
Bridging the Gap
to Financial Wellness
Your retirement gap is the difference between the income you'll need during retirement and the income you'll receive from your pension.
Identifying your gap and having a plan in place to close that gap are part of building a secure retirement. OPERS provides the foundation and will be your partner on your path to financial wellness.
To determine your gap you need to consider your spending habits while working and what that will look like in retirement, factoring in inflation.

Step 1: Your Retirement Timeline
First, we want to get an idea of your retirement timeline, or when you plan to retire, and how long you expect to stay in retirement.
Your Retirement Timeline Snapshot
Based on the information you provided:
You have {{user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently}} years until you retire.
You plan to retire at age {{user.age.atRetirement}}
You plan to spend {{user.yearsInRetirement}} years in retirement
If this looks right, let's move on to step 2 and estimate your retirement income.

Step 2: Calculate Your Retirement Income
Let's calculate how much money you'll receive per month from your various retirement accounts.
In the case of income sources that do not provide guaranteed monthly payments (such as IRAs, 401ks, etc), we'll apply an annuity formula to estimate how much it will provide you per month in retirement.
Benefit Name | Estimated Gross Value |
---|---|
Add an income source to continue. | |
{{asset.name}} |
{{asset.value.annuitized | currency}} per month
{{estimateAccountValueAtRetirement(asset) | currency}} estimated value at age {{user.age.atRetirement}}
How we estimated this
|
Estimate your taxes
Most retirement income will be subject to taxes. For this calculation, we'll assume a 25% tax rate. If you want to change your tax rate, feel free to change it below:
For help determining your future taxes, use the tax witholding calculator at www.irs.gov.
Your Retirement Income Snapshot
Based on the information provided:
You have {{getAssets('income').length}} retirement income sources that will provide you with an estimated gross monthly income of {{getTotalIncome() | currency}}.
With a tax rate of {{user.taxRate*100 | number : 0}}%, your net income will be reduced to an estimated {{getTotalIncome(true) | currency}} per month
You have {{getAssets('savings').length}} other accounts that will be worth an estimated {{getTotalSavings() | currency}} when you are age {{user.age.atRetirement}}. These accounts This account will not be included in the retirement gap calculation at the end.
Remember, these numbers are an estimate and not a guarantee. A lot of things can change your projected income, such as retiring early, stopping your monthly contributions, or a sudden downturn in the financial market.
Next, we'll calculate your spending to see how it compares to this projected income.

Step 3: Estimate Your Expenses
Now let's take a look at your expenses. First we'll be looking at how much you currently spend, and then we'll look to the future and estimate how much you'll spend in retirement.
Don't worry about inflation. Estimate everything in today's dollar values, and we'll factor in inflation for you in the next step.
Estimating Your Inflation Factor
Inflation is the rate at which the general prices of goods, services and materials rise over time.
For this calculation, we'll assume that inflation will rise 2% each year, and that health care costs will increase by 4% each year.
Based on your retirement timeline, you have {{user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently}} years until you retire.
This means that, assuming 2% inflation, your retirement spending will be {{getInflation((user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently), 0.02)}}x what it is now.
Health care costs are increasing even faster. So, assuming a 4% rise, your health care costs will be about {{getInflation((user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently), 0.04)}}x what they are now
Your Spending Snapshot (with inflation)
Category | Estimated monthly spending in retirement | Inflation rate | Your estimated retirement spending with inflation |
---|---|---|---|
{{expense.title}} |
{{expense.inRetirement | currency}} per month
-
|
x {{getInflation((user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently), expense.inflation.factor, expense.inflation.exempt)}}
x {{getInflation((user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently), expense.inflation.factor, expense.inflation.exempt)}}
({{expense.inflation.exemptionExplanation}})
-
|
{{expense.inRetirement * getInflation((user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently), expense.inflation.factor, expense.inflation.exempt) | currency}} per month
-
|
Total | {{getTotalExpenses('inRetirement') | currency}} per month | {{getTotalExpenses('inRetirement', true) | currency}} per month |

Step 4: Calculating Your Retirement Gap
Now we can finally calculate your retirement gap, or the difference between what your retirement income and how much you need to cover your expenses.
Your Retirement Gap
You're set!
Based on the information you've provided, your estimated retirement income of {{getTotalIncome(true) | currency}}/month will be enough to cover your projected expenses of {{getTotalExpenses('inRetirement', true) | currency}}.
Your Retirement Gap:{{getTotalExpenses('inRetirement', true) - getTotalIncome(true) | currency}}
Based on the information you've provided, you will have a retirement gap of {{getTotalExpenses('inRetirement', true) - getTotalIncome(true) | currency}}/month.
There's a number of ways to close this gap.
Retirement Income
{{asset.name}} | {{asset.value.annuitized | currency}} (tax-free withdrawals) | {{estimateAccountValueAtRetirement(asset) | currency}} (estimated account value at age {{$parent.user.age.atRetirement}}) |
---|---|---|
Tax Rate | {{user.taxRate*100}}% |
Retirement Spending
Estimated Expenses | {{getTotalExpenses('inRetirement') | currency}} |
---|---|
Estimated inflation ({{user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently}} years) | {{getInflation((user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently), 0.02) * 100}}% ({{getInflation((user.age.atRetirement - user.age.currently), 0.04) * 100}}% for health care) |
Strategies to Close Your Retirement Gap
Based on the information you've provided, here's few ways you can close your retirement gap of {{getTotalExpenses('inRetirement', true) - getTotalIncome(true) | currency}}/month:
You've done a great job planning for retirement, but staying vigilant is the key to a safe and secure retirement. Here's a few ways to boost your retirement income:
-
{{resultsMessage.title}}