AI Retirement Income Planner v7

All setup happens in the Edit values tab. The sections below correspond to the cards in that tab.

The My Goals card lets you state your own definition of success — a target net income per month, a legacy / final balance for plan end, a minimum income floor for any phase, and (for couples modelling the survivor scenario) a survivor income need. All targets are in today's money. With the master toggle on, the dashboard shows a live 🎯 income-goal pill at the top, Plan Health gains Income Goal and Legacy Goal checks, your floor replaces the built-in $500/mo line in Income Adequacy, and the survivor need re-benchmarks Survivor Resilience. Turn the toggle off any time — values are kept, and the score returns to the built-in checks only.

If you hold a taxable brokerage account, enter its current balance and expected annual return rate. The pre-plan taxable gain % field tells the dashboard what percentage of the balance is unrealised gain — read it off your broker's cost-basis report if you can. It matters: when the plan sells, only the gain portion is taxed, and leaving this at 0 tells the planner there is no gain to tax. The realised gain is added to your taxable income at ordinary income rates (a cautious simplification — real long-term gains usually get the lower 0% / 15% / 20% treatment, so the planner tends to overstate this tax rather than understate it), and it counts in full toward MAGI for ACA subsidies and the IRMAA lookback.

US Social Security — enter your estimated monthly benefit at age 62. The COLA rate compounds it once per year from that birthday. UK State Pension — enters payment at age 67 and grows by the Triple Lock rate annually from there. Both are set once here, in Income streams, and neither is editable per-phase — the boxes on the phase cards are read-only, showing what that phase receives. Not entitled to the UK State Pension? Set it to 0 here and it disappears from every phase; there is no second place to switch it off.

Which disability goes where. SSDI (Social Security Disability) goes in the US Social Security field, not the pension field: it rises with the Social Security COLA, converts automatically to your retirement benefit at full retirement age at the same amount, and is taxed under Social Security rules. Employer, private and VA disability go in the pension / disability streams below — different tax treatment, and they often stop at a set age.

Already receiving SSDI? Tick I'm receiving SSDI under the claiming age. That removes the age-62 minimum — SSDI has no earliest-claim age and no early-claiming reduction, it simply pays your full FRA amount — so you can enter the age it actually started and see that income in the years before retirement age. It also asks when your Medicare began: SSDI brings Medicare 24 months after entitlement whatever your age, so someone on SSDI at 55 usually has Medicare at 57. That matters for money, not just tidiness — from that age ACA subsidies stop and Medicare premiums (and possibly IRMAA) start, which the planner would otherwise not apply until 65. Medicare switches on for phases that begin at or after the age you enter, so if you want the exact month, add a phase boundary at that age under Phase age boundaries.

Disability that ends at 65. Most employer and private long-term disability policies pay only until 65 or Social Security full retirement age, when retirement income is meant to take over. Put that age in the end age field, or the plan will keep paying the benefit for life on top of your Social Security and show you more income than you will actually have. Leave the end age blank for anything paid for life — a normal pension, an annuity, VA disability. If the benefit ends before your Social Security starts, the phase cards will show the gap; that gap is real, and far better found now than at 65.

US pension / disability — enter a monthly employer/private pension or disability benefit and the age it starts (set the start age at or below your current age if it's already in payment). It grows each year at the US pension COLA rate on the Inflation card — leave that blank to track general inflation, or enter 0 for a flat (non-COLA) pension. Use the Taxable / Tax-free toggle: taxable pensions count as ordinary income (raising MAGI and the taxable portion of Social Security), while tax-free benefits such as VA disability add to your net income without affecting tax, MAGI, or SS taxability. Two benefits? Combine ones with the same tax treatment into a single figure; if you have a taxable pension and a tax-free disability, use the second stream so each is taxed correctly — each has its own amount, start age, COLA and tax toggle.

Part-time work income can be entered per phase (Phases 1 and 2). It is treated as ordinary income, included in gross income and taxable. Use this for consulting, freelance, or any earned income during semi-retirement.

Medicare Part B and D — enter estimated monthly premiums. These apply from age 65 — or from the age you enter under Income streams if you are on SSDI, which brings Medicare forward by up to a decade — and are automatically excluded when using GBP or foreign residence currencies.

When GBP is the active currency, a UK Tax Parameters section appears in Edit values. Enter the UK personal allowance, basic and higher rate band ceilings (in USD equivalent at today's rate), and the applicable tax percentages. Use the Rate research prompt to get current UK tax year values — the dashboard inflation-adjusts these figures per phase just as it does for US parameters.

Each phase has separate monthly withdrawal fields for 401k, cash, and equity. Set these to approximate your target income, then use the ending balance shown on each phase card — and the tax and ACA feedback — to dial in the right mix.

