| Additional Slide-Control Information |
| Years of Retirement: | Number of years between now and when you plan to retire. |
| Current Cost of Living: | Total amount of money spent in one year (not including federal tax payments). Be sure to include ALL costs, not just a total of monthly bills (purchases like clothing, entertainment, and travel are often forgotten). |
| Initial Savings (lump sum): | Amount of money already saved that will go toward retirement. Or an amount of money already in a retirement account. |
| Contributions (per year): | Additional money that will be added to the retirement account each year. |
| Interest Gain (per year): | Average interest rate you are gaining on your retirement account. |
| Federal Tax Percentage: | Federal_Tax_Paid ÷ Gross_Income x 100 = Federal_Tax_Percentage. This is a different number than your "Tax Bracket" percentage. |
| Type of Retirement Account: | Most pre-planned retirement accounts (IRA, 401k, etc.) are Pre-Tax; meaning the money placed into the retirement account has not been taxed. This helps the money grow more quickly (more money to gain interest) but then requires full tax payments after retirement (and other concerns if your life expectancy differes from the 'plan'). Or there's the Post-Tax option where all taxes are paid before investing, and only future gains and interest income are taxed. |
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