Financial Calculator Update 12/31/2008
The quarterly update for 12/31/2008 is a large update, affecting almost every calculator. The majority of the changes affect the functionality of the calculations, updating them to 2009 rules and regulations. The most significant calculation changes in this update were to the retirement, savings, and tax calculators.
If you have not updated your calculators recently you should definitely refresh your existing 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 9/30/2009 update: 9/30/2008 Update. (The 12/31/2008 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*:
- Download the latest version of your calculators from your download site, found on your update e-mail notice.
- 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.)
- 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 with no subdirectories.
- If your current deployment has the directories KJEgui, KJEgraph and KJEcalculation, delete the directories and their content from your server. The new version no longer requires these directories or their content.
- Replace your current dinkytown.jar file with the new version.
- Replace all files with the extension "class" with the new version.
- Make required changes to any HTML documents as described 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, JSP, CFM or ASP 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 pages deployed on your server. If you are interested in using custom formatted delivery, please contact us at (612) 331-2291, or for more information.
- Download the latest version of your calculators from your download site, found on your update e-mail notice.
- 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.)
- When prompted for a directory, you may use the default of "c:\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 with no subdirectories.
- If your current deployment has the directories KJEgui, KJEgraph and KJEcalculation, delete the directories and their content from your server. The new version no longer requires these directories or their content.
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" button under the Browsing History section. Click the top button "Clear private data now..." 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.
Firefox and Netscape:
Choose "Clear private data..." under the "Tools" menu. Check the box for "Cache" and then click the button "Clear private data now".
Master Changes (no HTML changes required affects all calculators but is limited to java class files.)
- Beta browser "Chrome" from Google now supported. Note that "Chrome" requires Java 6 update 11 to be installed on the end user's computer.
- Firefox 3 fully supported. Note that Firefox 3 requires Java 6 update 11 to be installed on the end user's computer.
- Internet Explorer print issue with Java 6 Update 11 caused Internet Explorer to freeze. This update addresses this issue.
Master Changes (HTML Modification required, affects all or most calculators.)
- All rates of returns normalized
All default rates of return have been made consistent across all calculators (Savings, Investment, Retirement and certain Mortgage and Loan calculators where investment rates are required). The following rates are now used:
- Long term market rate: 8%
- Conservative/retirement market rate: 6%
- Savings/bank rate: 2%
- Federal mid-term rate: 2.48% (Used for 72T calculators only)
Your specific calculator build can indicate the specific rate of return you would like to use for each of the above categories. If you wish to change your default rate of returns please contact us via email with your required rates of return.
- The definition for Rate of Return has been updated to include the S&P 500 average to December 2008.
New definition:
The actual rate of return is largely dependent on the type of investments you select. From January 1970 to December 2008, the average annual compounded rate of return for the S&P 500, including reinvestment of dividends, was approximately 9.7% (source: www.standardandpoors.com). During this period, the highest 12-month return was 61%, from June 1982 through June 1983. The lowest 12-month return was -39%, which happened twice, once from September 1973 to September 1974 and again from November 2007 to November 2008. Savings accounts at a bank may pay as little as 1% or less but care significantly lower risk to loss of principal balances.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 generally 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. It is not possible to invest directly in an index and the compounded rate of return noted above does not reflect sales charges and other fees that funds and/or investment companies may charge.
