Computerized system and method used in financial planning

• US 6,012,043 A
• Filed: 09/09/1996
• Issued: 01/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
• Original Assignee: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
• Inventors: Weller, Timothy W., Albright, William R., Szolosi, Karen E., Wunderlich, Philip S., Easley, Matthew S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cosimano, Edward R.
• Application Number:
  US08/709,914
• Time in Patent Office: 1,212 Days
• Field of Search: 705/30, 705/35, 705/36, 395/1, 395/10, 395/20, 395/21, 395/50, 395/54, 395/75, 395/77, 706/45, 706/46, 706/47
• US Class Current: 705/36.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A computer implemented tool used primarily in [retirement planning] financial planning which produces estimated values of needed savings levels and further income based on certain economic assumptions and data regarding an individual subject'"'"'s current financial status. [Although intended for use in retirement planning, the tool may also be used in other forms of financial planning.] The tool uses decision logic. User preferences are taken into account. Output is presented in a unique graphical format that can be easily understood by customers.

Claims

1. For use in a computerized system used for financial retirement planning executing on a computer processor, a computer expert system for determining which retirement scenarios to include in a graphical output report, comprising:

input means for receiving (a) financial data including estimated savings levels required for a plurality of retirement scenarios, (b) an investor profile indicating a tolerance to investment risk, (c) a preferred retirement age, and (d) one of a plurality of preference rankings of possible steps that could be taken to modify a retirement scenario;

a plurality of sets of decision rules, each set of decision rules associated with one of the plurality of preference rankings;

means for determining a hypothetical middle rate of return as a function of the investor profile and an average time assets are expected to remain invested assuming retirement at the preferred retirement age;

means for determining a hypothetical low rate of return and a hypothetical high rate of return as a function of the hypothetical middle rate of return and the investor profile;

means, utilizing the set of decision rules associated with the input preference ranking, for determining a first retirement age assuming basic living expenses in retirement equivalent to current basic living expenses and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the financial data, the input preference ranking and the preferred retirement age;

means, utilizing the set of decision rules associated with the input preference ranking, for determining a second retirement expense level based on a percentage of current basic living expenses that is financially feasible and likely to be of interest based upon the input financial data, preference ranking and the preferred retirement age;

means, utilizing the set of decision rules associated with the input preference ranking, for determining a second retirement age assuming the second retirement expense level and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input financial data, preference ranking and the preferred retirement age;

means, utilizing the set of decision rules associated with the input preference ranking, for optionally determining up to two additional retirement ages being financially feasible retirement ages likely to be of interest based upon the input financial data preference ranking and the preferred retirement age if the preferred retirement age, the first retirement age and the second retirement age are not unique; and

output means for generating a graphical output report illustrating a plurality of retirement scenarios including two graphs, the first graph assuming basic living expenses in retirement equivalent to current basic living expenses, the second graph assuming the second retirement expense level, each graph having a first axis including the preferred retirement age, the first retirement age, the second retirement age and the additional retirement ages if applicable, each graph having a second axis including a plurality of estimated savings levels, each graph including plots representing the estimated savings levels corresponding to each of said retirement ages assuming the hypothetical low rate of return, the hypothetical middle rate of return and the hypothetical high rate of return, the first graph highlighting the combination (hypothetical middle rate of return, first retirement age), the second graph highlighting the combination (hypothetical middle rate of return, second retirement age).

2. The expert system of claim 1 wherein the preference ranking orders the items (a) save more now, (b) work longer, and (c) reduce expenses in retirement.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for providing manual review and optional manual override prior to generation of the output report.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for automatically providing manual review and optional manual override prior to generation of the output report upon one of a plurality of predefined conditions being satisfied.

