What will it taketo retire?

Change Log

New features, enhancements, and bug fixes.

Planner layout

Keep navigation readable on narrower and zoomed screens

Fixed

  • Fixed a screen-width gap that scattered the planner navigation and displayed a duplicate logo. The compact step navigation now covers every screen narrower than the desktop sidebar layout.
Result context

Show the size and timing of modeled shortfalls—not only pass or fail

Results now keep the strict all-years-funded test while adding a transparent companion measure based on actual annual spending gaps.

New

  • Plan fulfillment shows the average share of lifetime retirement spending funded across every modeled market path.
  • When paths fall short, the overview shows the typical first shortfall age, average number of affected years, and average annual unfunded amount.
  • The headline result now links directly to the three market lenses: possible future returns, actual historical retirement periods, and remixed chapters of market history.

Improved

  • The result language distinguishes a path with a small late shortfall from one with an early, persistent gap.
  • A two-level funding visual separates paths that were fully funded from the share of lifetime spending funded within paths that experienced a shortfall.
  • Entered home, property, and physical-asset values are shown prominently as potential backstops while remaining outside the tested investable portfolio.
  • The early-retirement bridge now explains why account access matters, which ages are tested, what money is available, and how a representative estimate differs from the 10,000-path result.

Fixed

  • The yearly money-flow graphic now adapts to the width of the results workspace so income and expense cards remain fully visible on narrower laptop screens.
  • The bridge calculation now visibly includes retirement money that becomes accessible when an account owner reaches the modeled access age, so the displayed amounts reconcile.

Calculation detail

  • The original Monte Carlo result is unchanged: a path passes only when every scheduled retirement year is fully funded.
  • Plan fulfillment divides actual funded dollars by total planned spending across each path, then averages the path-level results. It is not another probability and does not use mortality weighting.
Guided setup

Reveal the retirement setup one decision at a time

The opening steps now reveal household details, timelines, accounts, and projections in the order they are needed.

Improved

  • Step 1 begins with one household question, then reveals the appropriate timeline fields after the choice is made.
  • The life map appears as a review after the required timeline details are complete, and saved plans reopen at that review.
  • Step 2 now collects account balances and planned savings before showing how today's savings may become the estimated retirement-start portfolio.
  • Opening an account's details now moves the view to the beginning of that account section instead of leaving the user below it.
  • The analysis screen now shows its actual completed percentage and names the work in progress, including portfolio simulations, historical market checks, and target-portfolio estimates.
Life-first planner

Make the retirement plan easier to understand and navigate

The planner now presents the same detailed calculation as six clearer life decisions, with larger type, visual timelines, progressive detail, and immediate summaries.

Improved

  • A visual life map connects retirement, Medicare, Social Security, required withdrawals, and the planning horizon for each household member.
  • Today's accounts, future savings, retirement life periods, one-time plans, portfolio choices, and results now follow one consistent chapter-based design.
  • Detailed settings remain available when needed, while the first view of each step focuses on the essential decisions.
  • Expense editing now uses a clearer monthly calculator inside each retirement life period, and the selected retirement age becomes the first year of the first life period.
  • Healthcare and college-cost estimators now use larger type, live funding visuals, clearer timelines, and progressively revealed detail.
  • The stable-reserve ladder now provides selectable maturity-year rungs, Treasury-versus-TIPS illustrations, account-location guidance, and a downloadable implementation worksheet.
  • Results preserve the full What-if Lab, historical market tests, tax and Medicare views, account-funding pathways, exports, and action plan.

Fixed

  • Changing retirement from age 60 to an earlier age now rebuilds suggested life periods from the entered retirement age while keeping Medicare and later-life milestones at their actual ages.
  • Step 3 now shows the suggested life-period cards on mobile and desktop for older and Quick Start plans that were saved with the retired flat-expense setting.
Annual account funding

Show which accounts fund each retirement year

The analysis now records the account category used for each year and can compare four funding pathways against exactly the same modeled market futures.

New

  • A year slider shows how entered retirement income and withdrawals from bank cash, brokerage, traditional retirement, Roth, HSA, and other accounts combine.
  • An expandable schedule shows the typical account source and remaining balances for every modeled year.
  • Standard, lower-bracket-aware, Marketplace-aware, and Medicare-aware pathways can be compared before applying one to the next analysis.

Important calculation changes

  • Every pathway runs inside every market path and continues to enforce account-owner ages, confirmed early access, qualified HSA spending, education-only 529 spending, required withdrawals, taxes, Marketplace income, and Medicare's two-year lookback.
  • The comparison shows lifetime estimated tax, Marketplace premium help, Medicare income effects, plan success, ending wealth, and remaining traditional and Roth balances.
  • Required withdrawals not needed for spending are reinvested in the modeled taxable account rather than mislabeled as household spending.

Review boundary

  • The app identifies Roth five-year rules, inherited-account schedules, workplace-plan exceptions, specific tax lots, capital-loss carryforwards, and provider restrictions as details to verify before acting.
Annual rule governance

Version and review the federal planning rules as one controlled release

Federal tax, Marketplace, Medicare, Social Security-taxation, and required-withdrawal reference values now come from one dated registry with official sources and an annual expiration check.

Improved

  • Every new analysis and export identifies the exact planning-rule version and the date it was verified.
  • The Methodology page links each rule family to its official IRS, CMS, SSA, or HHS source.
  • Medicare education and new healthcare estimates now use the registry's exact $202.90 standard 2026 Part B monthly premium rather than a rounded $203 starting value.
  • Older 2026 plan files remain compatible and automatically resolve to the reviewed 2026 registry.

Annual safeguard

  • The planner warns as the scheduled annual review approaches.
  • New analyses pause after the registry expires instead of silently treating an old year's thresholds as current.
  • Boundary tests cover federal tax brackets, ACA poverty guidelines, Medicare income tiers, and required-withdrawal divisors.
Results explanation

Show what builds—or reduces—withdrawals from investments

A new visual bridge connects total retirement costs, entered retirement income, and the amount representative modeled years withdraw from accessible investments.