This affects the following 50 calculators:
Calculator Type Name HTML File Changed Auto Calculators Lease vs. Buy BuyvsLease.html Business Calculators Debt Consolidation Calculator BizConsolidate.html Equipment Buy vs. Lease BizBuyvsLease.html Credit Cards and Debt Management Consolidation Loan Investment Calculator InvestmentDebt.html Insurance Calculators Comprehensive Life Insurance Analysis EnhancedLifeIns.html Health Savings Account (HSA) Goal Calculator HSAGoal.html Health Savings Account (HSA) Savings Calculator HSASavings.html Human Life Value HumanLifeValue.html Life Insurance Calculator LifeInsurance.html Variable Annuity Calculator Annuity.html Investment Calculators Annual Stock Option Grants StockGrants.html Investment Loan InvestmentLoan.html Investment Returns InvestmentReturn.html Investment Savings and Distributions InvestmentDistribution.html Mutual Fund Expense Calculator FundExpense.html Stock Option Calculator StockOptions.html Taxable vs. Tax Advantaged Investments InvestCompare.html Mortgage Calculators Rent vs. Buy MortgageRentvsBuy.html Retirement Savings and Planning 401(k) Net Unrealized Appreciation vs. Rollover StockRollover401k.html 401(k) Savings Calculator Retire401k.html 401(k) Spend It or Save It Calculator Rollover401k.html 403(b) Savings Calculator Retire403b.html 457 Savings Calculator Retire457.html 72(t) Distribution Impact Retire72Alt.html Beneficiary Required Minimum Distributions RetireBeneficiary.html How Important is Social Security? NoSocial.html Individual 401(k) Savings Calculator RetireSolo401k.html Pension Plan Retirement Options PensionOptions.html Required Minimum Distributions RetireDistrib.html Retirement Income RetirementIncome.html Retirement Pension Planner RetirementPlan3.html Retirement Planner RetirementPlan.html Retirement Shortfall RetireShort.html Retirement Nestegg RetireNestegg.html Retirement Number RetireNumber.html RMD & Stretch IRA Calculator StretchIRA.html Roth 401(k) or Traditional 401(k)? RothvsTraditional401k.html Roth IRA Calculator RothIRA.html Roth IRA Conversion RothTransfer.html Roth vs. Traditional IRA RothvsRegular.html Traditional IRA Calculator RegularIRA.html Savings Calculators Benefit of Spending Less SpendLess.html College Savings CollegeSavings.html College Planner CollegePlanner.html Compare Savings Rates CompareSavings.html Compound Interest and Your Return CompoundInterest.html Cool Million Millionaire.html Don't Delay Your Savings! WaitCost.html Emergency Savings Calculator Emergency.html Lunch Savings LunchSaver.html Savings Calculator CompoundSavings.html Savings Distribution Calculator DistribSavings.html Savings Goals Savings.html Savings, Taxes, and Inflation SavingsVariables.html - The definition for Inflation and Expected Inflation Rate has been updated to include CPI data from 2008. The CPI for 2008 was reported by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve as 4.0%. This was not a large enough change from the average to cause a change in the long-term rate of inflation in our definition, however the definition was updated to indicate 2008 data was included. The new definition now reads:
What you expect for the average long-term inflation rate. A common measure of inflation in the U.S. is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which has a long-term average of 3.1% annually, from 1925 through 2008. The CPI for 2008 was 4.0%, as reported by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve.
This affects the following 17 calculators:
Calculator Type Name HTML File Changed Insurance Calculators Long Term Care Calculator LongtermCare.html Disability Insurance Disability.html Health Savings Account (HSA) Goal Calculator HSAGoal.html Health Savings Account (HSA) Savings Calculator HSASavings.html Human Life Value HumanLifeValue.html Life Insurance Calculator LifeInsurance.html Investment Returns InvestmentReturn.html Investment Calculators Investment Savings and Distributions InvestmentDistribution.html Mortgage Calculators Rent vs. Buy MortgageRentvsBuy.html Retirement Savings and Planning How Important is Social Security? NoSocial.html Social Security Benefits SocialSecurity.html Retirement Planner RetirementPlan.html Retirement Pension Planner RetirementPlan3.html Retirement Shortfall RetireShort.html Savings Calculators Cool Million Millionaire.html Savings Goals Savings.html Savings, Taxes, and Inflation SavingsVariables.html
Updates that require modifications to HTML documents
- Health Savings Accounts (HSA) Employer Benefit (HSABusiness.html), Health Savings Account (HSA) Contribution Calculator (HSAContribution.html), Health Savings Account (HSA) Goal Calculator (HSAGoal.html), Health Savings Account (HSA) Savings Calculator (HSASavings.html): Have been finalized for 2009 changes. This includes new contribution limits and rules put into law for 2009.
- Individual 401(k) Contribution Comparison(Individual401kContribution.html): Has been updated to the new 2009 contribution limits. This affects the calculations and definitions but no new entry our output fields.
- Individual 401(k) Savings Calculator(RetireSolo401k.html): Has been updated to the new 2009 contribution limits. This affects the calculations and definitions but no new entry fields. A new section has been added to the report describing how the maximum contribution for this type of account is calculated.
