With the economy taking a turn for the worse and with social security not being a secure option like it used to be, individuals must be craftier than ever in planning for retirement so that they can be sure to have enough money to live on, once they retire. Even if individuals have been putting money away into a 401K or other retirement plan that their company offered, this is not a guarantee that there will be enough for them to live off of for the rest of their lives once they hit retirement age. Many times, these plans paired with social security benefits alone will not pay the individual’s bills once he retires. With inflation being taken into account, individuals must consider what type of a lifestyle they want to be able to live after retirement, how long they will probably live, what type of health insurance they have, and whether they will need to take care of any dependants still after retirement.
Looking to the Future
There are many different ways that individuals can figure out what type of money they need to be saving now in order to retire later with enough money to continue living the lifestyle they are used to living. There are many free retirement calculators on the market that can help an individual to figure out the basics of saving for retirement. These calculators have the individual fill in pertinent information about himself and his family and then calculate what he will need to save per year in order to reach his goals.
The first part of income calculators for retirement has to do with the age of the individual currently, what age they want to retire at, what their life expectancy is, what their current income is and how much of a raise per year they will get, and what the desired income at retirement is. This stage usually also has a place to fill in information about a spouse’s income as well so that the total income for the family can be considered.
The next part of the calculator for retirement, figures in the amount of benefits from social security that will be obtained at sixty-five or sixty-six and also allows the individual to put in any form of pension benefits that he might receive. After that, it gives the individual a place to input how much income is currently in a 401K or 403B account and how much income is being placed in it per year by himself and by the company. There is also a place for any other retirement income such as from IRAs, KEOUGHS and SEPS. Once this is figured in, the calculator shows the results and whether the individual is on the right track for retirement.
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