- Current retirement savings
- This is your current retirement savings. You should include any savings or investments that are specifically for your retirement. Be careful not to include amounts earmarked for other purposes, such as your children's education.
- Monthly contributions
- Your monthly contribution should include the compulsory employer contributions as well as any personal contributions you make. This calculator assumes that you make your contribution at the beginning of each month. The tool also assumes that this amount remains constant until you retire.
- Years before reaching preservation age
- The number of years you have to save before your retirement. If you are planning on retiring immediately, you should enter a zero.
- Number of years in retirement
- The number of years you expect to spend in retirement. If this retirement savings plan is intended to support you and your spouse, make sure this is enough years to account for your spouse's potentially longer lifespan.
- Annual retirement expenses
- Your after-tax retirement expenses. Since this calculator assumes that you will be paying income taxes on interest as it is earned, your expenses should be entered on an after-tax basis. Your retirement expenses are increased each year by your expected inflation rate if the 'Increase expenses with inflation' box is checked.
- Expected inflation rate
- Average rate of inflation that you expect through your savings time frame and retirement.
- Rate of return before retirement
- This is the annually compounded rate of return you expect from your investments before taxes.
- Rate of return during retirement
- This is the annual rate of return you expect from your investments during retirement. It is often lower than the return earned before retirement due to more conservative investment choices to help insure a steady flow of income.
- Superannuation tax
- Superannuation tax only applies to years prior to reaching preservation age.
- Other fees
- Any other annual fees to your superannuation fund. This would be to include the fees a superannuation fund charges for admin etc.
