Retirement Calculators Offer Answers — and Solutions

Retirement calculators
Keep watch over your finances like you do your health, and retirement could be a lot happier all around.

Retirement calculators give you a quick peek at what you will need to retire, and how your current plan is helping you reach that goal. But it’s more than just a snapshot tool. The real benefits come in the insight they offer.

Retirement planning is more than following a step-by-step procedure to get from point A to point B. It takes strategy. And for strategy, you need tools. A calculator helps you find the right ones for you.

Retirement calculators
Your 25-year-old self might have little in common with who you will become.

Is Your Current Retirement Plan on Track?

When you start a saving and investing plan, you have a general idea about where it will take you. You can make predictions when you set a plan in motion, but a lot of things can, and usually do, happen along the way.

Maybe you started by saving 15 percent of your income, which is pretty standard. But then your income changed. If you earn less now than when you began, your original plan won’t work. So think of a retirement calculator as a yearly checkup. You might learn that everything is perfectly fine. But if it’s not, you’ll catch problems in time to avoid expensive consequences down the road.

Retirement calculators
Your 25-year-old self might have little in common with who you will become.

Have Options Changed Since Your Last Evaluation?

Even a great plan with healthy and regular contributions might not be the way to get the most out of your money. If options exist now that didn’t a few years ago, you could be missing out. Tax laws change, and so do Social Security and investment regulations. And although long-term inflation is measured at about 3 percent annually, Bankrate explains that it can change a lot from year to year.

A retirement calculator such as the one at NewRetirement helps keep you informed about the laws and regulations that affect your life. For example, in 2015, the IRS only allows one IRA rollover, no matter how many IRAs you have. When you complete your evaluation, you’ll learn more about what’s happening now and how to make it work to your advantage.

Are You Investing Aggressively Enough?

Life changes can seriously alter what you’ll need at retirement. Marriage, the birth of children and business ventures are just a few of the things that you might not consider when you’re very young. But as time marches on, they become more relevant and need a place in your plans for the future. Conversely, you might decide that you don’t need as much as you thought.

For some, early retirement looks better all the time. If that becomes a new goal, you’ll need a whole new strategy. With a retirement calculator, you can change your goals and get new, updated information each time. You can also try a few different scenarios to find one that feels comfortable to you.

Retirement calculators offer a lot more than just a breakdown of where you stand right now. That’s a good start, but the real value is in the insight. The more you know, the better you’ll fare, even if your goals change several times over the years.

NewRetirement is committed to helping you plan effectively, no matter how lofty or modest your goals. Start to finish, it only takes a few minutes to use our retirement calculator. But what you’ll gain can benefit you for a lifetime.

NewRetirement Planner

Do it yourself retirement planning: easy, comprehensive, reliable

NewRetirement Planner

Take financial wellness into your own hands and do it yourself retirement planning: easy, comprehensive, reliable.

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