New

  • Results now show costs, Social Security and other entered income, and investment withdrawals in one progressive visual.
  • Estimated taxes, separately modeled healthcare costs, and one-time spending are identified without pretending each item caused an exact change in the success percentage.
  • Already-retired plans explicitly state that the analysis begins at today's age and does not replay completed retirement years.

Verification

  • The exported plan report includes the same withdrawal explanation and its calculation boundary.
  • Additional regression coverage confirms that active Social Security and pensions begin immediately, completed working years are not replayed, and a still-working spouse's pay and savings stop at that person's retirement age.
Already-retired households

Begin a retirement plan after retirement has already started

People who retired recently—or years ago—can now begin the analysis with today's age, balances, expenses, and income instead of entering a future retirement date.

Improved

  • “Working,” “Already retired,” and “Not currently working” are now separate choices for each household member.
  • An already-retired person can record the age when work ended while the calculation begins in the current year.
  • Quick Start also supports people who are already retired and asks for investments and savings held today.

Calculation detail

  • The planner does not replay completed retirement years or add contributions for them.
  • A spouse or partner who is still working can continue to contribute savings and receive entered work income until that person's own retirement age.
  • Current balances, retirement income already in payment, healthcare, taxes, account-access rules, and remaining life periods begin from today.
Expenses and account access

Treat fixed mortgage payments and early account access explicitly

The retirement calculation now distinguishes a fixed mortgage payment from housing costs that rise with inflation and prevents inaccessible retirement money from silently funding early-retirement spending.

Fixed-dollar expenses

  • Entered mortgage principal and interest remains the same dollar payment through the entered payoff age, so its burden falls in today's purchasing power as inflation accumulates.
  • Property tax, homeowners insurance, utilities, maintenance, and other housing expenses continue with general inflation.
  • The mortgage payment is removed beginning at the entered payoff age.

Account access

  • Every modeled market path now limits general spending before age 59½ to cash, taxable or unrestricted investments, and retirement-account amounts explicitly confirmed as accessible.
  • Access follows the age of the account's actual owner; the annual model conservatively treats ordinary retirement-account access as beginning at calendar age 60.
  • HSA money is limited to entered healthcare costs, 529 money is limited to entered education costs, and Roth conversions are not treated as new spendable cash.

Verification

  • New tests cover fixed-payment purchasing power, inaccessible early-retirement balances, confirmed bridge amounts, spouse-owned accounts, purpose-restricted HSA and 529 spending, unrestricted investments, and conversion timing.
  • The healthcare and education categories are planning proxies; actual tax qualification, plan-specific exceptions, and additional taxes still require verification with the account provider or a qualified tax professional.
Calculation audit

Correct household, inflation, and federal-tax edge cases

A full calculation review added independent reconciliation tests and corrected several cases that could affect a household's results or the amounts shown in supporting charts.

Fixed

  • Historical and remixed-history tests now continue through the later ending year entered for either household member.
  • Existing investments owned by someone who is already retired continue growing until the household retirement analysis begins; only new contributions stop with that person's working years.
  • Fixed-dollar pensions, annuities, and QLAC payments now lose purchasing power using cumulative inflation along each historical path rather than repeating one year's inflation rate.
  • The taxable Social Security calculation now follows the IRS worksheet when half of a modest benefit is below the normal upper-threshold amount.
  • The highest 2026 Medicare income tier now begins exactly at the published $500,000 single and $750,000 joint thresholds.
  • A Marketplace household quote now keeps dependent children included in the premium instead of counting only the modeled adults.
  • The first required-withdrawal age now names the age of the actual account owner rather than the primary person's age in that year.
  • The yearly outflow chart now includes separately modeled pre-Medicare insurance premiums and other coverage costs.
  • The pre-retirement equation now shows an estimated investment loss when the entered return is below inflation instead of forcing that component to zero.

Tax calculation

  • The federal estimate now includes the ordinary age-65 standard-deduction addition.
  • The temporary enhanced senior deduction is included only in eligible modeled years from 2025 through 2028, with its income phaseout.
  • These deductions lower estimated federal taxable income without incorrectly lowering Marketplace or Medicare income.

Verification

  • New tests reconcile zero-return cash flows dollar for dollar, verify tax gross-ups, and confirm that more assets or income cannot worsen an otherwise identical tax-free plan while more spending cannot improve it.
  • The full household, tax, healthcare, portfolio, historical, and Monte Carlo regression suite is rerun for this release.
Early-retirement access

Separate portfolio longevity from whether early retirees can reach the money

Plans beginning before age 60 now include an explicit bridge check, while Roth conversions and other recurring income receive clearer timing and tax treatment.

New

  • A before-age-59½ result compares middle modeled withdrawals with cash, taxable investments, and any additional amount the user has confirmed is accessible.
  • Account details allow an early retiree to identify a verified accessible portion of a Roth or workplace retirement account without assuming the entire account is available.
  • The plan review flags an early-access gap even when the full portfolio has a strong modeled longevity result.

Important calculation changes

  • A manual Roth conversion now runs only between the entered beginning and ending ages; it no longer repeats automatically for every remaining year.
  • Other recurring income can be identified as spendable ordinary income, a spendable long-term taxable gain, or growth that remains inside an IRA or retirement account.
  • Growth inside a retirement account is no longer added a second time as household cash or current taxable income. Spendable long-term gains are included in cash flow and estimated with capital-gain tax treatment.

Important boundary

  • The access check is shown separately and does not yet prevent the Monte Carlo engine from drawing a retirement account before age 59½. A warning therefore requires a verified access strategy before acting.
  • HSA money is not counted as general spending money because it is reserved for qualified healthcare expenses.
Clearer results

Separate understanding, testing, and next decisions

The Results journey now gives each view one job instead of repeating the same planning levers in several places.

Improved

  • Overview now explains the first retirement-year withdrawal, when later income reduces withdrawals, and the portfolio associated with the selected planning target.
  • The interactive spending-guardrail comparison now lives in the What-if Lab with the other experiments.
  • Compare changes focuses on saved analyses and tested portfolio comparisons instead of repeating a generic action catalog.
  • A dedicated Your plan step now translates the completed analysis into household-specific questions and answers before Next steps.
  • Next steps shows no more than three personalized priorities and retains the printable one-page action sheet.
  • The tax and withdrawal map now appears with Tax & Medicare, while its detailed explanations open in the right-side Help panel.
  • Assets deliberately excluded from the success rate are now identified in a more prominent callout so the extra cushion is not mistaken for a missing calculation.
  • Plan details and methods remain available as a secondary reference instead of competing with the guided Results journey.

