Calculator help

I think I've found a problem with one of the calculators, what should I do?

If you let us know the details of any problem you may have found, we'll work to fix things and get back to you as soon as possible. You can send us feedback or email office@sorted.org.nz.

The more information you can give us about the problem, and what you were doing just before you noticed the problem, the better we can work on it. It would help to know: which calculator you were using, which page you were on, what you clicked just before the problem occurred and/or the results you got, and which browser and type of computer you were using.

I can't seem to save a calculation, why not?

The most common reason a calculator won't save is the user is not logged in to My Plan. You need to enter your login details in the boxes to the top left of every page, or have selected 'Remember me' before you last logged in. If you don't have a set of login details yet, you need to register for My Plan.

If you are logged in, and the calculator is still not saving, send us feedback or email office@sorted.org.nz.

Can you print each page of the calculators rather than only the result page?

We are in the process of updating all our calculators to include a helpful print icon at the top and bottom of each calculator page. Simply click this icon and it will send the current page (including your calculations) to your printer.

If you're using a PC you can print each screen of our calculators by hovering your mouse over the part you want to print and right clicking your mouse. An option to print will appear and you can click on this.

Alternately if you're using an Apple computer, there is a print icon at the top of your screen (in your browser menu) that will allow you to print the screen you're viewing.

Can I install copies of your calculators on my home computer, to save me connecting to the Internet each time I want to make revisions?

We have looked into developing downloadable desktop tools in the past, but for maintenance and quality control reasons we've decided not to pursue this. We do understand the desire to limit Internet usage. You can use Sorted's My Plan tool to save your calculations for future reference and revision.

Retirement Calculators

In the Retirement Calculator, where do I allow for an employer contribution pension?

If you're using our Comprehensive retirement calculator, page 7 is where you can include ongoing contributions to your retirement savings.

If you'd like to know how much your employer contributions combined with your retirement savings are going to be when you retire, it may be simpler to work this out on the Regular savings calculator. Note you will need to know the dollar value of your employer contributions.

Budget Calculators

In the Budget Calculator, even with a positive balance I am being told I am spending more than I earn!

What is probably happening here is you've got all your income/expenses loaded into the 'target' column, which appears first in the calculator pages. What you need to do is load your inputs into the 'actual' column. If you're able to try this it should rectify things.

I would like to be able to print a budget form so I can research all the figures and save online time before doing the calculations....

We have recently updated our Budget Calculator and added a helpful print icon at the top and bottom of each calculator page. Simply click this icon and it will send the current page (including your calculations) to your printer.

The 60plus Budget Calculator also has a print option for each page.

I registered with My Plan and then when I tried to set up a budget plan it asked how much my mortgage was. But I don't have a mortgage.

You don't need to worry about filling in all the fields in our Budget Calculator. If you come across a "mortgage" field and you don't have one, just skip it and move to the next. At the conclusion of the calculator you'll have the chance to save your workings into "My Plan". By doing this you'll be able to save your results and come back and review them in the future. As you've already registered this should be a simple action.

Mortgage Calculators

Why is there a difference between your mortgage repayment figures and my bank's?

Generally our results do differ slightly from some bank calculators as we present our results in today's dollars rather than nominal dollars. We feel this presents a more realistic result for the user.