The seven buttons at the top of the page — USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, PHP, THB, EUR — set the active currency for the scenario. This controls which tax model applies (US, UK, Canadian, or Australian) and whether ACA and Medicare are included. Live exchange rates are fetched automatically on load; if that fails, a manual entry form appears so you can type them in.

When a non-USD currency is selected, a pair of toggle buttons appears beside the phase grid heading — for example USD and GBP. These switch what is displayed on screen without altering any underlying values (all calculations always run in USD internally). Use this to quickly check how your income looks in local currency versus US dollars.

Note: inline editing of values directly on the phase cards is only available when the display currency is set to USD.

When GBP is selected, the dashboard assumes your plan is built around UK residency. Because US marketplace health insurance (ACA) and Medicare are only applicable to US residents, those calculations are automatically removed from the model — the relevant rows display as N/A on each phase card. This is by design: a UK-resident retiree has no need for ACA subsidies or Medicare Part B/D premium estimates in their cash flow model.

These two buttons appear in the display toggle bar when GBP is active. They control whether UK income tax is applied to the plan:

USA Resident — You hold GBP-denominated assets or want to model a GBP budget, but remain a US tax resident. Only US federal tax calculations run; no UK tax is applied.

UK Resident — You live in the UK. UK income tax is calculated on US Social Security, 401k withdrawals, UK State Pension, equity gains, and part-time income. Under Article 17(3) social security is taxable only in the country of residence, so your US Social Security is taxed in the UK rather than the US — a saved exception to the saving clause, so it holds for US citizens too. A Foreign Tax Credit equal to UK tax paid (capped at US tax liability) offsets your US federal bill, preventing double taxation. In practice you pay the higher of the two countries' tax on overlapping income, not both in full.

Selecting PHP (Philippines), THB (Thailand), or EUR (Eurozone) activates foreign residence mode. The euro is used across many countries with very different tax systems, so — like PHP and THB — no local country tax model is applied. As with GBP, ACA, Medicare, IRMAA, and related US healthcare calculations are excluded. No local country tax is applied — the model is designed to project a USD-based income against a lower cost-of-living context, with display conversion into the local currency for reference. Because US healthcare is excluded, an Overseas healthcare cost /mo field appears in the Income streams card (Edit tab) so you can model private/international insurance and out-of-pocket costs — it grows each phase at your healthcare-inflation rate. Leave it at 0 if your healthcare is fully covered.

The row of cards at the top of the Overview tab gives a quick read on your whole plan:

Avg Net/mo — Your average monthly net income (after all taxes and healthcare costs) across the full plan period. A single number to compare strategies quickly.

Est. Total (age N) — Your projected total portfolio value remaining across all accounts (401k + cash + equity + Roth + super) at your chosen plan end age — the end-of-plan counterpart to the Starting balances above. It grows with a longer horizon as the portfolio keeps compounding. (This is the same figure the PDF report and AI call "projected ending wealth.")

Total tax paid — The amber pill in the phase control bar shows cumulative estimated tax across all phases, to your chosen plan end age (set with the −/+ stepper, 80–100). Every dollar you reduce here stays in your pocket — use it as a live score while tweaking withdrawal amounts and bracket positioning.

Each phase card shows two income figures side by side. Nominal is the actual dollar amount you will receive each month — what hits your bank account. Real is that same amount expressed in today's purchasing power, deflated for cumulative inflation from now to the phase midpoint using your configured inflation rate. As time passes, inflation erodes the real value of a fixed nominal income. Keeping an eye on the real figure in later phases helps ensure your standard of living holds up across a long retirement.

By default, Phase 5 runs from age 72 to 80. Use the −/+ stepper next to Age: on the command strip to set the plan's end age in 5-year steps from 80 to 100 (the − stops at 80, the + at 100). Extending the horizon stress-tests longevity: does your balance survive if you live significantly longer than expected? The summary metrics and total tax figure update immediately to reflect the chosen horizon.

The Lump sums tab lets you add one-off cash events to any phase — money in (proceeds from selling a property, an inheritance, a pension commutation, a maturing bond) or money out (a new roof, a car, a wedding, a heavy medical year). Each event is assigned to a phase and a description, appears on that phase card, and is applied at the start of the assigned phase. It must have an amount greater than zero and a valid phase assignment to be included.

Choosing the account. The Paid from / Paid into column controls which accounts an event uses. For an expense, Smart order takes cash first and then cascades through the taxable brokerage account, 401k, Roth and Super. Choose a single account instead and only that account is used — if it can't cover the expense the remainder is reported as unfunded on the phase card and your other accounts are left untouched, which is usually what you want when money is earmarked. Tick Use other accounts if short to allow the cascade, or pick Custom split to set exactly how much comes from each account (the panel shows what each one holds at the start of that phase). Money coming in can likewise land in cash, the brokerage account, a retirement account, or a split — worth setting, because a windfall left in cash grows only at your cash rate.