5. A computer implemented system for determining retirement scenarios to include in an output report, comprising:

input means for receiving (a) financial data, (b) an investor profile indicating a tolerance to investment risk, (c) a preferred retirement age, and (d) one of a plurality of preference rankings of possible steps that could be taken to modify a retirement scenario;

a plurality of sets of expert system decision rules, each set of expert system decision rules associated with one of the plurality of preference rankings;

means for determining a hypothetical rate of return as a function of the investor profile and an average time assets are expected to remain invested;

means, utilizing the set of expert system decision rules associated with the input preference ranking, for determining a first retirement age assuming an expense level in retirement designed to maintain a current standard of living and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking;

means, utilizing the set of expert system decision rules associated with the input preference ranking, for determining a second retirement expense level and for determining a second retirement age assuming the second retirement expense level and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking; and

output means for providing the hypothetical rate of return, the first retirement age, the second retirement age and the second retirement expense level to a retirement planning system, said output means comprises means for generating the output report as at least two graphs illustrating a plurality of retirement scenarios specifying an estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement, the first graph assuming an expense level in retirement designed to maintain to the current standard of living, the second graph assuming the second retirement expense level, each graph having a first axis including the preferred retirement age, the first retirement age and the second retirement age, each graph including a plot representing the hypothetical rate of return, the first graph highlighting the first retirement age and the second graph highlighting the second retirement age.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the output means further comprises means for generating the output report illustrating a plurality of retirement scenarios in graphical form wherein the first retirement age is highlighted when associated with the expense level in retirement equivalent to the current expense level and wherein the second retirement age is highlighted when associated with the second retirement expense level.

7. A computer implemented system for determining which retirement scenarios to include in a report specifying an estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement, comprising:

input means for receiving financial data and one of a plurality of preference rankings of possible steps that could be taken to modify a retirement strategy;

a plurality of sets of expert system decision rules, each set of expert system decision rules associated with one of the plurality of preference rankings;

means, utilizing the set of expert system decision rules associated with the input preference ranking, for determining a first retirement age assuming an expense level in retirement designed to maintain to a current standard of living and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking;

means, utilizing the set of expert system decision rules associated with the input preference ranking, for determining a second retirement expense level;

means, utilizing the set of expert system decision rules associated with the input preference ranking, for determining a second retirement age assuming the second retirement expense level and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking;

output means for the first retirement age, the second retirement age and the second retirement expense level to a retirement planning system; and

means for generating a graphical report illustrating the first financial retirement strategy, the second financial retirement strategy and the third financial retirement strategy.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the output means further comprises means for generating the report specifying an estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement highlighting the first retirement age.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the output means further comprises means for generating the report specifying an estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement highlighting the first retirement age and the second retirement age.

10. A computer-implemented retirement planning graphical report generation system, comprising:

an input device for receiving as input a customer preferred retirement age, a first retirement age being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon a customer preference ranking and assuming a first retirement expense level, a second retirement age being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference ranking and assuming a second retirement expense level, and a plurality of rates of return; and

a report generator for generating a report illustrating a plurality of financial retirement scenarios specifying estimated amounts of annual savings required to fund retirement, the report including two graphs, the first graph assuming the first retirement expense level having a first axis including the first retirement age, the second graph assuming the second retirement expense level having a first axis including the second retirement age, each graph including plots representing each of the plurality of rates of return, the first graph highlighting the first retirement age and the second graph highlighting the second retirement age.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the first axis of each graph comprises the customer preferred retirement age, the first retirement age and the second retirement age.

12. A computer implemented expert system for aiding a customer in determining appropriate financial retirement strategies towards obtaining a desired standard of living in retirement, comprising:

means for receiving financial information about the customer;

means for receiving customer preference rankings specifying a preferred order of possible steps that could be taken to modify a financial retirement strategy;

means for receiving a customer preferred retirement age;

means for determining a first financial retirement strategy with retirement at the customer preferred retirement age, the first financial strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at the customer preferred retirement age;

means for determining a second financial retirement strategy with retirement at a first system-selected retirement age assuming an expense level in retirement equivalent to the customer'"'"'s current standard of living, the first system-selected retirement age being a financial feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the second financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at the first system-selected retirement age;

means for determining a third financial strategy with retirement at a second system-selected retirement age assuming a retirement standard of living different from the customer'"'"'s current standard of living, the second system-selected retirement age being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the third financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at second system-selected retirement age; and

means for generating a graphical report illustrating the first financial retirement strategy, the second financial retirement strategy and the third financial retirement strategy.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising

means for receiving an investor profile indicating a tolerance to investment risk;

and

means for determining a hypothetical rate of return as a function of the investor profile and an average time which assets are expected to remain invested.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising means for determining an inflation assumption that is consistent with and corresponds to the hypothetical rate of return.

