Retirement Resources

July 7, 2015

Retirement Estimator

The Retirement Estimator gives estimates based on your actual Social Security earnings record. Please keep in mind that these are just estimates. You can’t receive your actual benefit amount until you apply for Social Security benefits. And that amount may differ from the estimates provided because:

  • Your earnings may increase or decrease in the future.
  • After you start receiving benefits, they will be adjusted for cost-of-living increases.
  • Your estimated benefits are based on current law. The law governing benefit amounts may change because, by 2033, the payroll taxes collected will be enough to pay only about 75 cents for each dollar of scheduled benefits.
  • Your benefit amount may be affected by military service, railroad employment or pensions earned through work on which you did not pay Social Security tax.

The more people know about effectively managing their money, the more likely they are to increase savings, successfully buy and maintain homes, and improve their financial health and well-being.

Ballpark E$timate: Funding Retirement

The Ballpark E$timate is an easy-to-use, two-page worksheet developed by Choose to Save - a program of the Employee Benefit Research Institute‘s education and research fund. It’s recommended by the national extension partnership’s Financial Security for All Community of Practice that helps you quickly identify approximately how much you need to save to fund a comfortable retirement. The Ballpark E$timate takes complicated issues like projected Social Security benefits and earnings assumptions on savings, and turns them into language and mathematics that are easy to understand. The Ballpark E$timate is available as both a worksheet and online interactive form.

Other Retirement Resources

For more helpful info on retirement, check out eXtension Learning Lessons.

Accessibility Questions:

For questions about accessibility and/or if you need additional accommodations for a specific document, please send an email to ANR Communications & Marketing at anrcommunications@anr.msu.edu.