Retirement calculator

Retirement calculator

Retirement calculator: When you have the option to participate in a 401k, determine how much you contribute to it regularly can be difficult. Most employers offer the option of taking the money directly from your paycheck and contribute to 401k. To determine what percentage of their income to contribute to the account, you must do some calculations and assess their personal needs for retirement. If you do not provide a sufficiently large percentage, you may not enjoy a comfortable retirement.

Calculate the percentage

Calculate the amount of money you need to live on during retirement. You can use one of the many online Retirement calculator to help you do this or work with your personal financial advisor. Determine approximately how much money is needed for housing, entertainment, food, medical care, transportation and any other expenses you can think of.

Enter the amount you need in a Retirement calculator. Enter an average rate of return on investments that will put your money on. For example, 8 percent is an average long-term rate of return you can really expect to achieve. Other input variables that need the calculator, such as your desired retirement age.

Use the calculator to determine how much you need to save each year to reach your goals at that rate.

Divide the amount of money you need to save each year by the number of checks you receive in a year. If you are paid weekly, the total is divided by 52.
Take the total to be saved per pay period and divide that by the total amount earned during that period. For example, if you need to save $ 100 per week and you’ll earn $ 800 per week, you would take $ 100 and divide it by $ 800. This gives a percentage of 12.5 percent of your income you need to save.

Tips & Warnings

Many employers also contribute money to your 401k. In calculating what you need for retirement, often it works better not make plans for employer matching contributions. Employers are not required to contribute money to your account, so any money you get from this is an advantage.

Retirement calculator