15. The system of claim 13 further comprising means for determining an income needed each year in retirement and for determining additional savings needed so that customer'"'"'s assets will provide said income needed.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising a report generator for generating a report including two graphs, the first graph assuming the expense level in retirement designed to maintain to the customer'"'"'s current standard of living having a first axis including the first system selected retirement age, the second graph assuming the retirement standard of living different from the customer'"'"'s current standard of living having a first axis including the second system selected retirement age, each graph including a plot representing the hypothetical rate of return, the first graph highlighting the second financial retirement strategy and the second graph highlighting the third financial retirement strategy.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the first axis of each graph comprises the customer preferred retirement age, the first system-selected retirement age and the second system-select retirement age.

18. A computer implemented expert system for helping a customer determine appropriate financial retirement strategies towards obtaining a desired standard of living in retirement, comprising:

means for receiving financial information about the customer;

means for receiving customer preference rankings specifying a preferred of order of possible steps that could be taken to modify a financial retirement strategy;

means for determining a first financial retirement strategy with retirement at a first retirement age assuming a first level of expense in retirement, the first retirement age being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the first financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at the first retirement age;

means for determining a second financial retirement strategy with retirement at a second retirement age assuming a second level of expense in retirement, the second retirement age being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the second financial strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at second retirement age; and

means for generating a graphical report illustrating the first financial retirement strategy and the second financial retirement strategy.

19. A computer implemented expert system for helping a customer determine appropriate financial strategies, comprising:

means for receiving financial information about the customer;

means for receiving customer goals and preference rankings specifying a preferred order of possible steps that could be taken to modify financial goals and strategies for achieving said financial goals;

means for determining a first financial strategy having financial goals set according to the preference rankings, the first financial strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to obtain the financial goals;

means for determining a second financial strategy having alternative financial goal amounts, the alternative financial goal amounts being financially feasible and likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the preference rankings, the second financial strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to obtain the alternative financial goals; and

means for generating a graphical report illustrating the first financial retirement strategy and the second financial retirement strategy.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the financial goals and the alternative financial goals include preferred and alternative timings of the goals.

21. For use in a computerized financial retirement planning system executing on a computer processor, a computer implemented method for determining which retirement scenarios to include in a graphical output report, comprising the steps of:

receiving as input (a) financial data including estimated savings levels required for a plurality of retirement scenarios, (b) an investor profile indicating a tolerance to financial risk, (c) a preferred retirement age, and (d) one of a plurality of preference rankings of possible steps that could be taken to modify a retirement scenario;

providing a plurality of sets of decision rules, each set of decision rules associated with one of the plurality of preference rankings;

determining a hypothetical middle rate of return as a function of the investor profile and an average time assets are expected to remain invested assuming retirement at the preferred retirement age;

determining a hypothetical low rate of return and a hypothetical high rate of return as a function of the hypothetical middle rate of return and the investor profile;

utilizing the set of decision rules associated with the input preference ranking to determine a first retirement age assuming basic living expenses in retirement equivalent to current basic living expenses and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the financial data, the input preference ranking and the preferred retirement age;

utilizing the set of decision rules associated with the input preference ranking to determine a second retirement expense level based on a percentage of current basic living expenses that is financially feasible and likely to be of interest based upon the financial data/input preference ranking and the preferred retirement age;

utilizing the set of decision rules associated with the input preference ranking to determine a second retirement age assuming the second retirement expense level and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking and the preferred retirement age;

optionally, utilizing the set of decision rules associated with the input preference ranking to determine up to two additional retirement ages being financially feasible retirement ages likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking and the preferred retirement age if the preferred retirement age, the first retirement age and the second retirement age are not unique; and

generating a graphical output report illustrating a plurality of retirement scenarios including two graphs, the first graph assuming basic living expenses in retirement equivalent to a current basic living expenses, the second graph assuming the second retirement expense level, each graph having a first axis including the preferred retirement age, the first retirement age, the second retirement age and the additional retirement ages if applicable, each graph having a second axis including a plurality of estimated savings levels, each graph including plots representing the estimated savings levels corresponding to each of said retirement ages assuming the hypothetical low rate of return, the hypothetical middle rate of return and the hypothetical high rate of return, the first graph highlighting the combination (hypothetical middle rate of return, first retirement age), the second graph highlighting the combination (hypothetical middle rate of return, second retirement age).

