Welcome to our Nest Egg Calculator! Use it to find out how large of a ‘nest egg’ (retirement savings balance) you’ll have at retirement, as well as how long it will take to deplete your nest egg. For more information on the calculator and building your nest egg, see our informative article below the calculator. Thanks!
How Large Will Your Nest Egg Be – and Will it Last?
Afraid you won’t have a decent retirement? How can you really know if you’re on track?
Imagine if you could know – with the greatest degree of certainty possible – if you’ll have enough money to last you through retirement. Wouldn’t that calm your nerves?
With our Nest Egg Calculator, we make it easy to determine how much money you’ll have at retirement and beyond. Simply enter your years until retirement, initial savings, annual investment amount, annual withdrawal in retirement, and your predicted annual rate of return.
Don’t like the results? Here are some ways you can get the most out of your nest egg . . . .
Grow Your Nest Egg or Take Less at Retirement
Beyond working into your retirement years or magically having more savings to start, here are a few more practical steps you can take to grow your nest egg including increasing its effectiveness.
1. Contribute More
Obvious, but it works. By investing more of your money into your retirement accounts, so long as your account grows, you will have more money at retirement than you would have otherwise.
The not-so-obvious point is that small increases make a big difference due to the power of compounding. Once you’ve completed Phase I: The Foundation Phase, you’re ready to start accumulating wealth (Phase II: The Accumulating Wealth Phase) and adding to your retirement funds. Use the calculator’s slider to see what contributing just a little more every year does to your retirement fund.
Here are a couple of money management strategies to help you contribute more:
- Work an extra job and pour the money into retirement – Think of your additional job as working for your retirement. Perhaps you work a few nights a week, or an extra day on the weekend. Whatever the case, dedicating an extra job toward building your nest egg can take you very far.
- Automatically draft retirement contributions into your nest egg – Easily set up your bank account to automatically draft contributions toward your retirement accounts. If you have an employer-based plan, they can help you automatically deduct a portion of your income and put it into a retirement plan.
In addition, be sure to talk with a Certified Financial Planner™ who can help you determine how much you can afford to put toward retirement.
2. Withdraw Less
By taking less in retirement distributions, your nest egg will last longer. This strategy typically comes into play once you’ve reached retirement and discovered you don’t have enough to cover your annual expenses.
If you haven’t already, start a budget and systematically lower your expenses so that you can live on less.
Add Additional Assets
It’s important to make sure you account for other assets you’ll have at retirement.
For example, when figuring your calculation, add on top of your result any pensions, social security income, real estate rental income, and any other income sources you might have at retirement.
Take a Conservative Approach
When using the Nest Egg Calculator, you might be tempted to use the best case scenario in your calculations. That’s natural, but it doesn’t account for unexpected events. Life is full of twists and turns.
Prepare for the worst, and pray for the best. Overestimate how much you’ll need for retirement, just in case something goes wrong. Don’t stress about it, but be realistic about future challenges you may encounter.
Final Thoughts
Growing your retirement nest egg doesn’t have to be difficult. Little by little, you’ll build wealth.
But be sure to keep in mind all your financial goals. Perhaps you want to put your kids through college, pay off your mortgage, or save up for a new vehicle. Figure these expenses into your calculation for determining how much you can put toward your nest egg.
Again, if you have any questions about how to save for retirement, be sure to contact a Certified Financial Planner who can help.
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