And the Robot Says… A Quick Guide to Retirement Calculators

Don’t want to do the math yourself to calculate how much you’ll need to save for retirement? “You can often get a good idea of what you’ll need for retirement with a simple online calculator,” says Jack VanDerhei, research director at the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Some online calculators can also help you to translate that number into how much you are going to have to sock away each year between now and your retirement to achieve your goal. Here are a few suggestions for where to find help on the Web:

Quick and Easy

Employee Benefit Research Institute

AARP

Not So Quick and Easy (but Very Detailed)

Jim Otar’s Retirement Optimizer (Note: The free trial version includes all the features of the full version, except that you cannot change your current age, which is preset to 55. The full version costs $99.99.)

A Middle Ground

FIREcalc is not as quick as the AARP or ERBI calculators, but it’s also not as detailed or time-consuming as Otar’s calculator.

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About the Author

Russell Wild, MBA

Russell Wild is the author or co-author of nearly two dozen nonfiction books, including most recently, Bond Investing for Dummies, Second Edition (Wiley, 2012), Exchange Traded Funds For Dummies, Second Edition (Wiley, 2012), One Year to An Organized Financial Life (Da Capo, 2010, co-authored with professional organizer Regina Leeds), Index Investing for Dummies (Wiley, 2009), and The Unofficial Guide to Getting a Divorce (Wiley, 2005; co-authored with ex-wife attorney Susan Ellis Wild). Wild is also a prolific magazine writer with more than 500 articles in major national magazines, including AARP The Magazine; AARP Bulletin; Consumer Reports, Details, The Huffington Post, Kiplinger’s, Maxim, Men's Journal, Health, Cosmopolitan, Real Simple, and The Saturday Evening Post. Wild's books and magazine articles have been reprinted or excerpted in Reader's Digest (on several occasions), Men's Health, New Woman, and in countless newspapers and websites. Most of his articles for consumer magazines have offered snappy, practical advice on personal finance, especially investing. He also contributes regularly to professional financial journals, such as Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, The NAPFA Advisor, and Wealth Manager, and on occasion to custom publications, such as investor newsletters for Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo. Wild is formerly a senior editor in the book division of Rodale Press, and the founding editor of Men's Health Books. Way back when, he worked as a credit analyst at a large bank. In college, he studied economics, graduated magna cum laude, and went on to get a master's degree in business administration (MBA) in international management. In addition to his work as a writer and author, Wild is also a fee-only financial planner and investment advisor registered with the Pennsylvania Securities Commission. He is a long-standing member and past president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), as well as a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).