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Maintenance Update 12 31 2003

Calculator update notes for 12-31-2003.

Financial Calculator Update 12/31/2003

The quarterly update for 12/31/2003 is a large update. The end of year update is a comprehensive update affecting almost every retirement calculator, making them compliant with 2004 contribution rules, limits and tax requirements. This update also affects the income tax calculators, as they are now using the finalized 2003 rules and forms. Changes to other calculators, and global changes affecting all calculators are limited to only essential items.

If you have not updated your calculators in a while you should definitely refresh your existing HTML calculator pages. All updates are cumulative, so if you start fresh with this update you will have all previous calculator updates as well. If you would like, you can review our 9/30/2003 update: 9/30/2003 Update. (The 12/31/2003 update includes all changes included in previous updates, you do not need to download any other updates to have the most current versions of all of the calculator components.)

Update instructions*:

  1. Download the latest version of your calculators from your download site, found on your update e-mail notice.
  2. Execute the Calc.exe file from your download. This is a self-extracting zip file. (Or unzip the Calc.zip file if you are using a non-windows platform.)
  3. When prompted for a directory, you may use the default of "java" or enter your own. It is recommended that you extract the update to a new directory and then move the required files to your production environment. One directory will be created. It will have three subdirectories.
  4. Replace the contents of your current KJEgui, KJEgraph and KJEcalculation directories with the new version.
  5. Replace your current dinkytown.jar file with the new version.
  6. Replace all files with the extension "class" with the new version.
  7. Make required changes to any HTML documents as describe in this document or replace all of your existing HTML documents and re-apply your web-site custom changes.

*Please note, if you have a Servlet or other custom deployment (other than the custom formatted delivery described below), installation instructions for your package will found on your download page.

Update for custom formatted delivery**:

**Custom formatted delivery is a special option that you can add to your maintenance update service. With this option we can apply an HTML template to your calculator pages and their reports before the update is sent to you. You will then receive your calculator pages with all of your site formatting in place, without any rework to include changes that have been made to the HTML documents. If you are interested in using custom formatted delivery, please contact us at (612) 331-2291, or for more information.

  1. Download the latest version of your calculators from your download site, found on your update e-mail notice.
  2. Execute the Calc.exe file from your download. This is a self-extracting zip file. (Or unzip the Calc.zip file if you are using a non-windows platform.)
  3. When prompted for a directory, you may use the default of "java" or enter your own. It is recommended that you extract the update to a new directory and then move the required files to your production environment. One directory will be created. It will have three subdirectories.
  4. Replace the contents of your current "java" directory (including the KJEgui, KJEgraph and KJEcalculation directories) with the new version.

All pages will be custom formatted to your site, no further integration or modification of the calculators is required. Please note, if your custom delivery uses Active Server Pages (ASP), Java™ Server Pages (JSP) or Cold Fusion (CFM) the respective ASP, JSP or CFM pages will be in place of your HTML documents for all calculator main pages. Report templates will remain in HTML documents (these documents are not called by your server, but instead used by the applet in the main calculator page).

To clear your Browser's cache:

When you test the new version of the calculators, make sure that the browser you are using uses the new files instead of any it may have in its cache. You may need to clear the browser's cache manually to ensure the new versions are loaded.

Internet Explorer:

Choose "Internet Options" under the "Tools" menu and on the "General" tab click on the "Delete Files…" button. Click "Ok" when prompted if you wish to delete all temporary files. Close this dialog box, and all open Internet Explorer windows. Your Cache should then be cleared.

Netscape:

Choose "Preferences" under the "Edit" menu. Click on the "Advanced" category and then "Cache" option which appears under it. Click the "Clear Memory Cache" button, then click the "Clear Disk Cache" button.)

Master Changes (HTML Modification required, affects all calculators)

    None

Master Changes (no HTML changes required, affects all calculators)

    There is a new option for all calculators to force the embedded view report button to appear in the upper left hand corner of the applet. To force the button to appear add the following applet parameter:
    <PARAM name="SHOW_REPORT_BUTTON" value="TRUE">

    As with previous versions, you can force the button to always be hidden with:
    <PARAM name="SHOW_REPORT_BUTTON" value="FALSE">

    To allow the browser to choose when it is appropriate to show the button, depending on the version of Java™ virtual machine used, either leave this parameter out of your applet or use:
    <PARAM name="SHOW_REPORT_BUTTON" value="AUTO">

Updates that require modifications to HTML documents

  1. Payroll deductions: (Payroll.html) has had the following changes have been made for 2004:
    1. The maximum FICA OASDI has increased an additional $55.80 to 5449.80
    2. Maximum 401(k) for 2004 increases to $16,000 from $14,000 (this is $13,000 + $3,000 catch up provision for those over 50).
    3. Tax rate tables remain
    4. Amount per allowances is now set to $3,100 for 2003
    5. The definitions section has been updated to reflect the changes above, as have the calculations themselves.

