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Resources · The chart room
Your money, charted.
Set your numbers once and twelve live charts redraw around you: what saving pre-tax really costs, what waiting costs, how long savings last, when to claim Social Security, and how much life insurance a family needs.
Start here · About you
Tell the charts about you.
Every chart below redraws as you move these. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere: the math runs in your browser.
Projected 403(b) at age 65
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hypothetical, at your growth rate
What each month’s saving really costs
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after the income tax you don’t pay now
The price of waiting 5 years
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less at retirement, same monthly saving
Your savings could last until
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with the level withdrawals in chart 10
01 · Save
Every dollar, working.
What your contributions could grow to, what they really cost your paycheck, and what waiting would cost.
Chart 1 · Growth
What your 403(b) could grow to
Your own money and its hypothetical growth, stacked, from today to the age you retire. Hover or tab into the chart to read any year.
- Projected balance
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- You put in
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- Hypothetical growth
- –
- Years of saving
- –
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Hypothetical: level monthly contributions and a constant return compounded monthly, before any fees or surrender charges. Not a projection of any product. Contributions are subject to IRS annual limits.
Chart 2 · Your paycheck
What saving pre-tax really costs
Pre-tax contributions skip federal income tax today. Texas has no state income tax, so this is the whole saving.
- Real cost each month
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- Income tax deferred a year
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403(b) contributions still pay Social Security and Medicare tax, and withdrawals are taxed as income later. Not tax advice.
Chart 3 · Timing
The cost of waiting
The same monthly saving, started now, in 5 years or in 10. New contributions only.
- Waiting 5 years costs
- –
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Hypothetical: level monthly contributions and a constant return compounded monthly, before any fees or surrender charges. Not a projection of any product. Contributions are subject to IRS annual limits.
02 · Grow
Let time do the heavy lifting.
Tax deferral and compounding: the two quiet engines behind an annuity.
Chart 4 · Tax deferral
Tax-deferred vs. taxed every year
A lump sum, such as a rollover or a single-premium deferred annuity, growing with tax deferred, versus taxed each year at your bracket.
- Edge after paying the tax
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Assumes the interest would otherwise be taxed every year at your bracket, and the deferred money is withdrawn all at once at retirement with tax on the gain (non-qualified money). Spreading withdrawals out usually lowers the tax.
Chart 5 · Compounding
How fast money doubles
Years to double at each growth rate. Your rate is highlighted.
- At your rate, money doubles every
- –
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Exact doubling time with yearly compounding. The Rule of 72 shortcut is in the tooltip and the table.
03 · Retire
Turn savings into a paycheck.
Your TRS pension, inflation, Social Security timing, and how long savings could last.
Chart 6 · Texas teachers
How much of your salary TRS replaces
TRS pays 2.3% of your average salary for each year of service.
- Your TRS replaces
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Standard annuity before survivor options, health care and taxes. See the whole picture with the TRS retirement gap calculator.
Chart 7 · Inflation
What a fixed income buys over time
A pension or payment that never rises loses buying power every year.
- In 20 years it buys
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- Needed to keep pace
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At the inflation rate in your assumptions.
Charts 8 & 9 · Social Security
When to claim Social Security
Claiming at 62 locks in a permanently smaller check; waiting past 67 grows it 8% a year until 70. The right age depends on your health, your other income, and your spouse.
- Your monthly check
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- Compared with claiming at 67
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- Claiming at 67 pulls ahead of 62 at
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- Claiming at 70 pulls ahead of 67 at
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Monthly check by claiming age
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Total collected by age
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Full retirement age 67 applies if you were born in 1960 or later. No cost-of-living increases, taxes or spousal benefits shown. Many Texas school employees don’t pay into Social Security through their district: check your record at ssa.gov.
Chart 10 · Drawdown
How long could your savings last?
Starting from your projected balance at age 65, withdrawing every month while the rest keeps earning your growth rate.
- Level withdrawals last until
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- Rising with inflation, until
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- First-year withdrawal rate
- –
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Hypothetical: real returns are never this steady. Ask John about annuity options that pay income for life; guarantees are dependent on the claims-paying ability of the issuing company.
04 · Protect
Cover the people you love.
A quick life insurance needs estimate, and what a funeral really costs.
Chart 11 · Life insurance
How much life insurance does your family need?
A simple needs estimate: income to replace, debts to clear and goals to fund, minus what you already have.
- Your family would need
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- You already have
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- Estimated gap
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A rough estimate, not a quote or a recommendation. John can run a full needs analysis with you.
Chart 12 · Final expense
What a traditional funeral costs
The common cost breakdown from the Lincoln Heritage flyer John shares with families. About final expense coverage.
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Sources: National Funeral Directors Association, Trends and Statistics 1960–2015; Federal Trade Commission, Funerals: A Consumer Guide; Funeral Consumer Guardian Society. For informational purposes only.
About these charts. Everything on this page is a hypothetical illustration for education. It is not tax, legal or investment advice and does not describe any specific insurance product. Guarantees are dependent on the claims-paying ability of the issuing company.
Want to see your real numbers? Ask John or call 832-722-4749.
The reading room
Seven free guides. Take one home.
Short, plain-English booklets on the retirement questions John hears most. Pull a book off the shelf and he’ll send you a copy.
- Retire SMART
- Six Strategies to Help Retirees Reduce Taxes
- Six Best & Worst IRA Rollover Decisions
- Maximize Social Security Income
- Annuity Owner Mistakes
- The Best Way to Buy, Sell or Replace Life Insurance
- How Wealthy People Use Professional Money Management
Free, with no obligation. Choose a title and tell John where to send it.
Worth bookmarking
Official sites for your records.
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Your TRS account, annual statement and benefit estimates.
HealthCare.gov
The Health Insurance Marketplace for Texas, with Open Enrollment dates.
Medicare.gov
Medicare basics, enrollment periods and plan comparisons.
my Social Security
Your earnings record and retirement benefit estimates.