Retirement Planning Tools to Plan Before and After Retirement
A significant portion of the WWDD books is devoted to retirement – starting, climbing the hill, at the top, and then downhill to old age. The reason is simple – of all the financial decisions you’ll face in life, none has a greater impact on how you’ll live for the remaining years on this rock than the decisions you make (or don't make) related to retirement.
While climbing to the top of your hill, you might have to deal with challenges or other unexpected setbacks. Therefore, retirement planning requires establishing the plan early, regular monitoring, and correcting problems before it’s too late. Whether you do it yourself, pay an online service $500 or $2,500 a year, or spend $20,000 hiring the best financial advisor in town, all of life’s challenges can be addressed by having a plan that’s kept up to date, year after year.
Retirement planning requires adapting your plan as needed to the inevitable changes – those you can control and those you can’t – before and after retirement. That’s why I created the tools for you to download and use on your computer with a plan that you create – so that you can do this yourself for your unique circumstances.
As you climb the retirement hill, the Retirement Checkpoint tool shows the result of the choices you make. Just enter some basic info: birthdate, desired retirement age, work income, percent saved, starting balance, and what income to replace, and the tool calculates a year-by-year table and graphs the result. Is the balance at age 90 too low? Adjust the inputs to confirm that your plan is reasonable and executable.
Example of the Retirement Checkpoint spreadsheet to use Pre-Retirement (tabs provided for a single or a couple)
Graphs depict the balance and income provided, including Social Security, pension, or annuity income
The Retirement Checkpoint tool also calculates, to the month, the change in Social Security benefits depending on when you claim. You’ll be able to see the impact of some part-time work in retirement, or if you delay retirement even a few months. No more wondering if you need to hire a financial planner to answer these questions – it’s now easy to see the impact of any change at any point in time.
Once retired, however, the game changes when going down the hill. It’s time to ensure the money lasts as long as you do. Not only do you need to evaluate questions like when to claim Social Security or start a Pension, but you also need to consider whether a significant expense, such as moving into Independent Living, can be supported. And then, will you have enough money for Assisted Living later? Planning when you are in retirement is just as important as getting to retirement, and that’s where the Retirement Yearly Plan tool helps you evaluate income and spending in the post-retirement years.
You'll be able to plan for specific expense adjustments over the years, adjust spending or inflation assumptions, and stress test your plan, ensuring you won't run out. The Retirement Yearly Plan can be updated to reflect changes in investment balances or anytime to evaluate whether a change in plans can be accommodated without increasing risk.
Your Plan on Your Computer, When you Need it, With No Subscription or Advisor Fee
The Retirement Checkpoint Pre-Retirement planner is geared to those in The Middle Years (ages 30 to 60) and The Later Years (ages 50 and Up), while the Retirement Yearly Plan Post-Retirement planner is used during the Later Years, once retired. Update as needed and access anytime on your computer without monthly fees or additional cost.
Easy to Use Spreadsheets with Instructions and Examples
Each Retirement Planning Tool spreadsheet begins with a README tab that provides an overview of the tool's setup and use, as well as a completed example tab that displays the results of the spreadsheet once your plan is created. The spreadsheets are compatible with Microsoft Excel and the free OpenOffice application.
I've grouped the spreadsheets by book volume, so you can purchase only those needed for your Early, Middle, or Later years or buy them all as a bundle at a discount. There's no subscription or license. Just download them to your desktop or laptop computer.
Example of the Retirement Yearly Plan spreadsheet to use Post-Retirement (tabs provided for a single or a couple)