Before I beat up on Wells Fargo too much, I will give them a nod for at least having a tool in place that makes people think about saving for retirement. Having said that....
Here is how ridiculous the tool is. It asks your age, your salary, when you expect to retire and how long you expect to live. You can also add simple additional assets.
What it does not ask are things like current debt, other sources of income, are you married, do you own your home or rent, etc. So here is where it gets pretty stupid. It has a very simple and straightforward formula, you need 80% of your current income in retirement, and it calculates how much you will have put away by then based on a very limited data set and spits back a % of how much you will have saved when you retire. So guess what happens when you get a raise? Your income suddenly changes, and that 80% expectation changes right along with it. According to Wells Fargo my new raise means I am now less prepared for retirement even though my financial situation improved!
Well yes, that is true if I constantly live up to my income (and lord knows that is true of too many people) and don't take a more frugal approach.
