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.

The age you'd like work to become optional.

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: Superannuation balance, savings, shares, crypto, investment property (if including property/real estate - use approx current market value after any outstanding mortgage or debt balance has been deducted).

eg annual amount expected to be put towards savings/shares etc. Don't include extra contributions to a pension or retirement scheme - there's a separate box for that below at 3.5. Also don't include additional contributions to your home's mortgage - that's assumed as cleared using your desired mortgage-free age above at step 2.4. This step is purely to account for other, additional investments you may have.

This is sometimes referred to as your "payout rate". For example, if you retired with a total of $500,000 in investments and plan to use 4% per year, that's around $20,000 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.

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

*If you are an employee in Australia or New Zealand, this is auto-estimated for you based on current rates and your chosen currency. If you are self-employed, overwrite this number with the approx annual amount you are voluntarily contributing to this - if applicable. Enter 0 if not.

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.