Retirement calculators

dragonstarjk · January 2014

I think I have seen this discussion before, but I can't find it. I have used several retirement calculators, and the one thing I am always unsure of is when they quote a certain percentage, should that include my employer contribution?

I currently make $32K per year. I am putting 6% into my 401K and my employer matches 125% of the first 4% (which is roughly 5%?). Thus, I am contribution roughly 10-11% if I count my employer contribution. I also have an automatic deposit of $100 per month into a Roth IRA.

All of the calculators I have used say I need to be saving 10-15% to meet my retirement goal. I never include any income from social security. I typically increase my contribution to my 401K by 1% per year, or whenever I receive a raise. I will probably increase my Roth IRA contributions every year until it is maxed.

The calculators all say I'm on track, but I still feel like I'm not doing as much as what everybody else does. I know I shouldn't compare myself to others, but I want to make sure I'm in good shape. What does everybody else think? When using the calculators, should I be counting that employer contribution?

lifeonthehill · January 2014

It sounds like you are in pretty good shape. I think it is supposed to be 15% without the match. Also this has a lot do with age.
H and I are 24 and 22. We are hoping to eventually be able to max out two Roth IRA's and keep putting 5% to his 401K for the employee match. My biggest fear is that they will somehow take away the contributions they made to the 401k over the years and we will end up falling short when we are older.

hoffse · January 2014

You can count employer contributions if they have vested; otherwise I would not.

I prefer to contribute 15% outright just in case (and I mean 15% across all your retirement accounts combined). But if you own those funds that have been contributed by your employer, then yes you can count it.

I use the AARP retirement calculator, though I don't remember if they ask for employer contributions or not:

http://www.aarp.org/work/retirement-planning/retirement_calculator.html

mbecker03 · January 2014

Your employer contribution counts, yes. But whether your on track is a question that's more difficult to answer than whether you're saving a certain % of your income. It has to do with how much money you have now, when you want to retire, how much income you want in retirement, etc.

Here's a retirement calculator I like. It has a few more inputs than most, but each one is explained: http://financialmentor.com/calculator/best-retirement-calculator

dragonstarjk · January 2014

Thanks for the replies. I became fully vested in my 401K last year. I will check out both of those calculators!

Retirement calculators

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