  2. Buy vs. Lease and Equipment Buy vs. Lease: (BuyvsLease.html, BizBuyvsLease.html) the term “upfront” and been changed to “up front”.

  3. 72T Calculator, 72T Distribution Impact: (Retire72T.html, Retire72Alt.html): The default “Reasonable interest rate” has been changed to 4.26% to reflect 120% of the current Federal Mid-Term rate as of Dec. 2003.

  4. Estate Tax Planner (EstatePlan.html): The estate tax calculator has been updated for 2004 rates and rules. This includes the definitions, calculations and introduction section in EstatePlan.html and the calculation module EstatePlanCalc.class. Please update these sections if you received the calculator prior to this update. A typographical error was also corrected “transferred” was changed to “transferred”, this occurred one time in the definitions section.

  5. Roth vs Traditional IRA (in RothvsRegular.html and RothvsRegularCalculation.html): This calculator has been updated for the 2004 contribution limits and rules. The definitions in RothvsRegular.html and RothvsRegularCalculation.html have both been updated to reflect these changes. Update these documents to include the new definitions.

  6. Roth IRA (RothIRA.html and RothIRACalculation.html): This calculator has been updated for the 2004 contribution limits and rules. The definitions in RothIRA.html and RothIRACalculation.html have both been updated to reflect these changes. Update these documents to include the new definitions.

  7. Traditional IRA (RegularIRA.html and RegularIRACalculation.html): This calculator has been updated for the 2004 contribution limits and rules. The definitions in RegularIRA.html and RegularIRACalculation.html have both been updated to reflect these changes. Update these documents to include the new definitions.

  8. 401(k) Calculator (Retire401k.html): This calculator has been updated for the 2004 contribution limits and rules. The definitions in Retire401k.html and Retire401kCalc.html have both been updated to reflect these changes. Update these documents to include the new definitions.

  9. 403(b) Calculator (Retire403b.html): This calculator has been updated for the 2004 contribution limits and rules. The definitions in Retire403b.html and Retire403bCalc.html have both been updated to reflect these changes. In addition, two errors were correct to the text of the document 1. contribions changed to contributions

  10. 457 Calculator (Retire457.html): This calculator has been updated for the 2004 contribution limits and rules. The definitions in Retire401k.html and Retire401kCalc.html have both been updated to reflect these changes. Update these documents to include the new definitions.

  11. Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) (RetireDistrib.html, RetireDistribCalc.html) OPTIONAL CHANGE: The RMD calculator definition was updated to indicate that the calculator is compliant with 2004 rules and regulations. Text has been moved mentioning the 2002 and 2003 regulation changes, it is now in the definitions section, rather than a special note. No calculation changes were required at this time. The RetireDistrib.html document definitions should be updated to reflect this change. The RetireDistribCalc.html document was also updated to address this change.

  12. Beneficiary Required Minimum Distribution (RetireBeneficiary.html, RetireBeneficiaryCalc.html) OPTIONAL CHANGE: This calculator was updated for 2004. Text has been moved mentioning the 2002 and 2003 regulation changes, it is now in the definitions section, rather than a special note. The calculations have been changed to better illustrate the “stretch ira” options for spouses and beneficiaries that are older then the account owner. These changes are fully described in the new definitions. The calculator will continue to work as is, with no changes to the HTML document, if the class files are updated. To turn on the new “stretch”option, you will need to use the new RetireBeneficiary.html document. The RetireBeneficiaryCalc.html document was also updated to address this change.

