| There are hundreds, if not thousands, of websites | | | | little over 9 minutes to complete the questionnaire |
| offering a 401(K) calculator or retirement calculator - | | | | and calculate the final results. Overall, it was easy to |
| all promising to show you exactly how much you | | | | use and lets you include extra income sources like a |
| need to save for your retirement. | | | | part-time job or investment returns. The one major |
| However, do they actually work? And why do they | | | | drawback is that you can't fiddle with the numbers or |
| all say something different? And with all these | | | | make major adjustments without starting over from |
| choices, which one is actually the best or right for | | | | the beginning. |
| you? | | | | Calculator: Nationwide's Retirability (URL: |
| To compare the numerous 401(K) calculators out | | | | nationwide.com/nw/nrri/index.htm?wtgo=retirability) |
| there, we inserted the same numbers, including | | | | Nationwide's Retirability calculator gives users what it |
| savings rate, life expectancy and income into three | | | | calls an "R-Score," essentially scoring them on their |
| various online and free calculators. | | | | retirement-readiness. A good score is anything above |
| To do so, we inserted the same data about a | | | | 100. Our poor test subject scored an 88. |
| pretend test subject - a 45-year old man with no | | | | The site took just under 8 minutes to input our |
| spouse or dependents and an annual income of | | | | information and come up with its results. One major |
| approximately $50,000. | | | | feature of Nationwide's 401(K) tool is that it includes |
| Our subject had a minimal mortgage balance, a | | | | home equity as part of your assets. Considering that |
| savings rate of about 10% and approximately | | | | most Americans wind up tapping into that equity, it's |
| $90,000 saved in a 401(K). He wanted to retire by | | | | more accurate. |
| the time he was 65, live on $50,000 (100% of his | | | | The AARP Retirement Calculator (Online at: aarp.org |
| pre-retirement income) and he expected to live until | | | | money/financial_planning/sessionseven |
| the age of 100. | | | | retirement_planning_calculator.html) |
| Keep reading to find out what each 401(K) calculator | | | | At the moment, our test subject is saving just over |
| recommended and how they measured up. | | | | $400 in his retirement savings. According to the |
| The Ballpark Estimate Calculator (Online at: | | | | AARP calculator, that amount needs to increase to |
| choosetosave.org/ballpark) | | | | $1600 in order to meet his goal of full retirement at |
| The Ballpark Estimate Calculator has some bad news | | | | 65. |
| - our test subject will have to save close to 56% of | | | | In terms of quality and ease, the AARP calculator |
| his annual salary to meet his goal of retiring by the | | | | was fast enough. It took about 10 minutes to |
| time he's 65 with a 100% post-retirement income of | | | | complete. Though it wasn't bursting with features or |
| $50,000. Prospects are grim for our test subject, | | | | fancy animations, it definitely produced results that |
| unless he opts for riskier investments. | | | | were simple to read and easy to understand. |
| In terms of quality and experience, the site took a | | | | |