What it costs to fund. Money taken from a 401k is a real withdrawal taxed as income, and selling holdings in a taxable brokerage account realises a capital gain. That tax comes out of the amount withdrawn, so a $60,000 draw from a 401k delivers roughly $45,000 to the expense — the phase card shows both figures. Tick Withdraw extra to cover the tax to gross the withdrawal up so the expense is paid in full. Cash and Roth money is not taxed. The tax figure is an approximation: the planner works in multi-year phases, so a single-year spike can't be modelled to the dollar. For the same reason, a draw big enough to cross the ACA subsidy cliff or an IRMAA threshold in that one year is flagged on the phase card rather than re-priced. If two expenses in the same phase name the same account, they are paid in the order shown on the tab.

The Annuity Calculator tab models fixed annuity purchases and helps you decide whether one makes sense for your plan. Three types are supported: SPIA (immediate income starts at purchase), DIA / Longevity Annuity (income deferred to a future age — powerful for longevity insurance), and Fixed + COLA (income that grows annually). Variable annuities are not modelled.

Enter a premium and payout rate — or the monthly income from an insurer quote — and the calculator immediately shows your break-even age and a comparison table showing cumulative annuity income against what the same premium would have grown to if kept invested. When you are ready, Add to Plan deducts the premium from your cash balance and adds the income to the passive income fields for each affected phase. A Remove annuity from plan button lets you reverse all changes cleanly and try different parameters.

Each lump sum on the Lump sums tab shows a 💰 Evaluate as annuity → link when an amount is entered. Clicking it switches to the Annuity Calculator with the premium pre-filled, making it easy to compare "buy an annuity with this lump sum" against your current plan.

If retirement is already underway and you want to fast-forward the model to your actual current position, use the Replan button on the Overview tab. Enter your current age and real account balances. Phases already passed are removed, the current phase is trimmed to start from today, and projections restart from your actual numbers. Enter your current SS and UK State Pension payment amounts as they stand now — COLA and Triple Lock growth will be calculated forward from that point rather than from the original base ages.

The MFJ toggle in the Edit tab switches the plan to Married Filing Jointly tax brackets — roughly double the single-filer thresholds. Three spouse Social Security inputs become available when MFJ is active:

• Spouse SS /mo — your spouse's expected monthly benefit at their chosen claim age, in today's dollars. The amount you enter is the benefit at the claim age you set (early/delayed retirement actuarial adjustments are assumed to be already baked in).
• Spouse SS claim age — when the spouse will begin claiming (62–70). Delaying from 62 → 67 boosts the lifetime benefit by roughly 40–50%, and couples often use a "split claim" strategy (one spouse early, one delayed) to balance early income against later survivor benefits.
• Spouse current age — set this if your spouse is a different age than you. Leave it blank to treat the spouse as the same age as the primary filer (the legacy assumption). When set, spouse SS only begins flowing in a phase once the spouse reaches their claim age — not when the primary does.

The MFJ tax parameters card in Edit allows you to configure the wider deductions and bracket ceilings independently. Toggling between Single and MFJ updates all phase calculations immediately.

For married couples, the planner can model the "widow's tax cliff" — the income drop the surviving spouse faces when the first partner dies. On that first death the household keeps only the larger of the two Social Security checks (the smaller stops) and the survivor moves from MFJ to single tax brackets, which are roughly half as wide. Because one person's living costs are typically 70–80% of a couple's (not 50%), net income can fall sharply just as tax efficiency worsens.

Setting it up requires the US tax obligation section first. The survivor projection only runs for Married-Filing-Jointly plans with both Social Security amounts entered. In Edit values → US tax obligation: click Married filing jointly, then fill in your US Social Security plus your spouse's SS (amount, claim age, and the spouse's current age if there's an age gap). Once those are set, tick Model survivor scenario and choose a first-death age. You can also set the Survivor spending need (% of couple) — defaulting to 100% (most conservative); lowering it to ~70–75% benchmarks the survivor's income against their realistically reduced spending rather than the full couple budget. The before/after breakdown then appears in the What-if explorer, and a Survivor Income Resilience health check is added to the Plan Health panel. The ℹ icon on the survivor card offers a one-click shortcut to this setup section whenever the required fields are still blank.

Already receiving a survivor benefit? The scenario above models a future death. If a spouse has already died and you now receive their benefit, simply enter it as income: a survivor Social Security amount goes in the US Social Security field (so it is taxed under Social Security rules), and a survivor or beneficiary pension goes in either US pension / disability slot with its start age at or below your current age. File as Single.