Simplified

  • Removed the repeated four-card decision map, six-lever catalog, duplicate guardrail explanation, generic contingency cards, duplicate action-button row, and the separate tax-help column inside the report.
Financial picture

Connect today's accounts, ongoing savings, and retirement balances in one view

Each account now shows what is saved today, what may be added while its owner is working, and the estimated balance when retirement begins.

Improved

  • Removed the separate “today” and “at retirement” entry modes.
  • Account details reveal yearly personal savings, applicable employer savings, the expected return, owner, and tax treatment only when reviewed.
  • Added 403(b), governmental 457(b), TSP, Solo 401(k), SEP IRA, and SIMPLE IRA choices, plus a configurable Other account.
  • A direct retirement-start estimate is now an optional override inside each account instead of a separate workflow.
  • Lower- and higher-growth amounts are shown on a single reference range rather than as selectable-looking choices.
  • The plan-wide inflation assumption is editable and explained in contextual Help.
  • Market stress now follows the Overview, before the What-if Lab, so historical outcomes provide context before users test plan changes.
  • A short interpretation explains when both history-based tests are materially stronger or weaker than the forward-looking result.
  • The three portfolio comparisons remain contained and readable in the results workspace at narrower desktop widths.

Calculation detail

  • Ongoing savings are projected to the household retirement start, or stop earlier if the account owner has already retired.
  • The selected account label is preserved while its tax, required-withdrawal, and Roth treatment maps to the closest modeled account category.
  • The retirement-start balances used by the analysis update automatically when today's balance, savings, owner timeline, return, or inflation assumption changes.
Clearer setup

Separate today's savings from retirement-start estimates

The financial-picture and retirement-expense steps now ask one question at a time without mixing balances from different years.

Improved

  • The financial-picture step now moves through ongoing savings, balances held today, and the estimated account values at retirement.
  • Expected investment returns are entered before inflation; the planner removes its inflation assumption automatically for the accumulation estimate.
  • The separate one-month expense setup screen was removed. New plans begin with a clearly identified $100,000 annual placeholder and editable retirement life periods.
  • Later placeholder periods begin 10% below the preceding period, while visible Medicare, mortgage, and later-retirement markers explain why each period exists.
  • The period-name field remains limited to 30 characters and now uses a matching compact width.

Calculation detail

  • The retirement analysis still uses the account balances shown after the retirement projection is applied.
  • Must-pay and flexible expenses remain editable because the optional difficult-market spending comparison may reduce only flexible expenses.
  • Existing saved life periods and account balances are not replaced.
Results accuracy

Stop showing a false “plan changed” notice

Opening or reviewing Results no longer makes an unchanged plan appear out of date.

Fixed

  • Medicare lookback-income estimates are now prepared before an analysis begins instead of being silently added after Results opens.
  • The completed result and the saved inputs therefore start from the same values, while a genuine user edit still prompts a new analysis.
Social Security education

Move the spouse-benefit explainer out of the income form

The retirement-income workspace now stays focused on the numbers being entered, while Help and Education explain how a person's own and spouse Social Security benefits fit together.

Improved

  • Removed the three-example Social Security explainer from the middle planning pane.
  • Added a dedicated Help topic with the same examples, clear entry guidance, and official Social Security sources.
  • Added a progressive Education lesson covering the spouse top-up, claiming age, delayed benefits, filing rules, and the separate survivor-benefit calculation.
Connected education

Continue from a planner question into the exact lesson that explains it

The planner now keeps answers brief while the Education hub holds the fuller explanation, examples, exceptions, and sources.

Added

  • Every detailed planner-help topic now links directly to its most relevant lesson.
  • New lessons explain the household retirement timeline, one-time expenses and income, using home equity in a plan, and how to interpret many possible market futures.
  • Direct lesson links choose the correct life stage, open the requested lesson, and preserve the hub's simple Start here, Go deeper, and Advanced details structure.
  • A visual guide on the Education home page connects Timeline, Accounts, Life periods, One-time plans, and Results.
Contextual help

Keep the planner focused while making detailed explanations easier to find

Long educational sections have moved out of the main planning workspace and into help that follows the current step.

Improved

  • Every planner step now has specific help topics for its unfamiliar terms and decisions.
  • Account, expense, one-time-plan, portfolio, market-test, and tax explanations are available without extending the input page.
  • On smaller screens, contextual help opens from a compact Help button instead of occupying the top of the page.
  • Inputs, important warnings, calculated summaries, charts, and personalized results remain in the main workspace.
Account ownership

Keep the account-owner review consistent with the displayed choices

Fixed a false warning that could say an account owner was missing even after every visible account showed an owner.

Fixed

  • Older saved and imported plans now store the same default owner shown in the account selector.
  • Automatically added retirement savings now include an owner.
  • Context-only assets no longer trigger an ownership warning for the investable portfolio.
Today's portfolio first

Connect today's investments before describing retirement spending

The planner now moves from the household timeline directly to today's accounts and savings, then to retirement expenses, income, and one-time plans.

Improved

  • The six-step navigation, Continue and Back actions, imported-plan review, help panel, and on-screen references now follow the new order.
  • The financial-picture step starts with today's account balances and ongoing additions instead of requiring a choice between two entry modes.
  • A compact alternative remains for users who already know their account balances at retirement.
  • A new visual equation separates investments already saved, future employee and employer additions, and estimated investment growth.

Calculation detail

  • Salary is not added to the portfolio. Only entered savings, employer contributions, and modeled investment growth build the retirement-start estimate.
  • Saved plans and the retirement analysis are unchanged; this release changes the workflow and explains the accumulation math more clearly.
Medical reserve and life periods

Keep expensive-care money ready without treating it as a yearly bill

An entered in-network out-of-pocket maximum now helps size the cash-like reserve, while the retirement life-period editor has a clearer visual hierarchy.

