Question 1

The "today's money" toggle

Accepted Answer

Future amounts are misleading at long horizons because inflation eats real purchasing power. Toggle "Today's money" to discount the projected nest egg back to current prices using the inflation rate you set. A $1.2M nest egg in 30 years at 3% inflation is worth about $494k today — much smaller than it sounds.

Question 2

Safe withdrawal rate explained

Accepted Answer

The 4% rule (Bengen, 1994) suggests you can withdraw 4% of your initial nest egg in year one, then adjust for inflation each year, with a high probability of not running out over 30 years. More conservative planners use 3.0–3.5% for longer retirements; aggressive ones use 4.5–5%.

Question 3

How to read the gap

Accepted Answer

CalcWize shows three figures side by side: your projected nest egg, the "target" required to fund your desired retirement income at the safe withdrawal rate, and the gap between them. A negative gap is a surplus; a positive gap is the shortfall you need to close. The fastest closes usually come from increasing monthly contributions, delaying retirement by 1–2 years, or accepting a lower target income.

Question 4

Sequence-of-returns risk

Accepted Answer

A retirement-portfolio is most fragile in its first decade — a bad market in years 1–5 can permanently impair the long-term outcome even if the average return is fine, because you're drawing money down at the same time. CalcWize uses a smooth average return; real markets are bumpy. Build a buffer (cash for 2–3 years of spending) and don't treat the projection as a guarantee.

Question 5

Country tax-wrappers (briefly)

Accepted Answer

Most countries offer tax-advantaged retirement accounts: 401(k) and IRA in the US, ISA and SIPP in the UK, RA / TFSA in South Africa, RRSP and TFSA in Canada, NPS / PPF in India, and so on. Contributions to these typically reduce taxable income or grow tax-free. The Tax Estimator on this site applies the appropriate cap for each country it supports.

退休規劃 — 預測退休資產

「今日金錢」開關

安全提取率講解

點睇個缺口

回報順序風險

國別稅務優惠戶口（簡述）

唔會做嘅嘢