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the steps of:

automatically providing manual review prior to generation of the output report upon one of a plurality of predefined conditions being satisfied; and

optionally, manually overriding one or more of the determinations made according to the decision rules.

23. A computer implemented method for determining retirement scenarios to include in an output report, comprising the steps of:

receiving as input (a) financial data, (b) an investor profile indicating a tolerance to financial risk, (c) a preferred retirement age, and (d) one of a plurality of preference rankings of possible steps that could be taken to modify a retirement scenarios;

providing a plurality of sets of expert system decision rules, each set of expert system decision rules associated with one of the plurality of preference rankings;

determining a hypothetical rate of return as a function of the investor profile and an average time for which assets are expected to remain invested;

determining a first retirement age assuming an expense level in retirement designed to maintain the current standard of living and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking, said step utilizing the set of expert system decision rules associated with the input preference ranking;

determining a second retirement expense level different from the current standard of living, said step utilizing the set of expert system decision rules associated with the input preference ranking;

determining a second retirement age assuming the second retirement expense level and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking, said step utilizing the set of expert system decision rules associated with the input preference ranking; and

generating a graphical output report illustrating a plurality of retirement scenarios including two graphs, the first graph assuming basic living expenses in retirement equivalent to a current basic living expenses, the second graph assuming the second retirement expense level, each graph having a first axis including the preferred retirement age, the first retirement age, the second retirement age and the additional retirement ages if applicable, each graph having a second axis including a plurality of estimated savings levels, each graph including plots representing the estimated savings levels corresponding to each of said retirement ages assuming the hypothetical rate of return.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the step of outputting further comprises the step of generating the output report illustrating a plurality of retirement scenarios in graphical form;

wherein the first retirement age is highlighted when associated with the expense level in retirement equivalent to the current standard of living; and

wherein the second retirement age is highlighted when associated with the second retirement expense level.

25. A computer-based method for determining which retirement scenarios to include in a report specifying an estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement, comprising the steps of:

receiving as input financial data and one of a plurality of preference rankings of possible steps that could be taken to modify a retirement scenario;

determining a first retirement age assuming an expense level in retirement designed to maintain the current standard of living and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking, as a first financial retirement strategy;

determining a second retirement expense level being different from the current standard of living;

determining a second retirement age assuming the second retirement expense level and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest based upon the input preference ranking, as a second financial retirement strategy; and

generating a graphical report illustrating the first financial retirement strategy and the second financial retirement strategy.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the step of outputting further comprises generating the report specifying an estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement highlighting the first retirement age and the second retirement age.

27. The method of claim 25 further comprising the step of providing a plurality of sets of expert system decision rules, each set of expert system decision rules associated with one of the plurality of preference rankings.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein each determining step utilizes the set of expert system decision rules associated with the input preference ranking.

29. A computer-based retirement planning graphical report generation method, comprising the steps of:

receiving as input a customer preferred retirement age, a first retirement age being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon a customer preference ranking and assuming a first retirement expense level, a second retirement age being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference ranking and assuming a second retirement expense level, and a plurality of rates of return; and

generating a report illustrating a plurality of financial retirement scenarios specifying estimated amounts of annual savings required to fund retirement, the report including two graphs, the first graph assuming the first retirement expense level having a first axis including the first retirement age, the second graph assuming the second retirement expense level having a first axis including the second retirement age, each graph including plots representing each of the plurality of rates of return, the first graph highlighting the first retirement age and the second graph highlighting the second retirement age.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the first axis of each graph plots the customer preferred retirement age, the first retirement age and the second retirement age.

31. A computer implemented method for helping a customer determine appropriate financial retirement strategies towards obtaining a desired standard of living in retirement, comprising the steps of:

receiving financial information about the customer;

receiving customer preference rankings specifying a preferred of order of possible steps that could be taken to modify a financial retirement strategy;

receiving a customer preferred retirement age;

determining a first financial retirement strategy with retirement at the customer preferred retirement age, the first financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at the customer preferred retirement age;

determining a second financial retirement strategy with retirement at a first computer-generated retirement age assuming an expense level in retirement designed to maintain the customer'"'"'s current standard of living, the first computer-generated retirement age being a financial feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the second financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at the first computer-generated retirement age;

determining a third financial retirement strategy with retirement at a second computer-generated retirement age assuming a retirement expense level different from the customer'"'"'s current standard of living, the second computer-generated retirement age being a financial feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the third financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at second computer-generated retirement age; and

generating a graphical report illustrating the first financial retirement strategy, the second financial retirement strategy and the third financial retirement strategy.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the method is performed on a batch basis such that all receiving steps are performed prior to all determining steps.

