Entering Personal Information

Your Compensation

Q. Can you tell me what my eligible compensation is?
A. Eligible compensation is that part of your pay from which you are allowed to contribute a percentage to the Plan. For example, in some companies you are not allowed to contribute from a bonus or the last paycheck. GuidedSavings tells you your eligible compensation.

Q. My income fluctuates every year because of different commissions, bonuses, or other variable pay. Should I put in what I earned this year or enter an average?
A. GuidedSavings will have what your employer provided. You can change that amount to reflect a more accurate income. GuidedSavings will take the total earnings you put in and project them ahead taking into consideration inflation and raises

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About Your Spouse

Q. Why does GuidedSavings need to know about my spouse?
A. You only need to provide your spouse's financial information if you would like to plan with your spouse. If you choose to plan with your spouse, GuidedSavings will need the information in order to give a comprehensive analysis. Your marital status affects the advice GuidedSavings gives you, because — among other reasons — the tax rates are based on marital status. Additionally, GuidedSavings will calculate your retirement income needs based on your combined finances.

Q. I am not married, but I do have a domestic partner. Should I include him/her in the spouse's section?
A. At this time, the regulations affecting pension plans provide benefits only for spouses as defined under the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). You should not include your domestic partner's information in the spouse's section because tax rates and projections are based on marital status. Entering domestic partner information in the spouse's section would cause the advice given to be inaccurate. Additionally, the beneficiary requirement differs for a spouse. Under current regulations, planning with a domestic partner is the same as planning separately.

Q. What is meant by spouse's annual salary and what do you use it for?
A. Your spouse's annual salary from current employer is what he or she earns every year — including bonuses or commissions. If your spouse is in a sales-related position, your spouse's company may pay him or her commissions in addition to a base salary for meeting or exceeding certain sales goals. If you tell us your spouse contributes to a Plan, we use this salary to calculate plan contributions.

Q. How do I know what to use for my spouse's company match?
A. Matching contributions for employer-sponsored plans are fairly standard to figure. For example, every dollar your spouse contributes to the 401(k) may be matched with 50 cents from his or her employer. Enter the dollar amount ($.50) or the percentage (50%). Generally, this match amount is capped at a certain percentage, such as 6% of your spouse's salary. This percentage can also be represented by a maximum dollar figure, such as $1,000. You can put either limit in GuidedSavings. To get the match for his or her company, you can look through your spouse's Plan information or call your spouse's Human Resources department.

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About Your Children

Q. Why does GuidedSavings ask if I have children?
A. Our analysis looks beyond just your Plan. GuidedSavings needs to know if you have children because children impact your tax rates. Additionally, we need to know if you plan to pay for their college education from your retirement savings.

Q. How does the IRS define a dependent child?
A. The IRS is pretty fussy about who is — or who is not — a dependent child. Generally speaking, anyone 18 or younger in your direct care, or anyone between 18 and 24 enrolled full-time in an accredited school, is considered to be a dependent child. It might help to know who's not considered a dependent child? Children or wards of the state who return to your house after graduation are not dependents. Neither are 18-year-olds living on their own and not going to school. These definitions may change. You may want to consult a tax adviser.

Q. Why do you need to know my children's birth dates?
A. Our analysis looks beyond just your Plan. The ages of your children impact your taxes. GuidedSavings calculates when your dependent is no longer a dependent for determining changes in your tax rate.

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About Your Beneficiary

Q. What is a beneficiary and why do I need one?
A. A beneficiary is the person(s) who receives your Plan account money in the event of your death. The advantage of having a named beneficiary is that when you die the money can pass to the beneficiary without going through probate first. (Probate is a legal process whereby the courts distribute your assets according to your will or the law when you die.)

Q. Do I have to name my spouse as the primary beneficiary?
A. If you are married, you must name your spouse as the primary beneficiary for 100% unless your spouse signs a waiver agreement. You can choose to print the waiver agreement. Just follow the instructions on the waiver agreement.

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Retirement Age

Q. I'm not sure what to put in for my retirement age. Can you help me?
A. Retirement age is not as cut and dried as some people imagine. Social Security, pension plans and companies set "traditional" ages to retire anywhere from 50 to 67. Of course, "traditional" may not be the right age for you or your savings. As you'll soon see, the retirement age you choose has a significant effect on the advice GuidedSavings provides. You should select the age at which you expect to stop working and would like to live off income from your pension plans and investments. You can model different ages to see the impact to your retirement plan.

Q. How do you use the retirement age for my spouse? I don't really know the retirement age for my spouse.
A. You can select a retirement age for your spouse that differs from your own. GuidedSavings will then calculate based on different time periods — when only one of you is retirement and when both of you are in retirement. If you have to guess for your spouse, you may want to begin with an earlier retirement age just to be conservative. You can always change your mind later.

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