Retirement Account Inputs not reflected in the report
Submitted by janet1 on Fri, 11/04/2016 - 21:09
I'm having a problem with the amounts I put in as the amounts we have currently in our retirement accounts are not showing up in the amounts the program lists in retirement account columns of the Net Worth section of the report. There is an approximate 50% difference between what it lists for this year and what we actually have in one of those columns.
Also, it lists current saving as zero in the Annual Suggestions section, but that's not what I put in there for that.
Any ideas what's going on?
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dan royer
Sat, 11/05/2016 - 10:09
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The Net Worth report should
The Net Worth report should square up with your Retirement Accounts report. So compare those two: perhaps that will reveal what's going on. Make sure you are running a new report after you enter your numbers. If you don't sort this out, create a support ticket and I can help you.
janet1
Mon, 11/14/2016 - 15:00
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It doesn't square up. Could
It doesn't square up. Could you point me in the direction of the instructions for how to create a support ticket please? I haven't found them yet.
ChrisCowles
Mon, 11/14/2016 - 22:25
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Go to My ESPlanner in the
Go to My ESPlanner in the upper right corner, then go to Support Tickets in the middle of the page.
BrianVezza
Tue, 11/15/2016 - 09:53
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Hi Janet,
Hi Janet,
For "Current Saving", that field is confusing. It's not used in the calculations. The Annual Suggestions give the program's recommended current saving, not what you entered. You can compare the two manually which may be beneficial if it shows you should save more (or less) than you are currently saving. Personally, I just leave that section blank as it isn't used for calculations.
For retirement accounts, the Net Worth report shows your year end values. These can vary significantly from the values you enter which are assumed to be on January 1st. For example, if you have $20K on January 1, then contribute $10K (perhaps in a 401k), your employer contributes another $3K (employer match), and you have an 8% rate of return, your Net Worth (year end) values will be much higher than your inputs. Of course, there could be a bug as well.
Best,
Brian
janet1
Tue, 11/15/2016 - 10:27
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Thank you so much for your
Thank you so much for your input, Dan, Chris, and Brian.
I had gotten to the webpage to create a support ticket, but I'm not sure what to put in the NID field.
Thank you, Brian, for the explanation about Current Saving in the Suggestions section.
I think it is a bug causing the discrepancy in the retirement accounts part of the report, because it's listing our retirement assets as much less than what I entered and I have run a new report each time I made changes in the inputs.
Janet
BrianVezza
Tue, 11/15/2016 - 15:48
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Hi Janet,
Hi Janet,
Are you still working (and adding to your retirement assets) or in retirement and spending down those assets?
If you are in retirement, look at your Total Income tab (in Excel) which will show Retirement Account Withdrawals for each year. It's possible that the program is withdrawing large amounts each year either due to your specific profile or due to "Special Withdrawals" that you can specify in the Retirement Accounts area of the program.
Roughly it has your initial amounts + new contributions + real rate of return applied against these - any withdrawals.
It still may be worth it to submit a support ticket.
Best,
Brian
janet1
Wed, 11/16/2016 - 14:13
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Brian,
Brian,
I am still working and adding to my retirement assets, so that doesn't explain it. Thanks for checking, though.
Do you know where I find what I put in the NID field of the support ticket?
Thanks,
Janet
BrianVezza
Thu, 11/17/2016 - 17:50
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Hi Janet,
Hi Janet,
Just above the NID field, there is a link to "create a new support ticket". From there it is straightforward. You can attach your database in the file upload section near the bottom and try to be as specific as possible in the problem description.
Best,
Brian
janet1
Sun, 11/20/2016 - 10:12
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Brian,
Brian,
Somehow I didn't realize that was a button where it says "Create a new support ticket." Thanks for your help!
Janet
ChrisCowles
Tue, 11/22/2016 - 09:48
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The modern flat appearance of
The modern flat appearance of some web UIs don't always make it obvious when something is a "button" that invokes an action. I'm a bit old-school (if there is such a thing in web pages) and prefer a bit more 3D appearance. I think the intent of the flat look is to achieve a consistent appearance across multiple platforms (phone/tablet/laptop/desktop) while being able to deliver the content to those devices through variable bandwidth connections (e.g., wireless cellular data vs broadband FiOS.)