Calculation change

  • The guided portfolio reserve includes enough additional money to bring two expensive medical years up to the largest out-of-pocket maximum entered across active retirement life periods.
  • New family healthcare estimates begin with a clearly labeled $12,000 family OOP-maximum placeholder. It changes the plan only if the estimate is applied, and users are prompted to replace it with their insurance plan's number.
  • Routine prescriptions, visits, deductibles, and copays already in annual expenses are counted first, avoiding a duplicate reserve for the same costs.
  • This amount changes the recommended cash-like allocation but is not charged as annual spending. A separate healthcare stress test is still required to assume the money is actually spent.

Improved

  • The healthcare field now pairs the familiar “Family OOP maximum” term with a plain explanation of what the number means.
  • Expanded life-period details are indented inside the selected period and use its matching color.
  • The duplicate period number was removed from the editor.
  • Life periods now alternate between calm sage-gray and blue-gray treatments; amber remains reserved for editable suggestions.
  • Editable amounts, rates, and percentages now accept and display no more than two decimal places. Ages, calendar years, and counts remain whole numbers.
New planner experience

A clearer workspace for the complete retirement plan

The approved V3 design now surrounds the real planner, with focused navigation, a larger central workspace, and help that changes with each step.

Improved

  • A desktop step rail keeps the six-part journey visible without competing with the current question.
  • A blue help panel explains the purpose of each step, why the information matters, and what to check before continuing.
  • On smaller screens, the step rail becomes a compact horizontal navigator and the help panel becomes a short summary.
  • The full existing planner—including healthcare, tax planning, portfolio testing, What-if Lab, exports, and results—remains connected to one set of saved inputs.

Calculation detail

  • No retirement calculation or saved input was replaced by a mock value.
  • The V3 interface uses the same tested calculation engine, household timelines, market paths, taxes, healthcare costs, and selected portfolio as the prior interface.
Healthcare by life period

Build a healthcare estimate for one life period at a time

The healthcare estimate opened from a life period now stays attached to that period instead of unexpectedly changing the full retirement timeline.

Improved

  • Choose a Quick estimate or a Detailed estimate without leaving the selected life period.
  • The Detailed path now asks four focused questions: people included, insurance premium, other care costs, and final review.
  • Every screen repeats the life-period name and ages, and the final action states exactly which period will change.
  • Insurance changes across all retirement years remain available as a clearly separate optional planner.

Calculation detail

  • Applying a Quick or Detailed estimate changes only the selected life period.
  • If an all-years insurance plan is already connected, its age-specific premiums remain separate so a premium is not counted twice.
Simpler expense and income workflow

Complete Step 2 through three smaller decisions

Life periods, retirement income, and the final review now appear one at a time instead of forming one long page.

Improved

  • A compact progress line shows where the user is within Step 2.
  • Completed life periods remain collapsed until the user chooses to review one.
  • Every life period now has a clearly labeled Delete action.
  • A final visual check shows starting expenses, ongoing income, and the amount left for investments to fund.

Simplified

  • Removed the separate Optional healthcare estimate capsule.
  • Healthcare estimates remain available inside every life period. A connected advanced plan appears as a small status link instead of another section.
  • A short explanation distinguishes retirement life periods from the before-retirement nest-egg projection in Step 4.
HSA and Medicare

See what changes—and what does not—when Medicare begins

The Medicare lesson now explains when HSA contributions must stop and which Medicare and healthcare bills existing HSA money can generally pay.

Added

  • Visual paths for starting Medicare at 65, enrolling later, and spouses starting Medicare at different times.
  • A selectable bill checker covering Part B, Part D, Medicare Advantage, Medigap, routine care, dental, vision, hearing, and long-term care.
  • A warning about retroactive Part A coverage and excess HSA contributions.

Clarified

  • Medicare stops new HSA contributions; it does not close or take away the existing account.
  • Medigap premiums are not qualified HSA expenses.
Interactive Medicare education

See how Medicare's parts, costs, and coverage gaps fit together

A new visual lesson explains Parts A, B, C, and D, compares Original Medicare with Medicare Advantage, and turns health events into specific coverage questions.

Added

  • A five-step lesson that reveals Medicare decisions gradually.
  • An editable 2026 budget separating regular premium bills from money kept available for a difficult medical year.
  • Interactive examples for cardiovascular care, hip fracture, cancer treatment, osteoporosis, dentures, and hearing aids.
  • Plain-language reminders about provider networks, drug lists, Medigap timing, IRMAA, enrollment penalties, and long-term care.

Clarified

  • Part C is an alternative way to receive Parts A and B—not a fourth layer added to Original Medicare.
  • Part D is optional, but a long gap without creditable drug coverage can lead to a lasting penalty.
  • A medical out-of-pocket limit does not include every healthcare expense.
Simple and advanced healthcare planning

Start with two healthcare numbers—or open a detailed plan

Healthcare planning now starts with a Simple estimate for the selected life period. Advanced planning remains available for coverage changes, Marketplace savings, Medicare, income-related Medicare charges, and difficult healthcare years.

Improved

  • The Simple estimate asks only for the household's monthly insurance premium and other monthly healthcare costs.
  • The Healthcare row inside each period's monthly-expense editor now opens the estimate for those ages.
  • Each life period shows which healthcare estimate controls its amount.
  • Advanced planning is revealed only when requested and keeps its six short, guided steps.
  • The annual expense checklist no longer asks users to build an age-specific healthcare plan before their retirement periods exist.
  • The Add another life period action now appears after the existing periods, where users naturally need it.

Calculation detail

  • A Simple estimate replaces the rough healthcare amount only for the selected life period.
  • An Advanced plan replaces healthcare across all life periods, then adds insurance and Medicare premiums only at the ages entered.
  • The monthly-expense editor identifies and protects the controlling healthcare estimate so the same cost is not counted twice.
Family insurance premiums

Show who an insurance premium covers—and count it once

The healthcare planner now separates each person's coverage path from the number of people included in a single insurance premium.

Improved

  • Workplace, retiree, COBRA, and private-plan entries now ask whether the premium covers one person, both adults, or the whole family.
  • Simple people icons and plain labels make the premium's coverage immediately visible.
  • A family selection also records that children or other dependents are included in the family price.

