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Hello. I am wondering what should/should not be included in one's overall portfolio "number." I currently have my Roth IRA's/Employer plans/taxable accounts included in my portfolio calculation.
I also have the numbers of my current social security benefits from the mySSA website, as well as a 457 "pension" plan balance...should social security balance/pension balance be included when looking at one's overall portfolio/net worth?
Good question! Depends on the purpose. When you use the NW number to apply your SWR to figure out your safe spending budget in retirement, you'd be wise not to include the non-paper asset balances. It's better to include them in the supplemental cash flow tab in my Google Sheet (see part 28 of the SWR series).
But for a pure FYI calculation, you should probably include the pension balance. Social Security is a tricky one because a) it's not guaranteed and b) SSA needs to be transformed from a cash flow into a level. There are some actuarial calculations that the SSA website doesn't provide. You need to apply a discount factor and survival probability factor. Not a trivial exercise.