    The following new fields were added to the JSP version of this calculator:

    <TR class=inputrow>
    <TD class=inputlabel>
    <A HREF="#2">Account owner's age at death: </A></TD class=inputlabel>
    <TD class=inputfield>
    <INPUT class=inputtext TYPE="text" NAME="account_owner_age" VALUE="65" SIZE="10" MAXLENGTH="10"> </TD class=inputfield>
    </TR class=inputrow>
    <TR class=inputrow>
    <TD class=inputlabel>
    <A HREF="#6">Is account owner beneficiary's spouse?</A></TD class=inputlabel>
    <TD class=inputfield>
    <INPUT class=inputcheckbox TYPE="checkbox" NAME="spouse_owner" VALUE=true>Check here</TD class=inputfield>
    </TR class=inputrow>
    <TR class=inputrow>
    <TD class=inputlabel>
    <A HREF="#7">Is beneficiary's birthday after June30th?</A></TD class=inputlabel>
    <TD class=inputfield<INPUT class=inputcheckbox TYPE="checkbox" NAME="birthday_after_june30" VALUE=true>Check here</TD class=inputfield>
    </TR class=inputrow>
    <TR class=inputrow>
    <TD class=inputlabel>
    <A HREF="#8">Did account owner die after Required Begin Date? </A></TD class=inputlabel>
    <TD class=inputfield>
    <INPUT class=inputcheckbox TYPE="checkbox" NAME="owner_die" VALUE=true>Check here</TD class=inputfield>
    </TR class=inputrow>

    All checkboxes will default to unchecked, and if there is no account owner age at death, it will default to N/A and assume that the account owner was under age 70 ½. This produces the same result as the previous calculator without these additional options.

  13. 1040 Tax Calculator (Tax1040.html and Tax1040Calculation.html): This calculator was updated for the final 2003 tax form. This includes adding new items and finalizing all rates and rules. Significant changes to both the Tax1040.html and Tax1040Calculation.html documents were made to accommodate the 2003 1040 tax form. It is recommended that you uses these documents and reapply any custom changes. However, no new input fields have been added.

  14. 1040EZ Tax Calculator (TaxEZ1040.html and TaxEZ1040Calculation.html): This calculator was updated for the final 2003 tax form. This includes adding new items and finalizing all rates and rules. This includes changes to both the TaxEZ1040.html and TaxEZ1040Calculation.html documents were made to accommodate the 2003 tax form. It is recommended that you uses these documents and reapply any custom changes.

  15. The CPP and OAS pensions for the Canadian Retirement Planner have been updated to the Jan. 2004 rates. To make sure you have the new rates, search for the applet parameter OTHER_PENSION_AMOUNT3 and update the value to 462. Search for the applet parameter OTHER_PENSION_AMOUNT2 and update the value to 820. Both of these items are in the CARetirementPlan.html document.

  16. Auto Rebate (AutoRebate.html): “upfront” change to “up front” and “downpayment” changed to “down payment”. In the definitions, two spelling errors have also been corrected, signficantly change to significantly, and in the definitions manfacturer changed to manufacturer.

  17. Buy vs. Lease and Equipment Buy vs. Lease (BuyvsLease.html, BizBuyvsLease.html): “upfront” change to “up front” and “downpayment” changed to “down payment”.

  18. Self Employment Taxes (TaxSelfEmployment.html): Typographical errors have been addressed for “employement” and “employent” both of which should have been “employment”. This only occurred in the definitions of the calculator.

  19. Basic Financial Calculator (FinCalc2.html): A typographical error has been addressed for “calcuate” which should have been “calculate”. This occurred one time in the definitions of the calculator.

  20. Cool Million (Millionaire.html): “stackup” has been changed to “stack up”. This occurred one time in the report of the calculator.

  21. Cool Million (Millionaire.html): “internet” has been changed to “Internet”. This occurred one time in the report of the calculator.

  22. “Post-retire rate of return” has been change to “Rate of return during retirement” to reflect the fact that this is the rate of return during retirement. “Pre-retire rate of return” has been changed to “Rate of return before retirement”.

    The following documents are affected:

    1. Retirement Planner RetirementPlan.html
    2. Retirement Pension Planner RetirementPensionPlan.html
    3. Retirement Income Calculator RetirementIncome.html
    4. How important is Social Security? NoSocial.html

  23. College Savings: (CollegeSavings.html) The definitions have been updated to include the latest available information for the average college tuition and room and board statistics as provided by the U.S. department of education.