The Roth bucket is a fourth tracked balance alongside 401k, cash, and equity. Enter your starting balance and growth rate in the Edit tab, then set per-phase withdrawal amounts. Roth withdrawals are completely tax-free and do not count toward MAGI — making them a powerful lever for ACA optimisation and bracket management. The Starting Roth card always appears in the dashboard summary alongside 401k, cash and equity, so you can add a balance at any time.

Roth conversions move money from your pre-tax 401k into Roth each year. The converted amount is taxable ordinary income in the conversion year and counts toward MAGI — time conversions to fit within unused bracket headroom in Phases 1–3 while your income is lower. Future withdrawals from converted balances are permanently tax-free.

Annual rental income, annuity payments, dividends, or other passive income can be set independently for each phase in Edit → Rental & passive income. Taxable passive income is added to ordinary income and MAGI, affecting your tax bracket and ACA eligibility exactly like 401k withdrawals. Non-taxable passive income (return-of-capital, foreign-source) adds directly to net income without touching the tax or ACA calculations. Toggle between modes using the Taxable / Non-taxable buttons in the Edit tab.

Required Minimum Distributions begin at age 73. Eligible phase cards show an estimated RMD based on the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table divisor (26.5 at age 73, declining to about 12.2 by age 90). If your configured 401k withdrawal falls below the RMD estimate, a warning is displayed. The RMD start age is configurable in Edit → RMD settings. The warning only activates on phases that extend past the RMD start age.

On first load, the 6-step setup wizard walks you through the essential inputs — starting balances, income sources, filing status, rental income, key settings, and your goals. When you click Finish, all values are applied to the Edit tab immediately. You can reopen the wizard at any time from the Getting Started tab in this Help modal. Tick "Don't show again" to skip it on future loads once your plan is set up.

The four phase transition ages (default 62 / 65 / 67 / 73) can be changed in Edit → Phase age boundaries. This lets Canadian and Australian users align phases with local pension milestones, or US users with non-standard retirement patterns set boundaries that fit their situation. Each boundary must be at least 6 months after the previous, preventing phase overlap.

Select CAD currency to activate Canadian mode. The tax engine switches to Canadian federal income tax — five progressive bands (15%–33%) applied after the basic personal amount deduction. Healthcare costs are excluded (covered by provincial plans). Enter estimated monthly Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) at the ages you intend to start drawing — both grow with COLA annually from their configured base ages. All Canadian tax parameters are editable in Edit → Canada CPP & OAS.

Select AUD to activate Australian mode. Superannuation withdrawals are tax-free after preservation age (60) and excluded from the tax engine — they add directly to monthly net income. The Age Pension starts at 67 and is taxable income. Australian federal tax uses the post-Stage-3 rates (tax-free threshold A$18,200 → 16% → 30% → 37% → 45%) with the Low Income Tax Offset applied automatically. The four rates, the bracket ceilings and the Medicare Levy threshold are all editable fields in the Edit tab, so Fetch current rates keeps them current. Healthcare costs are excluded (covered by Medicare Australia). The Super starting balance appears in the dashboard summary when a value is entered.

The controls on the right of the top bar tailor the display for comfortable reading. The text-size buttons (A·A·A·A) step from 100% up to 135% — pick the largest size that stays comfortable. The Light/Dark toggle switches between bright and dim backgrounds. The Style menu offers four visual styles plus High contrast (accessibility) — a maximum-legibility theme with strong black-on-white (or white-on-black) text, solid borders, bold labels and clear focus outlines, recommended if you find the other styles low in contrast. It works in both light and dark mode. All of these choices, like every setting, are remembered between visits. The planner also honours your operating system's "reduce motion" setting, suppressing animated scrolling and transitions automatically.

Think of your accounts as four buckets with different tax properties. Cash withdrawals are tax-free (already taxed money) and do not affect taxable income or MAGI. 401k withdrawals are ordinary income — they push up your tax bracket and MAGI. Equity withdrawals are taxed only on the gain inside them — the return-of-basis part is untaxed — but that gain is treated as ordinary income here, and counts toward MAGI for ACA purposes. Roth withdrawals are completely tax-free and do not count toward MAGI at all — invisible to both the tax engine and ACA calculations. A good strategy mixes all four sources to keep taxes low and ACA subsidies intact across every phase.

The amber Total tax paid figure updates live as you adjust values. Every dollar of tax you eliminate is a dollar added to your lifetime net income. When comparing two strategies with similar ending balances, the one with the lower total tax figure is almost always the better choice. Use it as a live score while you tweak.

