Retirement Savings Calculator

To determine if you are saving enough for retirement, the calculator asks for your projected living expenses. Expenses change as you move through various stages of retirement. The three major retirement stages, and the expenses usually associated with each of them are:

• Early retirement. Early retirees typically spend more than retirees in their 70s or 80s. Early retirees may travel more often, or even may still be facing mortgage payments. They have yet to face the restricted budgets that affect retirees in later stages of retirement. You are likely to be in a lower income tax bracket since your highest income-earning years have just ended.
• Middle retirement. As you hit the middle stage of retirement, you will likely begin to spend less, as you travel less, pay off your mortgage, and come to terms with a need to make your retirement fund last. If you are healthy, you are likely to face only some medical bills. Estate planning becomes crucial to ensure that your assets are handed over to the intended beneficiaries when you die.
• Late retirement. At this stage, you are spending more on prescription drugs or other medical care. Leisure- and housing-related expenses are at a minimum and you are likely to have completely paid off any debts such as credit cards or auto loans.