How to Quickly Create Your Retirement Plan with Spreadsheets

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Want to learn how much you need to retire? Try these free retirement spreadsheets and get your number quickly and easily!

One of the purposes many families turn to Microsoft Excel for is working out their retirement plan in an easy and quick manner.

This type of number crunching and planning is exactly the kind of math that gives me a headache. A bad combination of stress, risk and hard numbers!

Free Retirement Tools

Luckily some helpful folks have created many fine (and free!) Excel templates that help you to both figure out how much money you'll need when you retire, and your 401(k) setup and a pension plan to reach your desired income goals.

If you're looking for an easy and quick way to get a snapshot of your finances now and whether you'll be ready for retirement, Personal Capital is a smart choice.

They have plenty of free tools to use including a cash flow analyzer and retirement planner.

Your 401(k) and Retirement

When people talk about 401(k)s, they are usually talking about their pension investment.

A 401(k) is part of the US Internal Revenue Code that deals with retirement plans, and which defers the taxation of your periodic savings.

Planning Your Retirement Quickly and Easily

When planning for retirement, one has to do two essential calculations:

1. Figure out what level of income you want to have when you retire.
2. Figure out how to save so that you reach that level of income in the 401k plan.

Most finance-savvy people will probably have a ballpark figure for how much money they will need to live on, even without any fancy calculations.

There is no right answer, what you come up with is down to your lifestyle, where you live, and how much you need to service that lifestyle.

If you need $100,000 per year to live then the amount of money you need to invest for a great retirement is far greater than if you need $50,000 per year to live.

If you only need $20,000 per year then you will not need to put away quite so much money now.

Just remember when working out how much you think you will need that you'll have to pay all your living arrangements from this income, scenarios, and economies change, and that you will be taxed.

At least put in some padding for some fluctuation of inflation rates, because this money will be put to use several decades from now and there is no opportunity to go back in time to correct your estimates!

Retirement Plan Details

There are pension plans, social security, and individual retirement accounts that you may have and may add to your total retirement income.

When you calculate how much to save each month, you have to take into account:

• possible increase in salary,
• interest rates,
• how long you intend the plan to produce income (ie. The morbid conversation about how long you think you will live for),
• employer contribution matching

Don't forget to consider any other factors in your cash flow that may change over time.

Free Retirement Planning Spreadsheets

Some of the intricate calculations can be simplified and generalized in a spreadsheet, so people made some nice spreadsheets for us:

• Retirement Planner
• This one includes pension, social security, and IRA calculations
• Commercial one with free demo

Already Have a Retirement Plan?

If you already have a retirement plan and you want to figure out what your savings will get you, use one of these Excel sheets:

• 401(k) Calculator
• Compare 401k savings to “regular” saving
• Another 401 calculator

You can play with the figures to see what you can achieve if you modify your existing 401k plan within its terms.

Another option if you're limited on time and still want to optimize your 401(k), you should check out blooom's fantastic (and FREE!) 401(k) analysis.

Take Things to the Next Level with Tiller

Want an easy way to track your spending and your net worth? Tiller is a fantastic app that will allow you to do both right inside Google Sheets!

You can use one of their templates (I love their Net Worth Tracker Spreadsheet) or completely customize your own. Try them out here!

Thoughts on the Best Free Retirement Spreadsheets

Microsoft Excel and these nifty spreadsheets can come in very handy with planning for your retirement, but obviously, if you have any questions or concerns then you are best off talking to a professional.

There are many variables and options, and there are people out there ready and able to help you make the right decisions.

Even so, with a bit of spreadsheet homework, you can see if you are in the right ballpark!

Let us know if you have any better spreadsheets, tips or ideas in the comments.

Yoav Ezer co-authors the technology and productivity blog Codswallop. He is also the CEO of a company that produces PDF to XLS conversion software.