looking for retirement calculator

Try basic.esplanner.com. It is a free onlive version of a comprehensive product. It uses "consumption smoothing" to try to equalize your standard of living over your lifetime. I'll have to admit that I have not used the free web-based version, but I have used the installed version, and think it is very useful.

Dave

I second Dave's recommendation of ESPlanner. It is the most comprehensive tool I have seen. I also have not used the on-line version but the full installable version is quite reasonably priced for what it does. Go to

As you say, most calcs tell you how many total dollars you will have in X years based on some saving & investment rate. I like this site (free) because it will tell you, among many other details, what you could spend yearly based on your input of assumptions such as those you listed above, plus many more.

Optimal Retirement Planner at

Here are two I like. I am not a professional, so only use "free" tools:

tnx - I'll have to take a look at each one of the planners.

Most times - the calcs are about getting enough saved. I'm more concerned about the retirement phase, and how much to spend and what's left over.

ie - using some round numbers to play with as a retirement example ....

Will own home, no outstanding debts, just monthly living, etc Want to know "how much"

- to draw out of portfolio (if needed to increase lifestyle)

- left for estate at age 90

- need to increase growth stocks vs stable bonds

- inflation rate

Using these example numbers .... Investment portfolio = $2 mil IRA mutual funds = $200,000

Pension payout = $80k yr SS payout = $30k yr

Example expenses ... Real estate taxes = $7k yr Monthly living = $30k yr

Looking back - it might be simply... The $30k balances SS vs Expenses, with the $80k pension as gravy and the $2mil portfolio as a reserve to draw down...

check two I listed in my reply, they are both excellent spending calculators

Big SNIP

My experience was that I spent almost as much in retirement as I did when I was working.

Calculate your spend rate as follows: Take the $ on the last line of page 1 of your 1040

• subtract about 10% (you wont be contributing to Social Security etc

-using after tax dollars)

• subtract any after costs savings
• subtract work related costs - commuting, uniforms etc
• adjust for differences in health insurance costs especially if under 65
• add in the cost for golf, big travel and other things that you will be spending between 9 and 5.

The draw from your savings/slash investments is your spend rate less any annuity type income such as Social Security, pensions etc.

The 4% number comes from a Monte Carlo analysis using actual performance over a longish period of time of a hypothetical portfolio consisting a mixture of stocks and bonds.

The original analysis was called the Trinity study (Trinity College) and can be found by Googling). The analysis calculates the probability that the portfolio will last a given number of years. So you take a guess at how long you will live and what odds you can tolerate and come up with a a withdrawal rate. You then hope that the portfolio going forward behaves as it did in the past.

The Trinity analysis has been duplicated by others with more or less similar results.

T Row Price has an on line retirement calculator that can give you approximate results (approximate because the assumptions used are only assumptions