Calculation fix

  • When two adult coverage paths point to the same couple or family premium, that premium is included only once in each applicable year.
  • Costs paid when care is used remain separate because those costs can differ by person.
Healthcare planner fix

Open the healthcare estimate without losing the planner screen

Fixed a launch error that could show a blank screen after selecting “Build a healthcare estimate” from the annual expense calculator.

Fixed

  • The annual expense calculator now opens the healthcare planner without mistaking the button click for a Life Period.
  • Life Period context appears only when the planner was intentionally opened from a valid period.
Household healthcare map

Build each person's insurance path one step at a time

The healthcare planner now shows one household member at a time, identifies uncovered ages, and asks only the next question needed to complete that person's path.

Improved

  • The planner begins with who needs healthcare, then separates insurance premiums from prescriptions, visits, deductibles, copays, and other costs paid when care is used.
  • A visual age strip distinguishes covered years, missing years, and overlapping insurance entries before Medicare.
  • Saved insurance periods stay compact until the user chooses to edit the source, yearly premium, or ages.
  • Children and other dependents now have a clear coverage choice: included in a family price, possibly covered by Medicaid or CHIP, covered elsewhere, or not checked yet.
  • The final review warns when an adult year or dependent coverage choice still needs attention.

Calculation detail

  • Adult premiums continue to apply only to the person and ages entered. A household Marketplace quote is still counted once.
  • Selecting a dependent coverage source does not assume eligibility or invent a cost. If dependents are included in a family price, that price should already include them.
Marketplace income planning

Estimate the income a Marketplace application may count

The planner now turns the retirement plan into a year-by-year Marketplace income estimate and can compare a lower-income account-withdrawal order before the user applies it.

New

  • Each Marketplace coverage year shows a middle estimated income amount and the range produced by the tested market paths.
  • Optional detail explains how interest, dividends, gains sold, traditional-account withdrawals, Roth conversions, Social Security, pensions, work, and other entered income build the estimate.
  • A current-reference check distinguishes the premium-credit range, the Silver-plan range where deductible and copay savings may be available, and income below the usual federal credit range.
  • An optional comparison tests the same market paths using cash, qualified HSA withdrawals, and eligible Roth withdrawals before creating additional taxable investment gains or traditional-account income during Marketplace years.

Calculation detail

  • The comparison does not suppress income already being paid and does not avoid required withdrawals.
  • The alternative withdrawal order is never applied automatically. The result also shows estimated lifetime taxes, retirement funding success, and the middle ending portfolio so users can see the tradeoffs.
  • Before age 60, the comparison does not move Roth accounts ahead of taxable and traditional accounts because the planner does not know whether an early Roth withdrawal is qualified.
Marketplace premium entry

Copy two monthly numbers instead of translating Marketplace terms

The healthcare planner now accepts the price and savings exactly as they appear on the second Silver plan, then performs the yearly calculation automatically.

Improved

  • Users enter only “monthly price after savings” and “monthly savings shown.”
  • The planner adds the two numbers and converts the result to a yearly household premium.
  • The same household price is counted only once when both spouses need Marketplace insurance.
  • A short check confirms that the quote came from the second Silver plan after sorting by monthly price.

Calculation fix

  • Marketplace premiums are now treated as one household quote instead of being repeated for every covered spouse.
  • If only one of the quoted household members remains covered in a later year, the estimate uses a proportional share of the household price.
Lifetime expense timeline

Start with realistic retirement phases instead of one unchanging expense

Step 2 now builds an editable lifetime timeline from the household's retirement ages, Medicare timing, mortgage payoff, and later-retirement years.

New

  • A guided timeline begins with suggested periods for active retirement, the years before and after Medicare, a possible mortgage payoff, and later retirement.
  • A compact table lets experienced users scan and edit several periods at once, while the guided view reveals one period at a time.
  • Each life period can open the monthly expense builder or connected healthcare planner with the period name and ages visible.

Calculation detail

  • Mortgage-free years remove only the entered principal-and-interest payment. If that amount is unknown, the starting estimate uses half of Housing and keeps the other half for property tax, insurance, and maintenance.
  • The later-retirement estimate lowers travel by 25%, transportation by 10%, and food and daily living by 5%. All suggested amounts remain editable.
  • New periods inherit the previous period's expense details. Changing routine healthcare updates compatible period estimates without overwriting a period that the user customized separately.
Healthcare stress test

Test a difficult healthcare period without changing the regular estimate

The connected healthcare planner can now add one clearly defined medical setback while keeping routine care, insurance premiums, and Medicare premiums separate.

New

  • An optional fifth planner step can test one high-cost medical year, several years of expensive care, or long-term help with daily living.
  • The user chooses the person, starting age, yearly cost, and duration. A long-term-care test can also subtract entered insurance benefits or household expenses that would stop.
  • A review summary shows the selected person, ages, yearly added cost, and total added cost before anything is applied.
  • The interactive healthcare lesson now includes a visual cost-shock exercise and plain-language explanations of out-of-pocket limits and long-term care.

Calculation detail

  • The selected extra cost is added as a healthcare expense, increased using the healthcare inflation assumption, and included in every tested market path.
  • The cost follows the selected person's age and modeled lifetime. No medical setback is added unless the user explicitly selects one.
Connected healthcare planner

Build a healthcare estimate without counting the same cost twice

Step 2 now offers an optional guided planner and a connected visual lesson while keeping the original single Healthcare amount available for a quick first pass.

New

  • A four-step planner identifies how many people the estimate covers, then separates routine care, insurance before Medicare, possible cost-saving programs, and regular Medicare premiums.
  • An optional lower-cost review explains how Marketplace premium help, Medicaid, CHIP, qualifying Silver plans, and Medicare may apply to different household members.
  • A five-part interactive Education lesson uses household, income, program, and yearly-review visuals to explain the same decisions without crowding the planner.
  • Current workplace coverage and former-employer or union retiree coverage are now distinct choices.
  • A high-cost-year reserve can be based on the health plan's family out-of-pocket maximum without automatically treating that limit as an annual bill.
  • A visual review shows the insurance periods entered for each household member and calls out ages with no separate insurance premium.

