Chesapeake, Virginia, January 21, 2009 -- Money
magazine recently reported on "21 good things to do in a bad market."
Their sixth piece of advice was to "convert your old IRA to a Roth."
• Do you hesitate opening your monthly
retirement account statement?
• Is your IRA and company-controlled 401(k) moving in the wrong direction? Our seminar on IRA to Roth Conversions can teach you how. Learn
more here.
View our informative and helpful
financial videos. View all videos.
Social Security Benefits
Do you wonder
how much you might receive in Social Security?
Use this calculator to help you estimate your
Social Security benefits. Remember, this is only
an estimate. Your actual benefits may vary depending
on your actual work history and income.
Definitions
Social
Security income
Social Security is based
on a sliding scale depending
on your income, how long
you work and at what age
you retire. Social Security
benefits automatically increases
each year based on increases
in the Consumer Price Index.
Including a spouse increases
your Social Security benefits
by 1.5 times your individual
estimated benefit. Please
note that this calculator
assumes that only one of
the spouses work. Benefits
could be different if your
spouse worked and earned
a benefit higher than one
half of your benefit. If
you are a married couple,
and both spouses work, you
may need to run the calculation
twice - once for each spouse
and their respective income.
This calculator provides
only an estimate of your
benefits.
The
calculations use the 2009
FICA income limit of $106,800
with an annual maximum
Social Security benefit
of $27,876 per year for
a single person and 1.5
times this amount for
a married couple. To receive
the maximum benefit would
require earning the maximum
FICA salary for nearly
your entire career. You
would also need to begin
receiving benefits at
your full retirement age
of 66 or 67 (depending
on your birthdate). Your
actual benefit may be
lower or higher depending
on your work history and
the complete compensation
rules used by Social Security.
Current
age
Your
current age.
Age of retirement
Age
you desire to retire.
Household
income
Your
total household income.
If you are married, this
should include your spouse's
income.
Expected
salary increase
Annual
percent increase you expect
in your household income.
Expected
rate of inflation
What
you expect for the average
long-term inflation rate.
A common measure of inflation
in the U.S. is the Consumer
Price Index (CPI), which
has a long-term average
of 3.1% annually, from 1925
through 2008. The CPI for
2008 was 4.0%, as reported
by the Minneapolis Federal
Reserve.
Are
you married?
Check
this box if you are married.
Married couples have a higher
maximum Social Security
benefit than single wage
earners.
Information and interactive
calculators are made available to you as self-help
tools for your independent use and are not intended
to provide investment advice. We cannot and do not
guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards
to your individual circumstances. All examples are
hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes.
We encourage you to seek personalized advice from
qualified professionals regarding all personal finance
issues.