Before Social Security: Draw primarily from cash to keep MAGI low enough for ACA CSR — supplement with modest 401k withdrawals staying inside the 12% bracket. Let 401k continue compounding. Equity draws optional depending on ACA MAGI headroom.

After SS starts, before 65: SS income raises your MAGI floor. Reduce 401k withdrawals to stay below 400% FPL. Cash continues to bridge the gap. Monitor the SS provisional income formula — 85% of SS becomes taxable above $34k provisional income.

Once Medicare starts at 65: ACA drops away. Medicare premiums replace it. IRMAA risk begins — keep MAGI under the IRMAA threshold. 401k withdrawals can increase now that ACA is no longer a constraint, but watch the bracket.

Later phases (UK Pension + RMDs): UK State Pension adds to income from age 67. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from the 401k begin at 73 — the dashboard models your chosen withdrawal, so set it at or above your expected RMD level. Focus shifts to preserving real income value against inflation.

Roth withdrawals are invisible to both the federal tax engine and the ACA MAGI calculation — they let you top up monthly income in any phase without pushing into a higher bracket or over an ACA threshold. In Phases 1 and 2, Roth is the cleanest source when you need extra income without breaching 400% FPL. In Phases 4 and 5, Roth draws can reduce 401k withdrawals to manage RMD exposure and keep taxable income lower.

Taxable rental income stacks directly onto 401k withdrawals in your ordinary income calculation. In Phases 1 and 2, this can push MAGI above an ACA threshold — compensate by reducing 401k withdrawals or substituting Roth to fill the income gap. In later phases where ACA is no longer a constraint, rental income simply occupies bracket space — factor it in when deciding how much 401k to draw each phase.

From age 73 the IRS requires minimum 401k distributions regardless of need. To manage this proactively: in Phases 1–3, convert 401k to Roth within unused bracket headroom (paying tax now at lower rates to reduce the future balance subject to RMDs). Alternatively, set your Phase 5 withdrawal at or above the estimated RMD shown on the phase card. The RMD estimate uses the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table and updates as your 401k balance changes.

When every phase's ending balance is healthy, the real income figures in later phases still feel adequate, ACA and bracket positions look well-optimised, and the total tax figure is as low as you can push it — that is the right time for a final independent review. Use the AI Chat tab to ask the AI to review the complete plan and flag anything you may have missed, or copy the AI advisor prompt to paste into an external AI tool such as Claude.ai, ChatGPT, or Gemini. Either way, incorporate any feedback before exporting the finished scenario as a JSON file.

The AI Chat tab provides a built-in retirement planning advisor powered by the AI provider of your choice — Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, or a local model via Ollama. Every message you send automatically includes a complete live snapshot of your current plan — all balances, withdrawal amounts, income sources, tax parameters, and calculated results — so the AI gives advice specific to your exact numbers, not generic guidance.

The AI Chat connects directly from your browser to supported AI providers, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, Ollama, and other compatible APIs. You need a personal API key:

The quality of the AI's responses depends heavily on the model you choose. The Settings panel lets you pick an AI provider and a model. Each cloud provider uses your own API key; Ollama needs no key and runs entirely on your own computer.

For the best results — especially "Plan with AI" mode, which proposes specific numeric changes to your plan — an Anthropic (Claude) API key is recommended. The proposal engine is tuned for Claude-class models, and a more capable model gives more accurate, reliable analysis.

Local models (Ollama) are free and fully private, but smaller local models are less reliable at following the structured instructions the planner relies on. They are best suited to "Learn the planner" mode — how-to questions about using the app — rather than detailed plan-editing proposals. Whatever the provider, a larger / more capable model gives better answers.

Anthropic model tiers, for reference: opus — most capable (best for strategy work); sonnet — balanced and faster; haiku — fastest and cheapest. The model list refreshes from your provider when you open the tab (cached ~1h); click ↻ Refresh to update it, or type any model id directly. Your selection is remembered per provider.

When the chat is empty, six Quick question chips appear. Clicking one sends a pre-written question tailored to your plan — the AI answers with your actual numbers, not hypothetical ones:

Summarise & flag risks — overview of the whole plan with risk flags. Tax bracket check — analyses taxable income in each phase against current bracket thresholds. ACA / CSR check — evaluates ACA subsidy eligibility and cost-sharing reduction status across pre-Medicare phases. Withdrawal strategy — assesses the mix of 401k, cash, equity, and Roth draws phase by phase. Propose optimisations — asks the AI to suggest specific numeric changes to improve net income or reduce tax. Roth conversion advice — evaluates whether Roth conversions make sense given your current bracket headroom and future RMD exposure.

You can also type any free-form question. The AI has access to the full plan context including all phases, balances, income sources, tax parameters, and calculated outputs.

