Use Your Own Calculator to Project Pensions and Investment Present and Future Values

As you would expect, financial planning includes projecting 'Future Values' of pensions and investment funds but also having goals and target funds that you need to decrement backwards to work out how much you need to save/invest to achieve your future goal, known as 'Present Value'.

We have over 20 calculator tools to help you do this in addition to many similar tools online.

See: Pension Target  Pension Shortfall

We have said before, you need to allow for inflation, charges, future investment returns and revise your targets and investment and pension contributions every year. 

As well as our online tools, there are also some easy ways for you to do this quickly using both a scientific calculator and even a simple, basic calculator.

Here are the two simple methods using your own scientific and even basic calculator for future and present values.

Future Value (FV) Calculation

It estimates how much an investment today (‘Present Value’) will be worth in the future (‘Future Value’), taking into account factors like interest rates, investment growth, charges, and inflation.  E.g., if you invest £10,000 today at a 5% net growth rate, it will grow to £10,500 in one year.  But what about doing it quickly for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years?

• Scientific Calculator: Value of £10,000 in 10 years at 5% pa compounded growth.
• Input 1.05 (means 5%)
• Press X^Y  or Y^X  (depends upon the calculator)
• Input 10 (10 years/10 periods)
• Press =
• Press X (multiply) by £10,000
• = £16,288.  This is the value of £10,000 in 10 years at 5% pa compounded growth.
• Simple, Basic Calculator: Value of £10,000 in 10 years at 5% pa compounded growth.
• Input £10,000
• Press X (multiply) by 1.05 (means 5%)
• Press ‘equals’ = 10 times
• = £16,288.  This is the value of £10,000 in 10 years at 5% pa compounded growth. 
• It’s that simple!.

Present Value (PV) Calculation

Is the reverse of Future Value.  It estimates the equivalent value today (‘Present Value’) needed to be worth £X in the future (‘Future Value’).  You start with a target amount or value in the future, e.g., I want £100,000 in my pension fund in 20 years.  Present Value (PV) is the calculation to work out future cash flows or amounts of money needed today taking into account factors like interest rates, investment growth, charges and inflation to achieve e.g., that £100,000 target.

• Scientific Calculator: Value needed today at 5% pa compounded growth to achieve a target of £100,000 in 20 years.
• Input £100,000
• Press ‘divide by’ i.e.,  / or ÷
• Press ‘open bracket’  (
• Input 1.05 (means 5%)
• Press X^Y  or Y^X  (depends upon the calculator)
• Input 20 (20 years/20 periods)
• Press ‘close bracket’  )
• Press =
• = £37,688.  This is the present value needed today to target £100,000 in 20 years at 5% pa compounded growth.
• Simple, Basic Calculator: Value needed today at 5% pa compounded growth to achieve a target of £100,000 in 20 years.
• Input £100,000
• Press ‘divide by’ i.e.,  / or ÷
• Input 1.05 (means 5%)
• Press ‘equals’  = 20 times
• = £37,688.  This is the present value needed today to target £100,000 in 20 years at 5% pa compounded growth.
• Yet again, it’s that simple!.

Monthly Amounts

• Use the same methods above, but use for example:
• For 5% pa growth = Divide 0.05 by 12 = 0.004166666667 and instead of using 1.05 use 1.004166666667
• For 20 years, that is 240 periods, so in teh above, replace 20 by 240 and for basic calculator, press = 240 times (you might lose count but you can still do it).

Become Your Own Finance Genius, Impress Your Friends …

Learn these two easy methods and it will give you the power to do very quick forecasts of the future value and present value of pensions and investments using a scientific calculator, a simple/basic calculator or even your mobile telephone or smartphone (assuming it has a calculator on it, given most do).

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