About Retirement Calculator, Inc.

Recommended Reading

• The Nervous Retiree
• Why You Need Retirement Calculator Software
• Analysis of the Economics of Early Social Security Withdrawal

457 Savings Calculator

Do You Have a 457 Savings Calculator?

A 457 plan - particularly when your employer matches all of your contributions (at least up to a certain percentage) - is a great way of building the income that you will need to have available once you are no longer working. With a 457 savings calculator, you should be able to get a sense of whether or not the money that you are setting aside now - income that will not be taxed until you withdraw it from the account - is going to be enough to pay for the travels, relocation, expenses or health care costs that will arise after you are retired.

However, a 457 calculator should ask for more than basic information. Just entering in the amount you are contributing and the amount that your employer will match, adding a few details about your current age and how old you plan to be when you retire, and projecting the interest rate on the account is not going to give you an accurate picture of what your retirement savings will be. After all, interest rates change over time, and, when you don't account for inflation, it's hard to say whether or not $300,000 will be worth as much as it is now.

Therefore, it's important to not just use any 457 savings calculator ; it's important to find a 457 savings calculator that will let you enter a bit more information and let you see other factors that will affect the income that will be available to you once you have retired. The retirement calculator that you can download on the page is a better 457 savings calculator, with it you will be able to consider far more than just your 457 account.

You will be able to look at other savings accounts that you have, not just the 457; your individual retirement accounts, certificates of deposit, annuity accounts and other savings can also be looked at. Interest rate changes are something that you can easily look at, and the totals that you get can be set to reflect inflation so that you'll be able to see how much your savings will be worth.

Similarly, you will be able to take a look at investments that you have made or that you are thinking about. You will be able to see how particular stocks or mutual funds have performed over time and to see how they are projected to do in the future. You will be able to see how small changes can add up to big profits and even determine ways of lowering the amount of risk that you are taking with your investments.

More importantly, when you download this retirement calculator, your contact information will be forwarded to a financial advisor in your area who will call to follow up and answer any questions that you have. If you've seen that your 457 savings aren't going to be what you had thought they would be, you can discuss strategies for boosting your retirement income; that's not something you will get with just any 457 savings calculator or just any retirement calculator for that matter.

If you're committed to knowing that you will have the retirement savings that you need, don't you owe it to yourself to take advantage of the tools that can ensure that everything works out as well as or better than you had expected?

Find a Qualified Financial Planner in Your Area

Do You Know the Answers to These Important Retirement Questions?

• Are you retired or thinking about retiring?
• Do you have enough money to comfortably live throughout your retirement years?
• Would you like FREE face to face advice or retirement consulting from a trusted local financial advisor?
• Are you looking for help to achieve your long-term financial goals?
• Would you like to learn more about Annuities, 401's, Life Insurance and Long Term Care?

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Analysis of the Economics of Early Social Security Withdrawal

Robert J. Phillips
Chief Retirement Consultant

Deciding whether or not to take the early withdrawal of social security at age 62 can be difficult. If you need this income at 62 to fund your retirement the decision is fairly straightforward. Take it early! On the other hand, if you have another source of revenue to fund your retirement your decision will be primarily based on lifestyle, health and investment preferences.

Several factors can affect your decision. First is your life expectancy. If you are in good health and have a family history of living beyond 90 then waiting for full benefits may be best. Two other factors impact this decision. First and most important is the value of money or your expected return from your investments. If you are using other investments instead of social security to fund your retirement you should use the rate of return of these investments as your value of money. There is another way to look at the value of money. If you do not require the social security money to live, you can invest the distributions for the future. The rate of return of this investment is your value of money. If your investments will make larger returns such as stocks this would favor taking the early withdrawal.

The last factor impacting your decision is inflation. Social security includes an annual adjustment based on inflation. You cannot control this variable but you should be aware of its impact. If future inflation is significant it will favor a later full distribution

FREE Social Security Calculator:

We developed a calculator to assist in analyzing the impact of taking early benefits at age 62 or waiting for full benefits at age 66 to 67 depending on the year you were born...If you were born in 1960 or later your full benefits will begin at age 67 and your reduction for early benefits at age 62 will be 30%. If you were born between 1946 and 1960 your full benefits begin as early as age 66. We have included a chart that summarizes information.

To use the calculator you need to input your year of birth. You also need to input a value of money up to 10% and a projected inflation adjustment. The calculator analyzes income generated over time from both the early and full benefit investments. It calculates the age at which full social security will catch up and breakeven with the early withdrawal. If you were born before 1960 your breakeven age will be impacted by the year you were born. An early breakeven age favors waiting for full benefits.

The social security calculator is not the final answer whether to take an early withdrawal but it does give you additional economic data to assist in that decision. Ultimately you must balance income, investments and lifestyle to optimize your enjoyment during your retirement years.