When you ask the AI to suggest specific changes (e.g. "Propose changes to minimise tax in Phase 1"), it analyses the plan and may generate a Proposed Changes panel listing specific field edits with explanations. Each row shows the field being changed, the current value, the proposed new value, and the reasoning.

Use the checkboxes to select which proposals to accept, then click Apply Selected. The plan updates immediately and all calculations recalculate — no manual entry needed. Click Dismiss to close the panel without making any changes.

Every AI message includes the live status of up to 12 Plan Health checks (the same checks shown in the Plan Health badge on the Overview tab), along with the exact inflation-adjusted headroom to key thresholds in each phase — ACA cliff, 22% bracket ceiling, IRMAA threshold, or UK rate band ceilings depending on your residency.

The AI treats currently-passing (✓) checks as hard constraints: it will not propose a change that turns a green check amber or red. If the only path to the user's stated goal would break a passing check, the AI says so and proposes an alternative. After every proposal set, the AI confirms which checks have been preserved and whether any currently-failing checks would improve.

The AI Chat adapts fully to your active currency and residency setting:

USD (US resident): Full ACA, IRMAA, bracket, and RMD analysis. The AI sizes proposals to respect ACA subsidy cliffs and Medicare surcharge thresholds.

GBP + UK Tax Resident: The AI understands the dual-tax system — UK income tax applies to 401k, UK pension, equity gains, and part-time income; US Social Security is taxed in the UK under treaty Article 17(3) and not in the US; the Foreign Tax Credit offsets UK tax against US liability. UK-specific health checks (ACA, IRMAA, RMD) are correctly marked N/A and excluded from analysis. Proposals respect both UK rate band ceilings and US bracket thresholds simultaneously.

PHP / THB / EUR (foreign resident): ACA, Medicare, and IRMAA are excluded from the analysis. The AI focuses on US federal tax bracket efficiency for withdrawals from US-based accounts.

If you edit any value on the dashboard or in Edit values between messages, the AI is automatically notified. A system note appears in the chat and the AI is instructed to treat the latest plan snapshot as authoritative and disregard any specific dollar amounts quoted in earlier messages. Conversation history is trimmed to the most recent exchanges to reduce stale-data confusion.

The 🗑 Clear button resets the conversation history and removes any pending proposals. The six quick-start chips reappear for a fresh session. Your API key and model selection are not affected.

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Alongside the full-screen AI Chat tab, the planner has a slide-out AI sidebar — a compact co-pilot that stays open while you work in any tab. It is designed for hands-on plan building: you describe a change in plain English and the AI proposes specific numeric edits you can apply with one click, all without leaving the Overview, Edit, or Charts you are looking at.

Click the Plan with AI button at the right-hand end of the tab bar (next to the AI Chat tab) to slide the sidebar in from the left. The button highlights blue while the sidebar is open. Click it again, or the ✕ in the sidebar header, to close it. On wide screens the page content shifts right to make room; on narrow screens the sidebar overlays the page and a tap outside it dismisses it. The open/closed state is remembered between sessions.

The sidebar keeps its own independent chat history, separate from the AI Chat tab. This lets you run two parallel threads — for example, a deep analytical Q&A in the full AI Chat tab, and a focused "make this change" working session in the sidebar — without the two conversations interfering. Each is saved separately in your browser and restored when you return.

The sidebar uses the same API key as the AI Chat tab. If you have already entered a key, the sidebar is ready to use immediately. If not, the sidebar shows a short unlock panel with a key field — entering it there enables both the sidebar and the AI Chat tab at once. Until a key is present, the sidebar gracefully shows the unlock prompt instead of the chat box.

When the sidebar conversation is empty, six action chips appear. Unlike the AI Chat tab's analytical questions, these are framed as plan-update requests — each one asks the AI to propose concrete numeric changes:

📈 Rebalance to grow equity — shifts early-phase draws toward cash and 401k so the equity bucket compounds longer. 🏥 Optimise pre-Medicare for ACA — sizes withdrawals to keep MAGI under the ACA subsidy and CSR thresholds in every phase before age 65. 📊 Fill the 12% bracket — tunes withdrawals to use up the 12% bracket without spilling into 22%. 🔄 Build a Roth conversion ladder — proposes per-phase conversion amounts that use low-income years while respecting IRMAA/ACA limits. (The planner doesn't model the IRS 5-year seasoning rule — keep a 5-year buffer before spending converted dollars if you're under 59½.) 📅 Optimise & set SS claim age — finds the best claiming age and proposes the bridge withdrawals to get there. ⚖️ Smooth income across phases — evens out real net-income dips and spikes phase by phase.

You can also type any free-form request. As with the AI Chat tab, every message includes a full live snapshot of your plan, so proposals are based on your actual numbers.