- 1040EZ Tax Form (TaxEZ1040.html), Self Employment Tax Calculator (TaxSelfEmployment.html), Marginal and Effective Tax Rates (TaxMargin.html): Have been finalized for the 2009. Minor changes have occurred to the definitions and the calculations, but there have been no additional input and output fields. (Note: the 2009 versions of these calculators will be released 3/31/2006).
- 1040 Tax Estimator (Tax1040.html): Has been finalized for the 2009. Changes to the definitions, output pages and input fields have been completed to comply with the last minute law changes. This includes:
- Removed "Archer Medical Savings Account deduction"
- Removed "Jury pay you have made to your employer"
- Removed "Child tax credit received"
- Added "Tuition and fees deduction"
- Changed "Other payments" renamed to "Other payments and credits"
- Added entry for real-estate taxes added to calculated increased standard deduction (new defintion added for this item, describing new change).
- Calculation for Qualified Dividends and Long Term Capital Gains now conforms with IRS form 4797, including the 0% and 15% tax rates for these items.
- Estate Tax Planning (EstatePlan.html): This calculator has been updated to the 2009 rates and rules. This has affected the definitions and the calculations. No new input or output fields have been added.
- Long Term Care (LongtermCare.html): The estimated costs have been updated to reflect the cost of 2008 nursing home and home health care costs.
- Payroll (Payroll.html), Hourly Paycheck Calculator (PayrollHourly.html), Section 125 Cafeteria Plan (Payroll125.html), Net to Gross Paycheck Calculator (PayrollGross.html), 457 Payroll Calculator (457Payroll.html), Should my spouse work? (IncomeOneorTwo.html): Each of these calculators has been updated to the new withholding rates as published in IRS Publication 15, Rev Jan. 2009. The associated withholding tables have been updated as well as the calculations. In addition, the definitions have been updated to reflect 2009 changes for the following: 401(k)/403(b) limits, FICA OASDI, $3,650 allowance increased from $3,500.
- Retirement Contribution Effects on Your Paycheck (RetirePayrollSavings.html) (RetirePayrollSavings.html): In addition to the Payroll changes described for the calculators above, the contribution limits for retirement plans on this calculator have been updated to $16,500 for 2009.
- College Savings (CollegeSavings.html), College Planner (CollegePlanner.html): The definition for tuition, room and board, and education cost inflation have been updated to include the average costs for the 2008-09 school year. The defaults have also been changed to reflect the new average cost for the 2008-09 school year and the average cost increases for tuition and room and board. The new information is show below:
U.S. Undergraduate College Costs for 2008-09 School Year
Source: College Board's 2008 Trends in College Pricing, www.collegeboard.comType Tuition and fees Room & Board Total Change from 2007-08 Public 4-Year (in-state tuition) $6,585 $7,748 $14,333 5.7% Public 4-Year (out-of-state tuition) $17,452 $7,748 $25,200 5.2% Private 4-Year $25,143 $8,989 $34,132 5.6% - 401(k) Calculator (Retire401k.html), 401(k) With Profit Sharing (Retire401kProfitShare.html): The definitions and the calculation module have been updated to reflect the new 2009 maximum contribution limits of $16,500 annually for those under 50 and $22,000 annually for those 50 and older.
- 457 Calculator (Retire457.html): The definitions and the calculation module have been updated to reflect the new 2009 maximum contribution limits of $16,500 annually for those under 50 and $22000 annually for those 50 and older.
- 401(k) Spend It or Save It Calculator (Rollover401k.html): Income tax brackets in definitions have been updated to the 2009 rates.
- 403b Calculator (Retire403b.html): The definitions and the calculation module have been updated to reflect the new 2009 maximum contribution limits of $16,500 annually for those under 50 and $22,000 annually for those 50 and older.
- Pre-tax or Roth (after tax) Account? (RothvsPreTaxAccount.html): The definitions and the calculation module have been updated to reflect the new 2009 maximum contribution limits of $16,500 annually for those under 50 and $22,000 annually for those 50 and older. In addition, the tax table has been updated to use the 2009 rates.
- 72(t) Calculator: Early withdrawals from retirement accounts (Retire72T.html, Retire72T2.html), 72(t) Distributions: Impact on retirement fund balances (Retire72TAlt.html): The Federal Mid-Term rate has been updated for January 2009. This change affects the calculators default values and the definition of Reasonable Interest Rate For January 2009. For January 2009, 120% of the Federal Mid-Term rate is 2.48%.
