Calculator for Retirement

[street]

I would like to ask this question about this Calculator for Retirement. I have used it to see how things have stacked up and seems to be a fair and accurate as any calc. I have seen. I also agree with and use and have shared the FIRCALC with people. That one is very hard to beat in showing success rate etc. Try your numbers and see what you think and to see if bottom line is close to where you are at. The drop down will give you options for SS/Taxes/etc.
Retirement Planner with Taxes for a Deferred Retirement Savings Plan

 

[Ready]

The problem with these types of calculators is that they require you to input what returns you expect to earn pre and post retirement as a single static number. To test your ability to withstand a variety of scenarios, you either need to use Monte Carlo simulation, or use Firecalc, which tests your portfolio against over 100 years of actual stock market returns.

If you want to input a wide variety of numbers into this calculator and see how the results vary, you could begin to approach what Firecalc does for you, but Firecalc does it automatically so why bother with all of the extra work.

 

[latexman]

The problem with models that are too simplistic, which ignore problems proven by history, can be demonstrated by the following:


The average street width is 40 feet, and the average walking speed is 4 feet/second, but if you get hit by a bus you will never, ever reach the other side.

 

[pb4uski]

I prefer Quicken Lifetime Planner to the OP's link as a deterministic calculator because it is much more comprehensive. I use QLP for my core plan and then run it through Firecalc and other stochastic calculators using the same assumptions used in QLP to the extent possible to stress test it for sequence of returns risk.

 

[mountainsoft]

I don't find these types of calculators very useful. They make too many assumptions regarding things like social security, and ask for things like annual savings in percentages rather than the dollar amount I'm actually saving. They're also not real useful for married couples with two incomes, two social securities, etc.

The two best calculators I have used are FireCalc and "Flexible Retirement Planner". I actually prefer the latter as it runs on my own computer so I can save all my entries to review or tweak later. I can also setup several different what-if scenarios to see what changes we could make to alter our retirement ages.

I get 100% success in both calculators, but I still like to run the numbers through other calculators occasionally just for a little extra verification.

 

[street]

Thanks and I do agree on firecalc.

 

[COcheesehead]

The OP's calculator is too simple and does not take into account many real world variables. Firecalc and FIDO's RPM are good, but my fav is
https://sites.google.com/site/retireplanapp/
Lots and lots of what ifs, variable spending and income options.

 

[street]

So true on the variables in life. The interesting thing with all these calc. is that when I use them they all seem to be very close. The results in my case all show that I'm on track and where I'm at now will work for retiring.

 

[REattempt]

I like Jim Otar's calculator...

http://retirementoptimizer.com/

 

[Cobra9777]

I prefer Quicken Lifetime Planner to the OP's link as a deterministic calculator because it is much more comprehensive. I use QLP for my core plan and then run it through Firecalc and other stochastic calculators using the same assumptions used in QLP to the extent possible to stress test it for sequence of returns risk.

Ditto, except instead of QLP, I use an Excel spreadsheet which is highly customized to our unique scenario.

 

[mountainsoft]

Firecalc and FIDO's RPM are good, but my fav is https://sites.google.com/site/retireplanapp/

Thanks for the link. I seems like a good one and it's fun to have on the iPad so I can play around with the numbers when I'm away from the computer.

I still prefer Download | The Flexible Retirement Planner overall as it's more in-depth, saves my settings, and is more convenient for me.

In any case, all three calculators come out about the same, so it's comforting to get a second and third opinion.

 

[Carpediem]

I still prefer The Flexible Retirement Planner overall as it's more in-depth, saves my settings, and is more convenient ....

Same here. I love the flexibility of FRP which allows me to easily enter different scenarios and life events (weddings, cars, roof, etc.).

 

[pb4uski]

Ditto, except instead of QLP, I use an Excel spreadsheet which is highly customized to our unique scenario.

I have one of those too!

 

[GregR]

I just got ORC 2017 but I have a problem that it shows billions of dollars that are not possible. Have you ever had him answer a problem question?

 

[REattempt]

I just got ORC 2017 but I have a problem that it shows billions of dollars that are not possible. Have you ever had him answer a problem question?

Yep, personalized answers! He is great!