  24. Rate of Return

    This update includes to important changes to the rate of return inputs and definitions of all calculators with a "rate of return" variable. All rate of return variables in all calculators now have a default maximum of 20%. This update also includes a new, expanded rate of return definitions along with the means to further limit the value that can be entered into this field. This enhancement is designed to comply with more stringent rules regarding rate of return inputs and NASD guidelines for on-line financial tools.

    New definition for rate of return (Optional change):

    The definition for rate of return has been enhanced to include 2003 in the historical results and include best and worst 12 month returns. The definitions was changed from (changed text is in Italics):

      The actual rate of return is largely dependant on the type of investments you select. For example, from January 1970 to February 2003 the average compounded rate of return for the S&P 500, including reinvestment of dividends, was approximately 11%. Savings accounts at a bank pay as little as 2% or less.  It is important to remember that future rates of return can't be predicted with certainty and that investments that pay higher rates of return are subject to higher risk and volitility.  The actual rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long-term investments.  This includes the potential loss of principal on your investment.

    To:

      The actual rate of return is largely dependent on the type of investments you select. From January 1970 to December 2003, the average compounded rate of return for the S&P 500, including reinvestment of dividends, was approximately 11.7% per year. During this period, the highest 12-month return was 64%, and the lowest was -39%. Savings accounts at a bank pay as little as 1% or less.  It is important to remember that future rates of return can't be predicted with certainty and that investments that pay higher rates of return are subject to higher risk and volatility.  The actual rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long-term investments.  This includes the potential loss of principal on your investment.

    The following calculators use the updated defintion for this item:

    Calculator NameHTML File Changed
    Mortgage Rent vs. BuyMortgageRentvsBuy.html
    Business Debt ConsolidationBizConsolidate.html
    Business Buy vs. LeaseBizBuyvsLease.html
    Buy or Lease?BuyvsLease.html
    Life InsuranceLifeInsurance.html
    Savings Distribution CalculatorDistribSavings.html
    Don't delay your savings!WaitCost.html
    Lunch Savings CalculatorLunchSaver.html
    Benefit of Spending LessSpendLess.html
    Emergency Savings Calculator Emergency.html
    Compound Interest and Your ReturnCompoundInterest.html
    Cool MillionMillionaire.html
    Savings, Taxes and InflationSavingsVariables.html
    Savings CalculatorCompoundSavings.html
    Savings GoalSavings.html
    College Savings PlanCollegeSavings.html
    Investment LoanInvestmentLoan.html
    Investment ReturnsInvestmentReturn.html
    Annual Stock Option GrantsStockGrants.html
    Stock Option CalculatorStockOptions.html
    Retirement Planner!RetirementPlan.html
    Retirement Pension PlannerRetirementPlan3.html
    Retirement Income CalculatorRetirementIncome.html
    Which is better: a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA?RothvsRegular.html
    Roth IRA CalculatorRothIRA.html
    Traditional IRA CalculatorRegularIRA.html
    What is the advantage of converting to a Roth IRA?RothTransfer.html
    Variable Annuity CalculatorAnnuity.html
    How important is Social Security?NoSocial.html
    401(k) Savings CalculatorRetire401k.html
    Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) RetireDistrib.html
    Beneficiary Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)RetireBeneficiary.html
    403(b) Savings CalculatorRetire403b.html
    Retirement Shortfall CalculatorRetireShort.html
    401(k) Spend It or Save It CalculatorRollover401k.html

Updates that require do not require changes to HTML documents

  1. Social Security Calculator: (SocialSecurityCalculation.class) Maximum amount of income subject to Social Security taxes (and included in the calculation to determine Social Security benefits) has been updated for 2003. Income subject to Social Security taxes in 2003 was 87,000, in 2004 the total income subject to Social Security taxes is 87,900. This change also impacts the retirement plan calculators (NoSocial.html, RetirementPlan.html and RetirementPensionPlan.html) which uses the Social Security calculation module.

  2. Savings, Taxes and Inflation: (SavingsVariablesCalc.class). Text on generated report now has better alignment of the totals below the column headers.

  3. Net Worth Calculator: (NetWorth.html) Now allows for the default entries to all start at zero. No changes are required to make this change.
  4. Home Budget Calculator: (HomeBudget.html) All results on report now display with dollars and cents.
  5. Mortgage Refinance Interest Savings: (ShouldIRefi.html) All results on amortization schedule now display with dollars and cents.