The retirement planning tools you choose boils down to your stage in life (are you still working? Already retired?) as well as the amount of time you're willing to spend entering data.
You may have easier or cheaper access to some tools, depending on where you work and where you invest.
Here are 5 retirement planning tools which you may want to explore: 1.
Fidelity Retirement Income Planner If you like the "what if" game - what if you retire earlier, later, or invest more daringly.
You can create many "what if" scenarios and see what are in store for you.
This tool is easy and convenient to use; it also saves all the data you enter.
However, to get it free, you must be a Fidelity client.
2.
Vanguard Retirement Calculator (Free) This tool is easy to use, but a bit hard to find and doesn't save your data.
It's free.
3.
T.
Rowe Price Retirement Income Calculator If you're retired and want an easy-to-use tool that employs Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the likelihood of your savings to see whether it'll last as long as you do - this tool is for you.
It offers a free analysis in less than 5 minutes.
4.
Morningstar Retirement Planner This tool offers you the best retirement investing advice from the authority on mutual funds if you want recommendations of specific funds, both index and actively managed .
It saves your data.
However, you may need time (30 minutes or more) to gather and enter all the requested data.
It costs $125 for a full version, but many employers offer it free.
5.
Financial Engines This tool is user-friendly; it tells you how likely you're to meet your goals and recommends specific investments to get you there.
It costs $300 but many employers offer it free.
These retirement planning tools no doubt can help you to strategize to achieve the financial goals you want in retirement but your real hurdle is - will you do as strategized and planned?