by Pennee Struckman

Created on: August 26, 2009   Last Updated: August 31, 2009

It's not enough anymore to rely only on Social Security for retirement. People need to invest in an IRA, or a company 401k. But how much monthly income will you have at retirement?

To find this out, you can use on-line calculator. These calculators are available to your 401k website, at AARP, and various sites on the Internet. Most financial advisors and CPA's use the calculators when advising their clients for retirement.

The calculators are easy to use. You can find out the amount you can withdraw, if you are already retired. If you are still working, you can see if you are saving enough for retirement.

But, before using the calculators, you will have to have some information handy. You will need to have some idea of the amount you WANT to have when you retire, and how old you will be when you retire. You will need to know the 'rate of return' you want or have already from your investments. The rate of return is how much you are earning on your money.

You can find the rate of return by looking at your statements or looking at your funds online if you currently have a 401K or an IRA.

If you are currently retired, the on-line calculator will estimate your average life expectancy based on whether you are male or female. And, using the Retirement Withdrawal Calculator, you will need to decide if you want an amount left in the funds for your estate.

If you are currently employed, you can use a Retirement Calculator to see how much you need to save each year to retire comfortably.

If you are contributing to a retirement fund, you can use the Simple Retirement Calculator to see if you are saving enough to meet your goals.

The Retirement Income Calculator can help you figure out if your retirement goals are realistic, based on the funds annual rate of return and the number of years until you retire. This calculator also has a built in inflation rate.

If the amount you are earning in your investments doesn't seem good enough, you can manage your rate of return from your retirement funds using the Retirement Fund Balance Calculator or the Retirement Fund Growth Calculator .

Using these calculators, you will be able find out if you are saving enough for retirement. If you are already retired, you can find out how long your money will last, how much you can safely withdraw each month, or if you need to find some part-time work now to extend your retirement savings.

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