Retirement Income Planner
This free web-based retirement income planner allows users to test whether their retirement plan will work under various scenarios. It models federal and state income taxes, Social Security claiming strategies, Roth conversions, Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), Medicare premiums including IRMAA surcharges, and investment returns based on user-selected portfolio allocations and economic scenarios. Users input their ages, retirement accounts (Traditional and Roth IRAs), taxable savings, annual spending, and Social Security benefit estimates, then explore future projections. The planner supports detailed configuration of IRA balances, future rollovers, fixed or scenario-based Roth conversions, and the timing of conversions. It calculates RMDs according to IRS rules and applies the appropriate distribution order. Social Security benefits can be entered as current dollar estimates with a specified estimate year, claim year estimates, or already-received benefits, and projected COLAs are applied based on historical data or custom rates. Medicare costs are initially modeled with a simple deterministic approach, but users can add detailed inputs for Part B, IRMAA, Part D, and out-of-pocket expenses. Multiple economic scenarios are generated, combining assumptions for inflation, interest rates, and market returns. The planner presents year-by-year projections of income, taxes, savings balances, and spending, enabling users to compare different strategies side by side. Visual summaries help identify years of potential shortfalls or surplus, and the sensitivity to market downturns can be tested. All calculations are performed client-side, and no personal data is stored. It addresses the common challenge of retirement planning: to determine whether accumulated savings and Social Security will support desired spending throughout a long retirement. By incorporating complex tax rules and Medicare premiums, it provides a more realistic picture than simple calculators. The too
- Category
- Education
- Pricing
- Free
Problem solved
Many pre-retirees and retirees struggle to know if their savings will last, considering taxes, healthcare costs, and the best timing for Social Security and IRA withdrawals. This tool fills that gap by allowing them to model detailed scenarios and see year-by-year projections.
Use cases
- Compare Social Security claiming ages (62-70)
- Determine optimal Roth IRA conversion amounts and years
- Assess the impact of different market return scenarios on portfolio longevity
- Project future tax liabilities including IRMAA thresholds
- Run 'what if' analyses for spending changes or one-time expenses
- Estimate required savings needed to maintain lifestyle
Audience
- Business Users
Pros
- Free to use with no account required
- Comprehensive modeling of tax, Social Security, and Medicare rules
- Side-by-side scenario comparisons
- Detailed year-by-year breakdown
- Client-side processing ensures data privacy
Cons
- Limited to U.S. tax and retirement system
- No Monte Carlo simulation or stochastic modeling
- Manual input required for many parameters; not linked to actual accounts
- Medicare cost modeling may require advanced knowledge
- No mobile app
Official website: https://www.retirement-income-planner.com/
Canonical LambdaBase page: https://www.lambdabase.com/tools/retirement-income-planner