Retirement calculators

Contribution limits are set annually and differ by account type, with additional allowances above certain ages and phase-outs based on income for some accounts. Because the figures change every year and the phase-outs are specific, confirm the current limits against official guidance , not relying on a remembered number.

Typically you can leave the balance in the former plan if permitted, roll it into a new employer's plan, or roll it into an individual account. A direct transfer between providers avoids the withholding and deadline risk that comes with taking possession of the funds, which is the main practical trap.

Compare the lump sum against the income it replaces instead of against nothing: what reliable income could it produce, does the pension adjust for inflation, how secure is the sponsor, and is there a survivor benefit. A lump sum wins on control and inheritability. The annuity wins on longevity protection.

The two broad approaches are spending distributions as they arrive, and selling assets on a schedule to fund spending. Neither is inherently superior, and focusing only on yield can concentrate a portfolio in a narrow set of holdings. What matters more is the total return and a withdrawal rule that responds to how the portfolio performs.

The sequence across taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free accounts changes lifetime tax. Drawing tax-deferred balances earlier can reduce later required distributions and the bracket pressure they create. Drawing them later preserves deferral. There is no universally correct order. It depends on current versus expected rates and whether leaving assets to heirs is an objective.

Commonly cited rates were derived from particular historical periods, portfolios and horizons. They are reasonable anchors and poor guarantees, and they are most sensitive to exactly the variables that are least knowable. A flexible withdrawal that responds to portfolio performance is far more robust than a fixed percentage held for thirty years.

The question is whether your rate now is lower or higher than the rate that will apply when you withdraw. Lower now favours Roth. Higher now favours pre-tax. Because future rates are unknown, many households deliberately hold both so the decision does not have to be right.

It compounds against a fixed income for the whole retirement, which can be three decades. Income sources that adjust with inflation and those that do not behave completely differently over that span. Plans expressed in today's money need an explicit inflation assumption, and every income source should be classified by whether it adjusts.

Ages and exceptions are set by statute, differ by account type, and have been amended more than once. Several exceptions exist for particular circumstances. Because this area changes, confirm the current rule for your specific account type , not relying on a remembered age.

The risk that poor returns arrive early in retirement, when withdrawals are also reducing the portfolio, leaving less capital to benefit from any recovery. Two retirees with identical average returns can finish in very different positions depending on the order those returns arrived.

Removing the payment lowers required income, which reduces the portfolio needed and cuts sequence risk. Against that, it consumes liquid capital and may forgo higher expected returns. It is as much a cash-flow resilience decision as an arithmetic one.

It is the widest-range expense in most plans and the most commonly underestimated, particularly in the years before public coverage begins. Price actual plans for your situation instead of applying a percentage, and treat any gap years as a distinct phase with their own cost line.

A common starting point is 25 times your yearly spending, from the 4% withdrawal rule, which the FIRE Number Calculator applies.

At the age set by current law, which has risen in recent years, and the RMD calculator uses your balance and age to estimate the amount.

Claiming later raises the monthly benefit, but the break-even age depends on your health and other income, which the claiming calculators compare.