Improved

  • A brief check before the first analysis calls out likely omissions—such as unreviewed healthcare, missing Social Security, or unchanged housing costs—without forcing every optional input.
  • Dependent coverage guidance now separates children under age 19, young adults ages 19–25, and people age 26 or older instead of using one ambiguous “Children” label.
  • When Marketplace coverage spans more than one period, the review says the premium varies by year rather than adding unrelated yearly premiums together.

Calculation detail

  • Routine care continues through retirement using the healthcare inflation assumption.
  • Before-Medicare premiums apply only to the person and ages entered. Medicare and supplemental-plan premiums begin at the age entered for each person.
  • Income-related Medicare additions and estimated Marketplace savings remain calculated separately so they are not included twice.
Health-insurance setup

Ask about insurance before Medicare while the plan is being built

People retiring before age 65 no longer need to discover the healthcare planner after seeing their results.

Improved

  • Step 2 now identifies every household member with years between retirement and Medicare and shows exactly which ages still need an insurance plan.
  • People choose the insurance source first; premium, timing, and Marketplace benchmark fields appear only when relevant.
  • A visible reminder separates insurance premiums from deductibles, copays, prescriptions, and routine healthcare expenses to reduce double counting.

Calculation detail

  • The entered premium is included in every applicable market path. Marketplace household income continues to include taxable investment income, gains sold, traditional-account withdrawals, Roth conversions, and taxable Social Security.
  • No separate pre-Medicare insurance premium is assumed for a missing year; Step 2 now warns about that omission before the first analysis.
Personalized changing portfolio

Let different parts of the portfolio reflect when the household may need them

The guided starting portfolio now sizes its stable and growth portions from entered required expenses, retirement income, one-time amounts, household timing, and the near-term reserve need.

New

  • A visible start-to-later path shows whether the stock share stays steady or changes gradually after Social Security, pension, annuity, or QLAC income begins covering most required expenses.
  • The Results comparison tests the personalized path beside fixed Conservative and Growth benchmarks using the same life plan and market paths.
  • The starting mix is translated into an estimated tax-aware placement across the accounts already entered before market testing begins.

Calculation changes

  • The later stock increase is allowed only when at least ten modeled years remain, qualifying retirement income covers at least 70% of required expenses across the review window, and no reviewed year falls below 50% coverage.
  • The income-coverage review now follows the full household horizon and stops person-owned income at that person's plan-through age.
  • When stocks rise gradually, the easy-access reserve and gold stay fixed while the Treasury and TIPS share becomes smaller.

Improved

  • The portfolio screen explains the order clearly: total the accounts, apply the plan-specific mix, place the mix across account types, and only then test possible market paths.
  • Plain-language labels distinguish the personalized changing portfolio from the two fixed reference portfolios.
Household integration audit

Keep both people aligned through taxes, healthcare, survivor years, and reports

A calculation and reporting audit now follows each person's age, account ownership, income, Medicare timing, and healthcare coverage through the same calendar-year household model.

Fixed

  • Health-insurance periods for two different people no longer appear as an invalid overlap simply because their ages coincide.
  • Automatic Roth-conversion estimates now protect Marketplace coverage and Medicare income limits based on the household member actually affected—not only the primary person's age.
  • Household-level income entered in the yearly view remains available in survivor years; person-owned Social Security continues to follow the applicable person.

Improved

  • The printable report and Markdown export now show both timelines, account owners, survivor-spending treatment, and household-specific Medicare handling.
  • Tax limitations now call out the assumed spouse rollover treatment, still-working workplace-plan exception, and filing-status cases that require separate review.
Healthcare before Medicare

Build each person's path to Medicare one decision at a time

The before-Medicare healthcare planner now starts with a visual household timeline and reveals cost, timing, and Marketplace details only when they are relevant.

Improved

  • A two-person coverage bridge shows who still needs an insurance plan before Medicare and which ages are missing or overlap.
  • People now choose the insurance source first, then enter only the yearly premium and expected care costs.
  • Coverage dates, benchmark Silver premiums, and Marketplace household settings remain collapsed until someone needs the additional detail.
  • Household costs and Marketplace warnings remain connected to the most recent full analysis.

Calculation detail

  • No healthcare calculation changed in this release. The same person-specific premiums, expected care costs, Marketplace estimates, taxes, and investment income continue to be calculated inside every tested market path.
Household Social Security

Compare two Social Security start dates together

A married household can now compare both people's start ages, see an estimated spouse-benefit top-up, and understand what may remain for a survivor.

New

  • A household comparison shows both benefit start years, monthly income after both people file, and the larger worker benefit that may remain for a survivor.
  • Simple presets compare the entered ages, both people starting at full retirement age, and the person with the larger benefit waiting until age 70.
  • The retirement money-flow visual separates income belonging to you, a spouse or partner, and the household.

Important calculation changes

  • When the household estimate is applied, an estimated spouse-benefit top-up begins only after both people have filed.
  • If one modeled life ends, the analysis removes the spouse top-up and uses the larger eligible worker benefit instead of adding both Social Security checks.

Important boundary

  • The comparison warns when someone plans to work before full retirement age but does not estimate temporary benefit withholding under the Social Security earnings test.
  • It is an educational estimate, not an SSA eligibility or claiming calculation.
Two-person household planning

Model two retirement timelines within one household

Couples can now describe each person's timeline, work income, retirement income, healthcare years, and account ownership while keeping one shared household plan.

New

  • Independent birth, retirement, Medicare, Social Security, pension, annuity, and other-income timelines for both people.
  • The income schedule now separates You, Spouse or partner, and Household/shared income without displaying three long forms at once.
  • If one person continues working after household withdrawals begin, the planner can include that person's pay, employee workplace savings, and employer contributions through their own retirement date.
  • Account ownership can be assigned to you, a spouse or partner, or jointly when the account type permits it.
  • Pre-Medicare healthcare periods can be entered separately for each person.
  • Survivor planning can reflect how household expenses, pensions, and annuities may change if one person deceases during the plan.

Calculation changes

  • Work income is included in gross income for tax estimates. Employee workplace savings reduce spendable pay and are added to that person's Traditional or Roth 401(k); employer contributions are added separately.
  • Work income and workplace savings stop automatically at the applicable person's retirement age.
  • Required withdrawals, QLAC purchases, retirement income, and healthcare timing now follow the applicable person and account owner.
  • QLAC validation checks the selected owner's eligible traditional retirement accounts rather than the household total.

