Compare two retirement plans

Two versions of a retirement plan, side by side, each run through the calculator on the home page. The example is one person retiring at 62 or at 67. Change any number in either column.

The example: retiring at 62 or at 67

Plan A retires at 62. It has $500,000 and spends $5,000 a month. Social Security starts at once, at $1,750 a month, and savings pay the rest.

Plan B keeps working to 67. The same $500,000 grows at 5% for five more years, to about $638,000, with nothing added.

Plan B's $2,500 a month is the full Social Security benefit at 67. Claimed at 62, the same record pays 70% of it, which is Plan A's $1,750. Those percentages hold for anyone born in 1960 or later.

What both columns assume

• A steady return. Each plan earns the return entered every year, with no bad years. The How long will my money last calculator has a stress test for a bad start.
• Spending that rises with prices. The withdrawal grows each year at the inflation rate entered.
• Tax at one rate. The tax box takes a flat share of each withdrawal. The state study works out federal and state tax instead.
• Social Security that rises with prices. The check starts at the age entered and grows with inflation.

Each column shows what the engine produces for the numbers entered, not a recommendation. The methodology describes the engine.

Printed from https://savingslast.com/compare-retirement-plans/ on . The figures reflect the inputs shown and the rules as published on that date.