When the AI proposes changes in the sidebar, they appear as a proposal card directly in the conversation thread (rather than a separate docked panel). Every suggested change is listed with its current value, the proposed new value, and the reasoning — and all items are pre-checked by default.

The 🗑 icon in the sidebar header clears the sidebar's conversation history and any pending proposal cards. The six quick-start chips reappear for a fresh session. This acts independently of the AI Chat tab — clearing one does not affect the other. The trash icon only appears once a conversation has started.

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The Scenarios tab shows three parallel projections — pessimistic, base, and optimistic — by varying the 401k growth rate and inflation assumptions. Your Edit values settings define the base case; the other two apply predefined offsets. The table shows ending balances for each phase under all three scenarios. It is a fast way to see the range of outcomes your plan might face and whether your strategy is robust or fragile to changing market conditions.

The Balance chart shows how your 401k, cash, and equity balances evolve across all phases under each scenario. It makes visually obvious when an account is depleting too quickly, or when you have headroom to draw more aggressively without jeopardising later phases. The chart updates live as you adjust values anywhere in the dashboard.

Underneath the charts sits a table with two switches, giving you four ways to read the same plan. Account view puts one column per account and shows the balance each one ends on, with the money that moved through it underneath — what was drawn, paid in, converted, and how much it grew. Income view swaps to where the money came from: portfolio withdrawals, Social Security, other pensions, any work or rental income, then tax and healthcare and what is left. The second switch sets the rows: By phase gives you one line per phase, By year expands it to a line per year so you can watch balances compound, see the exact year a pension starts, and spot the year an account runs dry. Download CSV saves whatever is currently on screen, ready for a spreadsheet or your accountant.

Why some columns are shaded in the year-by-year income view. Tax, healthcare and net income are worked out once per phase, on that phase's income — that is how the whole planner is built. So rather than divide a phase figure by its years and imply a precision the model does not have, those columns span the years they apply to. A shaded cell is telling you honestly: this number describes the whole phase, not that single year. The columns that do change year to year — balances, withdrawals, and pensions rising with their cost-of-living increases — are genuinely per-year figures.

The SS Optimizer evaluates starting Social Security at each eligible age from 62 to 70. For each starting age it shows cumulative lifetime benefits at longevity targets of 80, 85, and 90 — making it easy to see which starting age maximises total income under different life expectancy assumptions. Use it alongside your overall plan to decide whether delaying SS is worthwhile given your portfolio size and health outlook. The table updates automatically when you change your base SS amount or COLA rate.

The Stress Test runs your full plan across 12 combined scenarios — four inflation levels (2%, base, 5%, 8%) against three return assumptions (bear −3%, base, bull +3%). Each cell in the grid shows average monthly net income (nominal and real) and estimated total portfolio at your configured final age. Your current base case is highlighted in blue. Use the stress test to identify which combinations of poor returns and high inflation put the most pressure on your plan, and whether your strategy remains adequate under adverse conditions.

The Drawdown Strategies tab answers the complementary question to your income plan: "Given my portfolio, what do established strategies say I can safely spend?" Six strategies are available — select one with the strategy buttons and results update instantly.

4% Rule: Withdraw a fixed percentage of your starting portfolio in year 1, then inflation-adjust annually. A rate slider lets you explore from 2.5% to 6%. Variable % (VPW): Withdraws an increasing percentage calibrated to your growth rate and remaining horizon — portfolio reaches exactly zero at your life expectancy. 3 Buckets: Maps your cash, Roth, and 401k/equity balances to short/medium/long-term buckets and shows how well each is funded. Floor & Upside: Separates guaranteed income (SS, pensions) from portfolio-dependent income, as a stacked chart of the two tiers over time plus a phase-by-phase coverage table. Guardrails: Starts at 5% with rules to cut spending 10% if markets fall or raise it 10% if they grow strongly. Monte Carlo: Runs your full plan with randomised returns — identical to the former Monte Carlo tab, now integrated here.

Every strategy shows an Insights & recommendations section with specific, actionable observations based on your numbers. Monte Carlo volatility (σ) settings remain in Edit → Monte Carlo settings.

The Annuity Calculator tab helps you decide whether purchasing a fixed annuity makes sense for your plan — and if so, which type and at what premium. It models three annuity structures:

SPIA (Single Premium Immediate Annuity) — you pay the premium now and income starts immediately. Straightforward: you trade a lump sum for guaranteed monthly income for life.

DIA / Longevity Annuity — you pay the premium now but income is deferred to a future age (e.g. 80 or 85). Premiums are much lower for the same monthly income because the insurer defers payment. Powerful as longevity insurance — ensures income even if you live well past your portfolio's runway.