33. The method of claim 31 further comprising the steps of:

receiving an investor profile indicating a tolerance to investment risk; and

determining a hypothetical rate of return as a function of the investor profile and an average time for which assets are expected to remain invested.

34. The method of claim 33 further comprising the step of determining an inflation assumption consistent with and corresponding to the hypothetical rate of return.

35. The method of claim 33 further comprising the steps of:

determining an income needed each year in retirement assuming the hypothetical rate of return; and

determining estimated additional savings needed so that the customer'"'"'s assets will provide said income needed.

36. A computer implemented method for helping a customer determine appropriate financial retirement strategies towards obtaining a desired standard of living in retirement, comprising the steps of:

receiving financial information about the customer;

receiving customer preference rankings specifying a preferred of order of possible steps that could be taken to modify a financial retirement strategy;

receiving a customer preferred retirement age;

determining a first financial retirement strategy with retirement at the customer preferred retirement age, the first financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at the customer preferred retirement age;

determining a second financial retirement strategy with retirement at a first computer-generated retirement age assuming an expense level in retirement designed to maintain the customer'"'"'s current standard of living, the first computer-generated retirement age being a financial feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the second financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at the first computer-oenerated retirement age;

determining a third financial retirement strategy with retirement at a second computer-generated retirement age assuming a retirement expense level different from the customer'"'"'s current standard of living, the second computer-generated retirement age being a financial feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the third financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at second computer-generated retirement age; and

generating a report including two graphs, the first graph assuming the expense level in retirement designed to maintain the customer'"'"'s current standard of living having a first axis including the first computer generated retirement age, the second graph assuming the expense level in retirement different from the customer'"'"'s current standard of living having a first axis including the second computer generated retirement age, each graph including a plot representing the hypothetical rate of return, the first graph highlighting the second financial retirement strategy and the second graph highlighting the third financial retirement strategy.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the first axis of each graph includes the customer preferred retirement age, the first computer-generated retirement age and the second computer-generated retirement age.

38. A computer implemented method for aiding a customer determine appropriate financial retirement strategies towards obtaining a desired standard of living in retirement, comprising the steps of:

receiving financial information about the customer;

receiving customer preference rankings specifying a preferred of order of possible steps that could be taken to modify a financial retirement strategy;

determining a first financial retirement strategy with retirement at a first retirement age assuming a first level of expense in retirement, the first retirement age being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the first financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at the first retirement age;

determining a second financial retirement strategy with retirement at a second retirement age assuming a second level of expense in retirement, the second retirement age being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based upon the customer preference rankings, the second financial retirement strategy specifying the estimated amount of annual savings required to fund retirement at second retirement age; and

generating a graphical report illustrating the first financial retirement strategy and the second financial retirement strategy.

39. A computer-based method to help a user determine appropriate financial retirement strategies towards obtaining a desired standard of living in retirement, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing financial information relating to the user'"'"'s financial situation;

(b) providing demographic information about the user;

(c) providing answers to questions concerning the user'"'"'s tolerance to investment risk;

(d) providing a ranked preference of steps the user could take to improve the user'"'"'s standard of living in retirement;

(e) providing a preferred retirement date;

(f) determining a hypothetical rate of return based upon the answers to questions concerning the user'"'"'s tolerance to investment risk and historical investment returns;

(g) utilizing the financial information and the demographic information to determine a first average income needed per year in retirement to maintain a standard of living in retirement similar to the user'"'"'s present standard of living;

(h) calculating a first yearly estimated savings amount to obtain the first average income needed per year in retirement assuming the hypothetical rate of return, the first yearly estimated savings amount being an amount increased with inflation the user should save per year until retirement at the preferred retirement date;

(i) determining a modified standard of living in retirement based upon the ranked preference;

(j) utilizing the financial information and the demographic information to determine a second average income needed per year in retirement to obtain the modified standard of living;

(k) calculating a second yearly estimated savings amount to obtain the second average income needed per year in retirement assuming the hypothetical rate of return, the second yearly estimated savings amount increased with inflation being an amount the user should save per year until retirement at the preferred retirement date; and

(l) generating a graphical report illustrating the first yearly estimated savings amount as a first financial retirement strategy and the second yearly estimated savings amount as a second financial retirement strategy.

