formula for a pension

"barbarat" wrote:
comparing my formula to yours, i see that i am unsure of
commas, and )'s. and the rules for what comes first...is
there a rule i could learn, and if so where do i look for it?
meaning, what should i reference in the manual index?

I doubt that your problem is with understanding "commas
and parentheses [and] what comes first". But if that truly
is your problem, the best thing is to rely on the Help text
for each function. I find the "offline" text better than the
online text because of the See Also link. If you agree, click
on Help, then click on Online Content Settings in the Help
window. Uncheck "Content and links from Microsoft Office
Online". After clicking Okay, you will have to exit and
re-enter Excel to see the effect.

The See Also link might help you with what I suspect is the
real problem: how to know what functions and operators
exist. If you look at the See Also link on the Help text for
the "IF worksheet function", you will discover the AND() and
OR() functions, for example. Careful reading of the syntax
and a general knowledge about how function arguments
and expressions work in programming languages will help
you get it right.

Sorry, but I don't know of any other magic way to learn a
"language" -- which Excel expressions are -- other than
finding a good intro book.

the date thing really confuses me.

Yes, it took me some time to remember DATEDIF() myself.
I did not find any Excel documentation. I found it with a
google search.

if i wanted to use numerical, like 01011984 instead of
mm/dd/yyyy, what would i need to change?

I believe I answered that in an earlier posting in this thread.
Look for it. It isn't pretty. Why do you prefer the "numerical"
format? What problem does that solve for you that the
normal format does not?

"barbarat" wrote:
you gave me this, which did just what i wanted:
=IF(OR([...]),0,ROUND([...],2))
now, trying to add a limit to it that all contributions
(employee, match and profit share, cap at 40000,
and the reduction is in the profit share.

It really is easier (for me) to work with the MIN() form.
I believe the answer to you question is simply:

MIN(40000, ROUND(3%*MIN(G1,90000) + 8.7%*MIN(G1,200000), 2))

You could do something similar with the IF() solution.

That is just a cap on profit sharing. But with profit sharing,
there is (should be) no employee contribution or match.
So I might have misunderstood your question.

Are you really trying to refer back to the original pension
problem?

Are you trying to put a cap on the sum of the profit sharing
and pension benefits (employee's contribution and company's
match)?

That requires more changes to do it right. For example, H1
contained the employee contribution. You will need to add
MIN(40000,...) to that column. You had said that the
company match would go into I1. You will need to add
MIN(40000-H1,...) to that formula. Finally, you will need
to add MIN(40000-H1-I1,...) to the profit sharing formula.

Although I believe those changes ensure that the sum does
not exceed 40000, frankly I think it is strange. As I wrote
it, it allows the employee to contribute $40,000, which has
the effect of eliminating any company match or profit
sharing. Since there is usually a philosophy associated
with profit sharing at least (e.g, motivation), you probably
do not want to eliminate it completely simply because an
employee was over-zealous in the amount of his/her own
contribution to the 401(k).

Bottom line: perhaps we need a more precise statement
of what you intend with regard to these benefits in order
to give you a solution. You might also want to study
federal law on the subject, if you haven't already, since I
believe it addresses how some or all of these benefits
interact.

Hi again:
The only way to approach is at the reducing profit sharing. Employees are
limited to 14000 contribution (15000 as of next year) by IRS regs. Our match
can be as generous as we like...1%, 100%, whatever...but since an employee is
at most 14000, I think 26000 total match from an employer is a pretty good
incentive! Especially since the matched part is tax deferred. And since
even if they contribute less, they can still get a larger profit share to
reach 40K, which is why you reduce the profit sharing, which is taxed at
today's higher tax rate.
I don't want to think about how to adjust fo the change again in July!
(Fiscal year). I think I can just replace the 40000 with 41000, but later on
that!
I do fine with small formulas, but a calculator has always been my tool.
And programs that do the formulas, and you just give it the numbers in the
blanks...but I am really liking Excel. I have started exploring, and am
amazed at what it does. I found statistical functions, which is great!
Those I found I can do easily...
it is similar to how Fathom works. But I will get there.
Thanks so much for all the help. This board has been the greatest tool I
have found since I bought Excel (Office).
Barbara
--
barbarat


" wrote:

"barbarat" wrote:
comparing my formula to yours, i see that i am unsure of
commas, and )'s. and the rules for what comes first...is
there a rule i could learn, and if so where do i look for it?
meaning, what should i reference in the manual index?

I doubt that your problem is with understanding "commas
and parentheses [and] what comes first". But if that truly
is your problem, the best thing is to rely on the Help text
for each function. I find the "offline" text better than the
online text because of the See Also link. If you agree, click
on Help, then click on Online Content Settings in the Help
window. Uncheck "Content and links from Microsoft Office
Online". After clicking Okay, you will have to exit and
re-enter Excel to see the effect.

The See Also link might help you with what I suspect is the
real problem: how to know what functions and operators
exist. If you look at the See Also link on the Help text for
the "IF worksheet function", you will discover the AND() and
OR() functions, for example. Careful reading of the syntax
and a general knowledge about how function arguments
and expressions work in programming languages will help
you get it right.

Sorry, but I don't know of any other magic way to learn a
"language" -- which Excel expressions are -- other than
finding a good intro book.

the date thing really confuses me.

Yes, it took me some time to remember DATEDIF() myself.
I did not find any Excel documentation. I found it with a
google search.

if i wanted to use numerical, like 01011984 instead of
mm/dd/yyyy, what would i need to change?

I believe I answered that in an earlier posting in this thread.
Look for it. It isn't pretty. Why do you prefer the "numerical"
format? What problem does that solve for you that the
normal format does not?