Retirement
Retirement is the topic where the most money is won or lost on decisions that feel administrative at the time. When you claim Social Security, which account you spend from first, and whether you convert anything before required distributions start all compound over decades.
Guides
Longer-form background on the whole subject.
Calculators
Free, no signup, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Roth Conversion Calculator
Estimate the tax cost of converting a traditional IRA or 401(k), and compare converting against staying traditional over your full retirement horizon.
Open the tool →Retirement Savings Calculator
Estimate how much you need to save for retirement and whether you're on track. Adjust contributions, returns, and timeline to model different scenarios.
Open the tool →Retirement Readiness Quiz
Answer a few questions to assess your retirement readiness and identify gaps in your plan.
Open the tool →Social Security Timing Calculator
Find the optimal age to claim Social Security benefits based on your health, income needs, and break-even analysis.
Open the tool →Required Minimum Distribution Planner
Calculate your annual required minimum distributions from IRAs and retirement accounts and plan your withdrawal strategy.
Open the tool →401(k) Rollover Guide
Understand your options when leaving an employer: rolling over a 401(k) to an IRA, a new plan, or taking a distribution.
Open the tool →Articles
Specific questions, answered in plain language.
Reasons to Consider a Roth Conversion (and Reasons Not To)
The five situations where converting genuinely pays: the window before RMDs, a low-income year, an RMD problem you can see coming, a market drawdown, and what your heirs will face. Plus the five cases where it costs you money.
Read the article →Colorado PERA and DERP: A Retirement Guide for Public Employees
PERA or DERP, what each formula pays, why the WEP and GPO repeal changed the math for 175,000 Coloradans, and the supplemental deferral room most members never use.
Read the article →The WEP and GPO Repeal: What To Do Now That Your Benefit Has Changed
The six versus twelve month split that decides your back pay, the lump-sum election that can cut the tax on it, the IRMAA surcharge arriving two years late, and why people who never applied still need to file.
Read the article →Self-Employed Retirement Plans: Which One Actually Fits
Four questions get you to the right plan. The first eliminates most of the field, and the second explains why defaulting to a SEP-IRA can cost $25,000 a year in contribution room.
Read the article →Want this applied to your own situation?
Everything here is general. A conversation is where it gets specific, and there is no cost or obligation in having one.