Why public workers need a different planner
Most retirement planners treat a pension as a single number you type in. For a teacher or public employee the pension is usually the largest piece of retirement income, and it depends on exactly when you leave. A year can change the age factor, cross a Rule of 80, or remove an early-retirement cut. This planner runs the same plan rules as our plan calculators, so changing your retirement age changes the pension the way your plan would.
Social Security is the second piece. Since the Fairness Act, any Social Security you earned in other jobs adds in full, and many public workers have more of it than they expect. Savings in a 403(b) or 457(b) then fill the gap: the years before Social Security starts, health premiums before Medicare, and the slow loss of buying power if your pension has a small COLA or none.
Ways to use it
Try moving your retirement age one year at a time and watch both the pension and how long savings last. Then try claiming Social Security at 70 instead of 67. A larger pension often makes waiting on Social Security affordable, and the higher check lasts for life. If the chart shows a shortfall in later years, a modest increase in monthly saving now or one more year of work usually closes it. For the details behind each piece, see the retirement date finder, the pension and Social Security calculator and our guide to 403(b) and 457(b) plans.
Questions
Why are the results in today’s dollars?
Showing everything in today’s money makes the numbers easy to compare with what you spend now. Social Security already rises with inflation. Your pension is shown growing by its COLA minus the inflation rate you enter, so a plan with no COLA slowly shrinks in real terms.
Is my information saved?
Your inputs are stored only in this browser so the planner remembers them next time. Nothing is sent to us. Clearing your browser data removes them.
How are savings withdrawals worked out?
Each year the planner takes from savings whatever your pension and Social Security do not cover of your spending goal, plus health premiums before 65. The balance keeps earning the return you enter. If it runs out, the chart shows the gap.
What does the planner leave out?
Taxes, survivor-option reductions, required minimum distributions and one-off costs. It is a planning view to compare choices, such as retiring at 60 or 62 or claiming Social Security at 67 or 70. Your plan’s estimate and your Social Security statement give the exact figures.