Important boundary

  • The two-person tax estimate currently supports married filing jointly. Separate-return households are identified clearly instead of being silently combined into an inaccurate estimate.

Fixed

  • Editing either person's timeline no longer causes a page error.
  • Partner work-status choices now show only the timeline and income fields relevant to that person.
  • Spouse income start ages are translated to the correct calendar year when the two people have different birth years.
  • Older saved plans that entered spouse income on the primary person's age timeline are converted automatically, preserving the original calendar year.
Housing what-if

A guided sell-and-downsize estimate

The housing What-if now walks from the current home through estimated sale proceeds, a replacement home, and the amount that may remain for retirement.

Improved

  • Current home value, sale age, and a prefilled 3% growth estimate calculate an expected future sale value.
  • Prefilled 6% selling costs, the mortgage expected at sale, and an optional tax estimate show the cash that may remain after the sale.
  • The replacement-home section includes its expected purchase price, moving costs, and ongoing housing costs—including property taxes, insurance, HOA fees, maintenance, utilities, and any mortgage payment.

Calculation detail

  • Future sale and purchase amounts are translated back to today's purchasing power before they enter the retirement analysis, keeping them consistent with the rest of the plan.
  • Only net proceeds after the home sale and replacement purchase are added; the gross home value is never counted as investable retirement money.
Decision workflow

Move from a test to an updated plan

What-if comparisons, savings before retirement, and the investment path now connect more directly to the plan a person can review and rerun.

New

  • Supported What-if results can be applied to the saved plan and fully reanalyzed without clicking back through every planner step.
  • A one-page action sheet gathers the headline result, retirement savings, investment path, near-term reserve, strongest tested lever, and professional-review checklist.
  • The personalized portfolio is shown as a visible start-to-later path when dependable income and the remaining time support a gradual change.

Improved

  • The pre-retirement savings calculator now supports separate account balances, personal and employer additions, yearly increases in savings, and account-specific return assumptions.
  • Working-longer comparisons extend entered savings and employer additions through the later retirement date instead of always holding the retirement portfolio unchanged.

Important boundary

  • Market-crash tests, healthcare stress tests, housing scenarios, and ladder examples remain temporary when applying them automatically would hide important implementation choices.
  • The savings projection is still an estimate: taxes, fees, contribution limits, salary changes, and pre-retirement withdrawals require separate review.
Model review 2026.08

Healthcare, Social Security, taxes, and a more practical stable reserve

This release makes several real retirement decisions visible inside the same plan instead of treating them as disconnected educational notes.

New

  • A pre-Medicare healthcare planner maps insurance and expected costs for every age before 65.
  • A Social Security start-age comparison estimates how a worker benefit changes from ages 62 through 70 using the benefit shown at full retirement age.
  • The stable-reserve builder estimates how much early retirement spending may need protection from stock-market swings.
  • Maturity-year examples now compare U.S. Treasury, TIPS, Vanguard corporate, and iShares corporate bond funds without treating any ticker as a recommendation.
  • An advanced QLAC input records a contract purchase and later taxable income instead of treating it like a normal pension.
  • An existing IUL or other cash-value life-insurance policy can be recorded conservatively, while education explains why policy value is not automatically spendable retirement money.
  • A public What's new page records future material features, calculation changes, and important fixes.

Improved

  • The stable-reserve estimate uses entered expenses, recurring retirement income, estimated taxes, and separately entered pre-Medicare healthcare costs.
  • The reserve is compared with the cash-like, Treasury, and TIPS portions of the portfolio actually tested in the analysis.
  • The tax pathway now gives clearer explanations of Marketplace insurance, Roth conversions, required withdrawals, and Medicare's two-year income review.

Important calculation changes

  • Estimated federal tax, required withdrawals, investment income, Marketplace premium assistance, and income-related Medicare additions are calculated within each tested market path.
  • The analysis applies the recommended or selected portfolio before testing it rather than treating the starting account holdings as the final investment mix.
  • When a QLAC is entered, its purchase amount is removed from traditional retirement accounts before portfolio allocation, market testing, and required-withdrawal calculations. Contract payments begin at the entered age and are included in tax and Medicare-income estimates.

Fixed

  • Missing and overlapping pre-Medicare coverage years are now shown instead of being silently treated as complete.
  • Spouse pension and Social Security income are included in plain-language summaries and report exports.
Portfolio and tax modeling

Test the recommended portfolio—not the starting account mix

The planner now separates what someone owns today from the investment mix being tested for retirement.

Calculation change

  • The selected recommended or custom portfolio is applied before market testing.
  • Returns are based on the tested allocation rather than the percentages implied by today's account balances.

New

  • A tax-aware placement view shows how the tested mix could fit across traditional retirement, Roth, and taxable accounts.
  • A Roth conversion estimate considers federal tax-bracket room, Marketplace health-insurance assistance, and future Medicare premium thresholds.

Improved

  • The advanced tax journey now leads with the practical conclusion, then lets people open the year-by-year detail.
  • Taxable cost basis and Roth conversions have clearer explanations and larger, more readable controls.
Portfolio mechanics

What-if testing and more faithful portfolio behavior

The planner moved beyond one headline result and began showing why a plan changes under difficult markets.

New

  • The What-if Lab compares retirement timing, spending, savings, stock-market declines, relocation, and downsizing without overwriting the saved plan.
  • Historical testing replays complete retirement periods, and a separate history-remix test joins real five-year market chapters.
  • A visual portfolio-design lesson explains income gaps, timing risk, stable reserves, useful investment risk, and diversification.

Important calculation changes

  • Stocks, Treasuries, TIPS, near-term reserves, and gold receive separate returns instead of moving as one undifferentiated portfolio.
  • Retirement withdrawals use the near-term reserve first. A poor stock year does not sell stocks merely to refill that reserve.
  • The first-year stock-decline test changes the stock portion—not the entire portfolio—then resumes normal modeled returns in later years.