- Roth IRA (RothIRA.html), Traditional IRA (RegularIRA.html): These calculators have been updated to 2009 phase out ranges. The maximum annual contribution of $5,000 per individual under 50 and $6,000 per individual over 50 remain the same as 2008. These changes include updates to the calculation module as well as the definitions and the report.
- Roth vs. Traditional IRA (RothvsRegular.html): this calculators have been updated to 2009 phase out ranges. The maximum annual contribution of $5,000 per individual under 50 and $6,000 per individual over 50 remain the same as 2008. These changes include updates to the calculation module as well as the definitions and the report. A new calculation has also been added which limits the comparison to contributions amounts that are valid for a ROTH IRA. The ROTH IRA contributions are constrained by the following income phase-outs:
If your income falls in a "phase-out" range you are allowed only a prorated Roth IRA contribution. If your income exceeds the phase-out range, you do not qualify for any Roth IRA contribution. The table below summarizes the income "phase-out" ranges for Roth IRAs.
*For the purposes of this calculator, we assume are not Married filing separately and contributing to a Roth IRA.Tax filing status 2009 Income Phase-Out Range Married filing jointly or Head of household $166,000 to $176,000 Single $105,000 to $120,000 Married filing separately* $0 to $10,000 - Canadian Retirement Planner (CARetirementPlan.html, FRRetirementPlan.html): The CPP and OAS defaults have been updated to $908 and $517 respectively, to reflect the January 2009 maximum OAS and CPP amounts.
- Savings Calculator (CompoundSavings.html, FRCompoundSavings.html, CACompoundSavings.html, SPCompoundSavings.html): New functionality added to allow users to enter years and periods, instead of being limited to entering just years. Minimum has been reduced from 1 year to 1 period. Periods can be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually.
- 2009 Federal Tax Rate table has been added to the following calculators (replacing the 2007 Federal Tax Table)
Calculator Name HTML File Changed 401(k) Net Unrealized Appreciation vs. Rollover StockRollover401k.html Municipal Bond Tax Equivalent Yield TaxEquivYeild.html Mortgage Debt Consolidation MortgageConsolidate.html Roth 401(k) or Traditional 401(k)? RothvsTraditional401k.html, Compare401k.html Pre-tax or Roth (after tax) Account? RothvsPreTaxAccount.html 401(k) Spend It or Save It Calculator Rollover401k.html NOTE:The actual tax calculators will be updated at the end of the tax season, in the 3/31/2009 update.
- Social Security Calculator (SocialSecurity.html), How important is Social Security? (NoSocial.html),Retirement Pension Planner (RetirementPlan3.html), Retirement Planner (RetirementPlan.html): Calculations updated for 2009 income limit of $106,800 for FICA with an annual maximum benefits of $27,876 per year for a single person and 1.5 times this amount for a married couple. To receive the maximum benefit would require earning the maximum withholding amount for nearly your entire career and retire when your would receive full retirement benefits at age 66 or 67 (depending on your birthdate).
The definitions of Social Security in each of these calculators has been updated to the following:
Social Security is based on a sliding scale depending on your income, how long you work and at what age you retire. Social Security benefits automatically increases each year based on increases in the Consumer Price Index. Including a spouse increases your Social Security benefits by 1.5 times your individual estimated benefit. Please note that this calculator assumes that only one of the spouses work. Benefits could be different if your spouse worked and earned a benefit higher than one half of your benefit. If you are a married couple, and both spouses work, you may need to run the calculation twice - once for each spouse and their respective income. This calculator provides only an estimate of your benefits.
The calculations use the 2009 FICA income limit of $106,800 with an annual maximum Social Security benefit of $27,876 per year for a single person and 1.5 times this amount for a married couple. To receive the maximum benefit would require earning the maximum FICA salary for nearly your entire career. You would also need to begin receiving benefits at your full retirement age of 66 or 67 (depending on your birthdate). Your actual benefit may be lower or higher depending on your work history and the complete compensation rules used by Social Security.
Updates that do not require modifications to HTML documents
- Loan Calculator: ( ComplexLoan.html ) Label under the graph has been changed from "Year Number" to "Payment Number".
- Canadian Mortgage Qualifier: ( CAMortgageQualifier.html, FRMortgageQualifier.html ) The GDSR is now 32% and TDSR 40%. A new message appears if the total downpayment is less then 5%. Definitions have been updated to reflect these new CMHC requirements.