I couldn't find a calculator that answered the questions I actually had.
When I started planning my own retirement, I had money in several kinds of accounts: a taxable brokerage account, traditional IRAs, a Roth, and an old university retirement plan. My wife has very little work history of her own, and we were thinking about moving out of California.
I tried the free calculators from the big brokerages. They all told me roughly the same thing: "you'll probably be fine." None of them told me what I actually had to decide. Which account should we spend from first? Should I convert some of my IRA to a Roth, and how much? When should each of us claim Social Security? What would moving do to our taxes? And how much would our kids actually receive?
I spent my career measuring risk for institutional portfolios, so I built the tool I wanted: one that does the tax arithmetic year by year, shows its work, and compares the choices side by side. It doesn't ask who you are, and it has nothing to sell you.
They answered the wrong question
"Will my money last?" is a start. The decisions are about which account to draw from, and when.
A spending order, year by year
It tests different orders and shows the tax bill for each, so you can see what the choice is worth.
Taxes were a single guess
One flat rate, or none at all, even though taxes are often the largest cost in retirement.
The real rules, every year
Federal brackets, the 0% capital-gains bracket, Social Security taxation, and required IRA withdrawals from 75.
Roth conversions were all or nothing
Either missing, or presented as a good idea for everyone.
When converting helps, and when it doesn't
In a high-tax state, converting can cut your lifetime taxes and still leave your heirs less. The planner shows both.
Couples were an afterthought
One person, one claiming age, no spousal benefit.
Built for your household
Single or married: your filing status, the spousal benefit if it applies, and every claiming age from 62 to 70.
Where you live didn't count
Moving states can change a lifetime tax bill by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
16 states, side by side
Including the states that don't tax IRA withdrawals, and the ones with estate or inheritance taxes.
My kids weren't in the picture
Nothing showed what our family would actually receive.
What your heirs keep, after tax
A dollar in a Roth is worth more to them than a dollar in a traditional IRA, and the planner counts that.
They wanted my data first
An email address, sometimes a phone number, sometimes my account logins. I always hesitated.
Nothing to sign up for, nothing sent
No name, email or account numbers. All the math runs in your browser. To check, turn off your Wi-Fi once the page has loaded: it keeps working.
I couldn't see the math
A single number, with no way to check how it was reached.
Every number, every year
The year-by-year table shows each withdrawal and tax, and the method is written out below.