RETIREMENT GOAL-SETTING WORKSHEET

As you develop a retirement strategy, consider all your sources of retirement income, including your WRS pension benefit, Social Security benefits, and your personal savings and investments. This worksheet is designed to help you estimate how much retirement income Social Security and your employer-sponsored pension benefit(s) will provide, and how much you need to provide through the Deferred Compensation Plan and other investments in order to achieve financial security during retirement.

Please note: After entering your information in the appropriate fields, please hit the <Tab> key to populate the data and move to the next section. Information will not fully update if you hit the <Enter> key.
How much retirement income will you need?
 
You
Example
A. What is your current annual income before taxes?
$30,000
B. What percentage of your current income will you need during retirement?
Many financial advisers suggest you will need at least 70% to 90% of your current income, depending on family medical history, how active you plan to be during retirement, etc.
You may want to target 100% or more if you are young or have not reached your prime earning years as this worksheet is based only on current salary.
90%
C. Your estimated retirement income: This field will automatically fill in a number for you. It is calculated by multiplying row A by row B. Example: $30,000 x .90 = $27,000
$27,000
Step 2: How much retirement income could Social Security provide?
D. Many financial advisers say Social Security may replace only 20% to 40% of your current income.


The Social Security Administration provides the guidelines listed in the table.

*Based on a birth date of 9/3/1959.
Source: Social Security Administration benefit calculator, Feb. 2011.

This tool assumes you will be at least age 62 at retirement. You may have to identify additional income to meet your retirement needs if you decide to retire prior to age 62.

For a more accurate estimate, call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 or visit http://www.ssa.gov.
Social Security may undergo changes in the future. It is up to you to decide how much to rely on it when considering income you may need during retirement.

 Current Annual Income Percentage Social Security may replace at age 62*
$20,000
38%
$50,000
27%
$70,000
21%
$100,000
17%
30%
E. Your estimated Social Security income: This field will automatically fill in a number for you. It is calculated by multiplying row A by row D. Example: $30,000 x .30 = $9,000
$9,000
Step 3: How much retirement income could your pension provide?
F. Enter the percentage of your current income that your pension benefit will replace.
Many pension plans base benefits on a person's age, years of service, and final average pay. Typically, the longer your service record and the more you earn, the higher your pension benefit will be. Use the table below to approximate your potential pension income replacement percentage or visit retirement.wyo.gov for online calculators. Please select the years of service in the first box, and the percentage in the second box. The third box, and the main box on the right, will automatically fill in a number for you. Example: 15 years of service x 2.00% = 30%
  • No. Years
  • % figure from table below
  • Income Replacement %
Public Employee Tier 1
Public Employee Tier 2
Law Enforcement
Warden, Patrol & DCI
Paid Fire B
Guard Firefighter
Judicial
2.125% years 1-15
2.25% years 16+
2.00%
2.50%
(75% ceiling)
2.50%
(75% ceiling)
2.80%
(70% ceiling)
2.50%
varies
30%

G. Your estimated retirement pension income: This field will automatically fill in a number for you. It is calculated by multiplying row A by row F. Example: $30,000 x .30 = $9,000

If you have a pension from another employer or source, please enter your estimated yearly income into the field on the right.
Add your own pension
$9,000
Step 4: How much retirement income do you need to provide?
H. Do you have a retirement income gap? This is calculated for you by subtracting the amounts in Row G and Row E from Row C. Example: $27,000 - $9,000 - $9,000 = $9,000.
If the result of this calculation is a positive number (as shown in the example), this is the annual amount your personal investments must provide. Continue to row I to estimate the size your personal nest egg must be to make up this gap.
If the result of the calculation is a negative number, your estimated Social Security and pension benefits will meet or exceed your estimated retirement income needs. You are finished with this worksheet.
$9,000
I. Estimate the size your personal nest egg must be in today's dollars to fill your retirement income gap.
The more years you will be retired, the more money you'll need to provide. Select the number of years you expect to be retired from the drop down menu to the right. The form will automatically calculate the amount you may need.
Note: These factors assume your money will grow at a tax-deferred rate of 5% during retirement, and inflation will be 3%. At the end of those years, your balance is $0.

$205,200
J. Estimate the size your personal nest egg must be after you account for inflation.
 Select the number of years until you retire from the drop down menu at the right and the adjusted amount will be calculated automatically. These factors assume a 3% inflation rate.
Inflation decreases spending power. To ensure your nest egg has the same spending power it would have today, it must be converted into "future" dollars.
The amount in this box is how much you must provide through your personal savings and investments, such as the Deferred Compensation Plan.

$369,360
Step 5: How much do you need to contribute each month to reach the personal nest egg in Row J?
K. Enter the value of your current retirement savings and investments.
$20,000
L. Estimate the potential value of your current retirement savings and investments at retirement.
The number of years until you retire is auto-populated from Section J. Then, in the drop down menu at the right select your estimated rate of return (between 1% and 7%) from today to the day you retire. The worksheet will automatically calculate the potential value of your investments.


$78,000
M. The amount your current savings and investments still need to provide. This field will automatically fill in a number for you. It is calculated by subtracting row L from row J. Example: $369,360 - $78,000 = $291,360
$291,360
N. This is the amount you must contribute each month to reach the remaining nest egg goal in Row M. The number of years until you retire is auto-populated from Section J, and the rate of return is auto-populated from Section L. If you update those values, this section will automatically update as well. The monthly contribution amount is calculated automatically and has been filled in for you.


$570.85