RETIREMENT ASSETS MODULE

         This module asks for data about your assets going into retirement, 
such as a 401k company savings plan, individual IRA accounts, normal taxable 
savings accounts and the like. Since you may be planning your retirement 
several years before the fact, it also requests an estimate of annual input 
up until retirement. Tax free income is entered here along with a measure of 
it's inflation sensitivity. Other taxable income, such as a spouse's pension 
is entered in the cost-of-living module. 

         The program asks for your estimated Social Security benefit at age 
65, and then calculates and displays your monthly benefit at the age you wish 
to begin collecting. By following the instructions you may then find and enter 
the correct value for your spouse either as a percentage of your benefit or 
what she has earned at her own job, whichever is higher. 

         If you have entered "after tax" money into a company savings plan 
before the 401k type plan was in existence you may be able to withdraw a 
certain amount tax free and roll the rest into an IRA. The program provides 
for you to withdraw this money at retirement. This may be handy since 
withdrawals from IRA's before age 59 1/2 are penalized.