement calculator, like the one found at retirementcalc.com.
How
do I calculate retirement needs?
You
can quickly calculate the answer to this question by using retirementcalc.com's
calculator. Retirement Calculator Version 3.0 is easy to use
and includes all these great features:
- How management fee's impact how long your money will
last
- 1973/1974 & 2000/2002 historical economic downturn
- 30 year projections
- Inflation factor enhancements
- Interactive retirement asset performance analysis
- Colorful
graphical interface
- Big charts
& graphs with new capabilities
- Real-time
"what if" retirement analysis on the fly
- Actual vs.
Hypothetical vs. Inflation Proof retirement analytics
- No
additional programs are required to run Retirement Calculator 3.0
- Runs on
all Microsoft Windows Environments
- Easy
upgrade to Retirement Intelligence Information Services
- Instant
web customer support
- Definitions page
Will
my money last throughout my retirement?
Retirement
can span a third or more of your lifetime. Making your retirement portfolio
last as long as your working life did, can be a challenge. By plugging a few
simple numbers into the retirement calculator you can help answer this question
in a snap.
How
much money can I withdraw from my portfolio each year (retirement withdrawal
rate)?
This is a
crucial question to know the question to. If you withdraw too much, your money
will not last your entire retirement. If on the other hand, you withdrawal
too little, then you may end up eating macaroni and cheese for dinner every
night for no reason. It is also important to remember the U.S. government
has placed minimum required distribution (MRD) requirements on many retirement
instruments such as, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and traditional IRAs. Entering different
withdrawal scenarios into the retirement calculator is easy and its results are
revealed instantly.
How
should my money be allocated?
Unfortunately, many retirees make the mistake of putting all their money in "safe"
investments, such as money market accounts and certificates of deposit. They take
this action, because they mistakenly believe that once they retire, they should
not take risk of any kind. The retirement calculator allows you to input any
asset allocation you desire. You can change the allocation until you find the one
that is right for your situation.
How
will inflation impact my purchasing power?
Inflation has a withering affect on your purchasing power. Historically,
the inflation rate has been about 3 percent. Thus, with just the average
inflation rate of 3 percent, your costs double every twenty-four years. You
can expect to spend as much time in retirement as you did when you worked.
Therefore, you can expect to see your expenses double during your retirement
years. Again the retirement calculator can show inflation's impact on your
portfolio immediately.
How
will management fees affect my portfolio's performance?
The
latest feature added to the Retirement Calculator Version 3.0 is the
impact management fees have on your plan. Usually, management fees account
for roughly a one percent loss of your portfolio each year, though this percentage
can be as high as 5 percent or more. One percent may not sound like an
insignificant amount, until you consider that on a $500,000 portfolio, that
means you will have to make $5,000 a year just to breakeven. A five percent
management fee on that same a $500,000 portfolio means you will have to make a
whopping $25,000 a year to breakeven.
How
do I keep up-to-date on the latest news impacting my retirement?
To
keep informed about retirement topics, try a FREE membership to Retirement Intelligence Information
Services. At no cost to join, you will receive a bi-monthly newsletter
full of financial information to inform and empower you to have a successful
retirement. As an added bonus, www.retirementcalc.com will include the Retirement Calculator Software Version 2.0 (a $24.95 value seen live on CBS TV) for
FREE.
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