Final answer:
To calculate the future value of the Swansons' account at retirement, the future value of annuity formula is applied using their annual payments, interest rate, and number of years until retirement.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question requires calculating the future value of an annuity, which involves regular payments (in this case, $3000) into an account that earns a certain percentage of interest (11%) compounded annually. The future value of an annuity can be calculated using the formula: FV = P * [((1 + r)^n - 1) / r], where FV is the future value, P is the payment, r is the interest rate per period, and n is the number of periods.
In this scenario, the Swansons are making annual payments of $3000 for 30 years at an 11% annual interest rate. After calculating the future value, their total amount at retirement will be closest to the option that duly reflects the result of the formula. Given that the answer is approximately $482,293.68, that would indicate that this option likely matches the output of the calculation.