Anyone use a retirement planner/calculator that they would recommend?

[Frwinkley]

We are 3 years away from retirement. We are fine financially. I'm looking for some more detailed planners/calculators that might include things like Roth conversion strategies, taxes when it's time for RMDs, etc.

Does anyone have one they use and like? It doesn't have to be free; I would like one where I'm not required to link all of my accounts. I've explored New Retirement, liked it and it gets great reviews. Personal Capital is another I've looked at, but to be most effective, you should link all your accounts. I'd rather not get hounded to use any of their add-in services.

Any suggestions?

 

[tvguy]

Well, my Financial Advisor uses the Envision planner system. I think you need more than a calculator. You need a Financial Advisor. We retired six months ago and the things you are talking about in part were done 30 years ago. Certainly Congress has changed laws over that time, so the plan has changed. For example, Roth conversions did not exist back then (and made zero sense in our situation). And our tax strategy has been the same from the start. Have retirement funds invested in a way that minimize taxes, hopefully when RMDs start, to level we don't have to pay any taxes. We used the same financial planner my mom used, and her plan was the structured the same way. 27 of the 28 years she was retired she didn't have enough taxable income to even file a return.

 

[2China2009]

Dave Ramsey.

 

[2TxAgs]

I spend time at the early retirement now website...they have FireCalc, but I've seen many recommendations for i-orp, so that may be worth checking as well.

 

[DVCMAUREEN]

A colleague just recommended to me the Personal Capital calculator and the New Retirement calculator. I didn't want to provide too much personal info so leaning toward New Retirement. My colleague ended up upgrading to the $95 New Retirement option. I'm considering New Retirement because I have a pension and different types of investments with different withdrawal dates and my coworker said New Retirement could handle that.

 

[Frwinkley]

OP here: That’s the one I went with too for the very same reasons. I didn’t want to link all of accounts. The upgrade is nice. I too will have a pension. It lets you see possible Roth conversions, RMD amounts, etc. To me, it’s worth $96 a year.

 

[tvguy]

OP here: That’s the one I went with too for the very same reasons. I didn’t want to link all of accounts. The upgrade is nice. I too will have a pension. It lets you see possible Roth conversions, RMD amounts, etc. To me, it’s worth $96 a year.

Interesting. Linking our accounts was kind of important for us to see our total financial picture. We won't be touching Social Security until full retirement age in about 16 months so we are living on a combo of 401k money, IRA money and regular savings. Wow, you guys are lucky to have a pension. I was surprised to discover I had one. I had an option of $28 a month or cashing it in. I cashed it in!

 

[Frwinkley]

I basically just inputted all of our information manually. Same difference I suppose.

 

[bearzabout]

Look into changing your status from retiree to landlord. The continuous stream of rental income in retirement can really make a difference. Like all real estate, try to get it paid off before retirement. Sure we have to pay income taxes, but having a steady stream of income that goes up with inflation that will pay out for the rest of our lives is very comforting.

 

[tvguy]

Look into changing your status from retiree to landlord. The continuous stream of rental income in retirement can really make a difference. Like all real estate, try to get it paid off before retirement. Sure we have to pay income taxes, but having a steady stream of income that goes up with inflation that will pay out for the rest of our lives is very comforting.

You also have a steady stream of bills and headaches. We inherited two houses and toyed with keeping them as rentals. No way. I have enough trouble maintaining my residence, let alone a rental that is likely going to have more wear and tear. New roof? $20,000. New HVAC? $13,000. New Water heater, $2,000. Cost of evicting a bad tenant? $5,000.

 

[Frwinkley]

You also have a steady stream of bills and headaches. We inherited two houses and toyed with keeping them as rentals. No way. I have enough trouble maintaining my residence, let alone a rental that is likely going to have more wear and tear. New roof? $20,000. New HVAC? $13,000. New Water heater, $2,000. Cost of evicting a bad tenant? $5,000.

I'm with you on this one! Maintaining one home is enough for us. Even the thought of buying a vacation home gives my DH panic attacks. Way too much stress for his OCD personality....he'd be the first to admit that too!