Improved

  • Results now show annual portfolio withdrawals, life-period changes, important events, ending-portfolio ranges, and the years most exposed to market timing.
  • Temporary spending controls compare full planned spending with reductions limited to flexible expenses after a difficult market year.
Income and planning timelines

See how expenses and retirement income change over time

A visual retirement timeline connected entered life periods, recurring income, Medicare age, and the amount investments may need to supply.

New

  • The retirement income timeline shows each expense period rather than collapsing the plan into a few generic stages.
  • Year-by-year tax, required-withdrawal, Medicare, healthcare, and stable-reserve planning views were introduced.

Fixed

  • Expense changes at every life-period boundary now carry into the timeline and analysis.
  • Spouse income and Medicare eligibility are labeled in the years in which they begin.

Improved

  • Tax-table columns now include plain-language help explaining what each number means and why it may matter.
  • The planner provides a return path from historical stress tests to the What-if Lab.
Portfolio engine

Model each part of the portfolio separately

The retirement engine began treating stocks, near-term reserves, Treasuries, TIPS, and gold as different parts with different jobs.

Calculation change

  • Each portfolio category receives its own modeled return instead of the entire portfolio moving as one number.
  • Retirement spending draws from the near-term reserve first, while later rebalancing follows explicit rules.

New

  • Results explain which portfolio part funded spending after an opening market decline.
  • The What-if Lab expanded to test more retirement levers without changing the saved plan.

Improved

  • The guided portfolios were simplified and their assumptions were made easier to review.
  • Contextual help and rerun prompts make it clearer when a change requires a fresh analysis.
Education

A learning hub organized around real life

Education moved out of dense planner screens and into shorter lessons people can explore when relevant.

New

  • A life-stage education hub introduces concepts from school and a first job through retirement.
  • Layered lessons cover account types, insurance, taxes, Medicare, college savings, and estate-planning basics.
  • Contextual guides connect planner questions to deeper explanations without crowding the main workflow.

Improved

  • Financial terms are introduced in plain language, with optional detail for people who want the exceptions and trade-offs.
  • The personalized portfolio estimate now runs the full analysis before comparing it with the 4% shortcut.
Family planning

College planning and more realistic retirement expenses

Expenses and income became a year-by-year life plan instead of one annual number.

New

  • A connected children's education planner estimates college costs, dedicated education savings, and the remaining amount the household may need to pay.
  • Expenses can be entered as one flat amount, life periods, or a yearly itemized schedule.
  • Recurring income supports separate start and end ages, and one-time expenses or income can be assigned to a specific year.

Important calculation changes

  • Dedicated 529 and education savings are used for college first and are excluded from general retirement assets so the same dollars are not counted twice.
  • Only college payments that overlap the retirement years are added to the retirement analysis.
  • Required and flexible expenses are kept separate so later spending-control comparisons do not cut essential costs.

Improved

  • Healthcare can grow faster than general inflation while every input and result remains expressed in today's buying power.
  • Life-period boundaries, income start dates, and one-time amounts now appear in results and report inputs.
Results and spending flexibility

Turn a result into practical next steps

The results journey began explaining what the percentage means, what changed it, and what someone could examine next.

New

  • Spending controls compare the full plan with temporary reductions limited to flexible expenses after difficult market years.
  • Analysis history preserves prior runs so changes to retirement age, spending, savings, and investments can be compared.
  • A period expense builder lets someone adjust a familiar expense list and apply the total to one life period.

Improved

  • Results navigation separates overview, comparisons, market stress, action plan, and plan details.
  • Success percentages are described as the number of tested market paths that funded every scheduled retirement year.
Privacy and portability

Move a plan between devices without creating an account

The planner added clearer privacy controls and a way to continue a plan on another browser.

New

  • Plan-transfer JSON files can be downloaded on one device and imported on another.
  • A public privacy page explains browser storage, exports, ordinary connection data, and how to remove saved information.
  • Plan results can be exported to PDF or Markdown for discussion with an adviser or another planning tool.

Improved

  • The six-step journey separates timeline, expenses and income, one-time plans, financial accounts, portfolio selection, and results.
  • Inputs and results now explain today's buying power more consistently.

Fixed

  • Moving between steps now returns to the top of the next page.
  • Field-level checks catch invalid amounts and overlapping life periods before analysis.
Guided journey

Start with a question, then add detail only when useful

The planner gained a public introduction and a clearer path from a first estimate to deeper analysis.

New

  • A public landing page explains the five retirement questions the planner is built to answer.
  • Target-based planning shows whether the current plan reaches the goal and which change appears most useful when it does not.
  • Guided and custom portfolio controls are separated so one choice never silently overrides the other.

Improved

  • The retirement timeline, expense selection, and portfolio journey use progressive disclosure to reduce the amount shown at once.
  • Mobile text, input controls, and navigation were enlarged and simplified.
Historical testing

Compare possible futures with real difficult markets

The planner added historical evidence alongside modeled market paths and made the familiar 4% shortcut a comparison—not a requirement.

New

  • Historical retirement tests replay complete market sequences, including difficult starting years.
  • A history-remix test samples aligned five-year chapters of stocks, bonds, bills, gold, and inflation.
  • The 4% shortcut is compared with a personalized estimate based on entered expenses, income, timing, and portfolio choices.

Improved

  • Historical stress results explain whether the portfolio ran out, when it ran out, and what the ending balance represents.
  • Portfolio customization moved after the recommended baseline so people can compare rather than configure blindly.
Initial public release

The first public retirement planner

The initial release connected lifestyle goals, retirement income, account balances, an investment mix, and uncertain markets in one educational workflow.

Included at launch

  • A guided planner for retirement timeline, annual expenses, recurring income, assets, goals, and portfolio selection.
  • Testing across thousands of possible market-return paths with lower, middle, and upper ending-portfolio outcomes.
  • Guided conservative, balanced, and growth investment mixes plus a custom allocation.
  • Plain-language results, portfolio withdrawal pressure, and educational explanations of Monte Carlo testing and sequence-of-returns risk.

Calculation foundation

  • Every dollar input is entered in today's buying power; inflation is handled internally year by year.
  • A plan succeeds only when the portfolio funds every scheduled retirement year—not merely when money remains after the first few years.