40. The method of claim 39 further comprising the steps of:

determining a set of alternative retirement dates; and

performing steps (g) and (h) through (l) for each of the alternative retirement dates.

41. The method of claim 39 further comprising the steps of:

determining a set of alternative hypothetical rates of return based upon the answers to questions concerning the user'"'"'s tolerance to investment risk and historical investment returns; and

performing steps (h), (k) and (l) for each of the alternative hypothetical rates of return.

42. The method of claim 39 further comprising the steps of:

determining a set of alternative retirement dates;

determining a set of alternative hypothetical rates of return based upon the answers to questions concerning the user'"'"'s tolerance to investment risk and historical investment returns; and

performing steps (g) and (h) through (l) for each of the alternative retirement dates and each of the alternative hypothetical rates of return.

43. The method of claim 42 further comprising the step of selecting a preferred retirement date and rate of return.

44. The method of claim 42 wherein the step of outputting further comprises the steps of:

outputting the first yearly estimated savings amounts and associated retirement dates and hypothetical rates of return on a first graph; and

outputting the second yearly estimated savings amounts and associated retirement dates and hypothetical rates of return on a second graph.

45. A computerized method for determining retirement scenarios, comprising the steps of:

receiving from a customer (1) financial data, (2) a preferred retirement age, and (3) a customer preference ranking of a plurality of steps that could be taken to modify a retirement scenario;

determining a first retirement age assuming an expense level in retirement designed to maintain a current standard of living and being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based on the customer preference ranking, as a first financial retirement strategy;

determining a second retirement expense level, and a second retirement age assuming the second retirement expense level, being a financially feasible retirement age likely to be of interest to the customer based on the customer preference ranking as a second financial retirement strategy; and

providing a graphical report to the customer illustrating the first financial retirement strategy and the second financial retirement strategy;

wherein said steps of determining are performed by a computer processor based on the received financial data, preferred retirement age, and customer preference ranking.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the customer preference ranking includes an ordered ranking of the following steps that could be taken to modify a retirement scenario:

(1) saving more money before retirement;

(2) reducing expenses during retirement and (3) working for a longer period of time before retirement.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein said steps of determining are performed using expert system decision rules associated with the customer preference ranking.

48. A computerized method for illustrating a plurality of savings levels required to fund a plurality of retirement scenarios, comprising the steps of:

receiving financial and retirement data from a customer; and

providing a graphical output, using a multi-line plot where each line represents a different retirement scenario, illustrating the plurality of savings levels required to fund retirement, corresponding to a plurality of combinations of assumed retirement ages and assumed rates of return, applicable to the received financial and retirement data;

wherein said step of providing is performed by a computer processor based on the received financial and retirement data.

49. A computerized method for illustrating a plurality of savings levels required to fund a plurality of retirement scenarios, comprising the steps of:

receiving financial and retirement data from a customer; and

providing a single graphical output illustrating the plurality of savings levels required to fund retirement, corresponding to a plurality of combinations of assumed retirement ages and assumed rates of return, applicable to the received financial and retirement data;

wherein said step of providing is performed by a computer processor based on the received financial and retirement data;

wherein said step of providing comprises providing a plurality of graphical outputs, at least one of the plurality of graphical outputs illustrating the plurality of rates of return and at least one of the plurality of graphical outputs illustrating the plurality of retirement ages.

50. A computerized method for illustrating a plurality of savings levels required to fund a plurality of retirement scenarios, comprising the steps of:

receiving financial and retirement data from a customer; and

providing a single graphical output illustrating the plurality of savings levels required to fund retirement, corresponding to a plurality of combinations of assumed retirement ages and assumed rates of return applicable to the received financial and retirement data;

wherein said step of providing is performed by a computer processor based on the received financial and retirement data;

wherein the plurality of rates of return comprise a low rate of return, a middle rate of return and a high rate of return, and wherein the graphical output highlights the middle rate of return.