HOUSE RICH
CASH POOR?

Combined income if calculating for more than one person. If you have selected AUD or NZD as your currency, this figure will assume you're an employee and auto-populates the employer retirement contribution at Step 3.

What actually hits the bank, annually. We only use gross & net figures, as tax thresholds vary so much by person and location.

Approximate current market value is fine. If you are not yet a home owner but plan to be - enter the approx value of a home you anticipate purchasing. Everything else in this tool is applicable assuming you are mortgage-free by your stated retirement age.

1% of home value/year is a widely used rule-of-thumb for maintenance, repairs, insurance and rates combined. Overtype it if you know your real number.

Enter 0 if none. Examples: Current Superannuation balance, savings, shares, crypto, investment property (if including any property/real estate investments - use approx current market value after any outstanding mortgage or debt balance has been deducted - ie funds you would have available if it was all sold. It doesn't mean you WOULD sell it, but it enables approximate calculations to be done on the income it could produce as an asset in the future).

eg annual amount expected to be put in to savings/shares etc. Don't include contributions to a Super, pension or retirement scheme - there's a separate box for that below at 3.3. This step is purely to account for other, additional long-term investments you may have that you intend to draw from or live on at retirement age.

*If you are an employee in Australia or New Zealand, this is auto-estimated for you based on current rates, your income and your chosen currency. If you are self-employed or voluntarily contributing more than the standard rate to this, overwrite this number with the approx amount you are currently contributing annually.

Enter 0 if not applicable or you do not anticipate being eligible for this type of benefit where you live. Use the maximum currently available entitlement or income for where you live, even if it's means-tested. Or run a quick search. This way, you know your potential best case scenario from an income perspective.

This is sometimes referred to as your "payout rate". For example, if you retired with a total of $1,000,000 in investments and plan to use 4% per year, that's $40,000 of annual retirement income. It could come from rental property (after expenses), dividends, bank account interest or other investment income, or from gradually drawing down your investment balance while the remainder continues to grow (this is often referred to as the "4% rule").

NOTE: This is NOT your investment growth rate BEFORE retirement — we'll cover that separately in Step 4.

This is yours to set — expected returns vary with age and how the money's invested. Rough guide: 20s–30s ~8–9% p.a., 40s–50s ~6.5–8% p.a., 60s+ ~4–6.5% p.a. Different number from the payout rate in Step 3 — that one already assumes growth during retirement, this one is about the years before it.

Pensions have historically risen roughly in line with inflation or wages — commonly 2–6% depending on the country's indexation rule.