Best Retirement Calculators: Are you making progress toward your investment goals? Numerous factors come into play when determining if you will achieve your targets, such as your contribution rate, rate of return, taxes, and inflation, among others. Our goal is to assist you in assessing whether you are taking the right steps to reach your investment objectives.
Financial advisors have unparalleled access to top-notch investment calculators. Their financial planning software and programs provide a comprehensive roadmap, guiding clients through complex yet crucial questions. Chuck Cumello, the president and CEO of Essex Financial, emphasizes that financial advisors offer the easiest route to finding answers (with all the number crunching taken care of). However, there are alternative paths. By investing a little effort and leveraging free online investment calculators, investors can independently address numerous significant financial inquiries. Here, we present eight of the finest free online investment calculators to kickstart your journey.
List of 5 Best Retirement Calculators
Presenting a compilation of the finest retirement calculators to aid your post-retirement savings plan. These top 5 calculators can be an invaluable resource for individuals looking to secure their financial future.
1. CalcXML
CalcXML is the ultimate destination for calculator databases, offering a comprehensive collection of over 150 free investment calculators. From cash flow and taxation tools to retirement savings and investment calculators, they’ve got it all covered. Shannah Compton-Game, a certified financial planner based in Los Angeles and host of the acclaimed “Millennial Money Podcast,” raves about CalcXML for its wide range of options and independence from any specific financial site. Many financial sites rely on CalcXML’s calculators behind the scenes.
Shannah often turns to these calculators to fill in the gaps in her financial plans. And the best part? Once you have your calculations, you can easily download or print the results to have them on hand indefinitely.
2. Vanguard’s Retirement Nest Egg Calculator
Are you wondering whether your retirement funds will last long enough? Look no further, Vanguard’s calculator provides the answer. With just four simple inputs, the calculator estimates the probability of your savings meeting your goal or experiencing growth. How does it do this? Through Monte Carlo simulations, a technique that involves playing the “what if” game thousands of times. For instance, what if the market skyrockets as it did in 1954 or experiences significant declines like in 1974? It’s important to note that Monte Carlo simulations rely on historical data to model future possibilities and assume the future will mirror the past. Nevertheless, with 100,000 combinations tested, Vanguard’s results are highly reliable.
3. FERS Retirement Calculator
For long-time Federal Government employees, the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) serves as a primary income source during retirement. Although not as generous as the previous CSRS pension, FERS remains a highly valuable retirement benefit in an era where pensions are becoming scarce. It offers benefits from three distinct sources.
FERS retirement and federal retirement often go hand in hand. While the fundamental benefit is commonly known as an annuity, it is essentially a traditional pension. Given the scarcity of pensions these days, it is even rarer to find one that includes a cost of living adjustment within a FERS retirement. As you develop your long-term retirement plan, it becomes evident that inflation adjustments are crucial for keeping up with the inevitable rise in expenses throughout retirement.
4. Personal Capital’s Financial Dashboard
You don’t need to be a client to utilize Personal Capital’s Financial Dashboard. Connect your current bank and investment accounts to access one of the most comprehensive views of your financial life, completely free of charge. The dashboard provides users with valuable insights, including net worth, spending habits, retirement readiness, and the true cost of your child’s education. It also sheds light on the impact of hidden fees on your retirement through its fee analyzer. In the words of Personal Capital, the dashboard presents “your complete financial life in a single, convenient location.”
5. Dave Ramsey Investment Calculator:
As a Dave Ramsey Smartvestor Pro, we have grown to value the financial planning tools available on DaveRamsey.com. Rather than reinventing the wheel, we believe it is best to direct you to these excellent resources for quick calculations. And when it comes to putting these numbers into action, that’s where Shanna TIngom of Heritage Financial Strategies can assist you.