Retirement Calculator

The single most important decision individuals can make about retirement is to take responsibility for funding it themselves. Living expenses, health care costs, CPF and future employment are all uncertain. But saving today is one way to prepare for a more stable tomorrow.

Common misconceptions
“I’ve already started saving a little — I should be okay.”
In 2013, only 46% of workers (and/or spouses) have tried to calculate how much money they will actually need to save for a comfortable retirement.

“Retirement is so far away — I have plenty of time to think about it.”
The sooner you begin, the more time you have to maximize the power of compounding. Start saving early and regularly. Early withdrawals, loans and missed contributions can result in lower savings, less compounding and fewer assets at retirement

Are you saving enough?
In J.P Morgan’s 2014 “guide to retirement”, J.P Morgan has come up with a retirement savings checkpoint calculator as a baseline on how much you should have in savings.

How to use:

• Go to the intersection of your current age and your closest current annual salary.
• Multiply your salary by the checkpoint shown to get the amount you should have saved today, assuming you continue annual contributions of 5% going forward.
• Example: for a 40-year-old making $100,000 a year:
  He should have saved $100,000×2.2=$220,000

Model Assumptions:

• Pre-retirement investment return (60% S&P 500/40% BarCap Agg): 7.0%
• Post-retirement investment return (30% S&P 500/70% BarCap Agg): 5.0%
• Retirement age: 65
• Years in retirement: 30
• Wage growth rate: 2.5%
• Confidence level represented: 80%
• Assumed annual contribution rate: 5%

Disclaimer
*This calculator is for illustrative purposes only and must not be used, or relied upon, to make investment decisions. J.P. Morgan’s model is based on J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s (JPMAM) proprietary long-term capital markets assumptions (10 – 15 years). The resulting projections include only the benchmark return associated with the portfolio and do not include alpha from the underlying product strategies within each asset class. Post-retirement volatility assumption
is 6.3%. Salary replacement rates are derived from Aon Consulting’s 2008 Replacement Ratio Study data, which assumes individuals receive Social Security payments in retirement. Calculations assume an individual earning $50,000 at retirement will need to replace at least 30% of their pre-retirement income; individuals earning $75,000 will need to replace at least 37%; individuals earning $100,000 will need to replace at least 45%; individuals earning $150,000 will need to replace at least 61%; individuals earning $200,000 will need to replace at least 69%; individuals earning $250,000 will need to replace at least 74%; individuals earning $300,000 will need to replace at least 79%; and those earning $400,000 will need to replace 87%. Allocations, assumptions and expected returns are not meant to represent JPMAM performance. Given the complex risk/reward trade-offs involved, we advise clients to rely on judgment as well as quantitative optimization approaches in setting strategic allocations. References to future returns for either asset allocation strategies or asset classes are not promises or even estimates of actual returns a client portfolio may achieve.