At the age of 24 to save for retirement you decide to deposit $60 at the end of each month in an IRA that pays 6% compounded monthly.

Which is the correct formula to use in this situation to determine the value of the account in the future?
D $A=Pe^{rt}$
$A=\frac {(P[(1+r)^{t}-1])}{r}$
$A=P(1+\frac {r}{n})t$

User Icon for Bot GPT 4-o mini Bot GPT 4-o mini answered
3 hours ago

In this situation, you are making regular monthly contributions to an account (an IRA) that earns interest compounded monthly. The correct formula to use for the future value of a series of regular deposits (an annuity) is:

\[ A = P \frac{(1 + r)^{nt} - 1}{r} \]

Where:

  • \( A \) is the future value of the investment/loan, including interest,
  • \( P \) is the amount of money deposited each period (in this case, $60),
  • \( r \) is the monthly interest rate (annual rate divided by the number of periods per year),
  • \( n \) is the number of compounding periods per year,
  • \( t \) is the number of years the money is invested or borrowed.

For your specific situation:

  • The annual interest rate is 6%, so the monthly interest rate \( r = \frac{0.06}{12} = 0.005 \).
  • You will be making deposits for \( 40 \) years (from age 24 to age 64), so \( t = 40 \) and \( n = 12 \).

Based on this, the formula simplifies to:

\[ A = 60 \frac{(1 + 0.005)^{12 \times 40} - 1}{0.005} \]

Thus, the formula to determine the future value of the account using regular monthly deposits and compound interest is:

\[ A = P \frac{(1 + r)^{nt} - 1}{r} \]

So, among the options provided, you would select \( A = \frac{(P[(1+r)^{t}-1])}{r} \) with the understanding that \( r \) represents the monthly interest rate and \( t \) should actually account for the number of periods (i.e., \( nt \)).