I'm stumped on this - I think it's pretty common for folks to receive an annual bonus - normally a couple of months after their company's year-end - but I can't seem to find a way to model this. The term "bonus" doesn't exist in the UM. Input says "Gross Income" and the hover-text says "Gross Wages" - and that's my point, they aren't the same thing. There was a thread on the Forum about the withholding rate for bonuses. But like pension accrual, this is typically a once a year thing that does not happen after you "R". How are other folks modeling this? Most of the comp plans I've seen have a "target bonus" as a percentage of income - and at my level it's usually 15% - but I've also seen this at 10% or lower for some folks and I know that execs typically have progressively higher percentages.
(sorry - got an odd screen when posting - refreshed and it resubmitted - please remove or tell me how to do it).
(update - interesting, I can delete and update a comment but not a post)
@refugio Just lump any bonuses into the gross income, that's what they are, essentially. So make gross income expected salary plus bonuses.
@refugio Just lump any bonuses into the gross income, that's what they are, essentially. So make gross income expected salary plus bonuses.
I CAN do that but it's not very elegant - and it misstates income for the "R" year unless I retire at EOY. Honestly, the timing of an annual bonus (and vesting of stock, and vesting of pension) are probably the three biggest inputs into planning an actual retirement date. Will it all disappear in the wash over 30 years? Probably.
But the headline pitch for PRALANA is "Explore the trade-offs and what-ifs" and this seems pretty basic to me.
@refugio Perhaps the Other Income or Windfalls pages would work better? Or if the bonus is coming after "R" then add a second section in the Income page that has dates after the R to reflect this, as you would do for part-time employment after you "R".
I wrote the above quickly and while waiting for it to post realized I'd left off date to take SS benefits, and (again tied to R) to transition from employer-paid to self (and Medicare)-paid medical. If I wanted to get fancy I'd add in something about a lay-off package (and unenjoyment benefits) - that is (sadly) becoming increasingly common as an R "decision" but of course it's challenge to model that date in the future.
@refugio Perhaps the Other Income or Windfalls pages would work better? Or if the bonus is coming after "R" then add a second section in the Income page that has dates after the R to reflect this, as you would do for part-time employment after you "R".
@hines202 - thank you for engaging. It is apparently true for my organization that one can get a pro-rated bonus after "R" but that feels uncommon (not sure). I suspect the low-lying fruit here is to just update the UM (and maybe hover-text) to make mention bonus.
@refugio An option, though it could be tedious, would be to use the Windfall Income page to specify your bonuses. Youn would have to manually specify the annual amounts but they would not be prorated in your R year.
Stuart
@smatthews51 Thanks for that suggestion - but I'm definitely not looking for "tedious"..."manual"...and putting data in nooks and crannies that I lose sight of 🙂