Fixed + COLA — a fixed annuity with an annual cost-of-living adjustment rider. Monthly income starts lower but grows each year, preserving purchasing power over a long retirement.

Key outputs: The calculator shows your monthly income, payout rate, and break-even age — the age at which cumulative income received equals the premium paid. The comparison table shows what the same premium would be worth if invested at your configured growth rate, so you can see at a glance when (and whether) the annuity outperforms keeping the money invested.

Adding to your plan: The Add to Plan section shows a preview of every change — the premium is deducted from your cash balance, and annuity income is added to the passive income field for each phase where income is active. For a DIA starting at age 85, only later phases are affected. For a COLA annuity, the income entered for each phase is COLA-adjusted from the income start age. Once added, a Remove annuity from plan button appears so you can undo all changes cleanly and try different parameters.

Evaluate as annuity: On the Lump sums tab, each lump sum with an amount entered shows a Evaluate as annuity → link. Clicking it switches to the Annuity Calculator with the premium pre-filled from that lump sum, making it easy to compare "buy an annuity with this money" against your existing plan.

Variable annuities are not modelled — their investment-linked returns and surrender charges require stochastic modelling and are highly product-specific. Fixed annuities (SPIA, DIA, Fixed+COLA) have predictable, contractually guaranteed cash flows that this calculator models exactly.

This tab is the technical reference for every calculation in the dashboard — tax bracket mechanics, IRMAA, SS provisional income, ACA cliff rules, UK residence and Foreign Tax Credit, equity treatment, replan behaviour, and more. If a number surprises you or a result seems unexpected, this is the first place to look. The notes explain exactly what the model does and why.

At the bottom of the page, the AI advisor prompt auto-generates a full structured summary of your current plan — all phases, balances, withdrawals, income sources, tax parameters, and calculated results — formatted for pasting into an external AI assistant such as Claude.ai, ChatGPT, or Gemini.

If you prefer to use an external AI tool rather than the built-in AI Chat tab, copy this prompt and paste it into your chosen assistant. A good question to ask alongside it: "Review my withdrawal strategy, identify any optimisation opportunities, flag risks I may have missed, and tell me whether my assumptions look realistic."

Also at the bottom of the page, the Rate research prompt is a separate, focused prompt for verifying that your tax parameters match current law. Run it at the start of a new planning session or whenever you suspect rates may have changed — typically at the start of a new tax year or after a budget announcement. Update the Tax parameters section in Edit values with any corrected values before doing your strategy work.

This prompt is separate from the AI advisor prompt intentionally: rate verification is a factual lookup, while plan analysis is a strategic review. Use both, but at different stages.

Tax law, ACA rules, Medicare premiums, SS benefit structures, and UK / Canadian / Australian tax parameters change every year. The planner ships with values that were correct at its release date (currently May 2026), but it has two AI-powered helpers built in to keep your copy current between releases. Both require an API key (entered once in the AI Chat tab).

🔄 Fetch current rates (Edit tab, bottom) — handles the numeric side. One click and the AI looks up today's values for tax brackets, FPL thresholds, the full six-bracket IRMAA ladder, the standard deduction, Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, NIIT thresholds, the RMD age, the SSA disability earnings limits and the UK / Canadian / Australian rates. Nothing is written to your plan straight away: you get a table of every proposed change, old value beside new, and you tick what to accept. Anything that fails a plausibility check — a figure outside its sane range, brackets that do not ascend, a number that has jumped further than indexation explains — arrives unticked with the reason stated. Where your AI provider supports it the lookup searches the web, which matters because every figure here is reset annually and a model answering from memory alone will quote last year's with complete confidence. It asks only for the figures your plan can actually use — a US single filer is not billed for a lookup of Canadian brackets — unless you tick Ask for every country. Takes a few seconds and costs a few cents. Use it at the start of any planning session, at the start of each tax year, or after a budget announcement.

🔎 Help content audit (header button) — handles the prose side: rules, dates, structural law. Claude reviews 18 specific factual claims embedded in the planner's help text (RMD start age, ACA cliff dates, IRMAA lookback rule, SS provisional income thresholds, US-UK treaty Article 17, Medicare Part B premium, UK personal allowance, NIIT, recent COLA / CPI figures, and more) and reports which are still current, which have changed, and which it can't verify. For any "changed" claim, a green ✓ Apply this update everywhere button substitutes the corrected wording into every help section where that fact appears — Tax & ACA notes, Concepts Primer cards, info popovers, glossary entries. A small 🤖 AI-corrected on YYYY-MM-DD badge marks each updated sentence so you always know what was changed and when. Click ↩ Revert to restore the original wording.

How to choose: use 🔄 Fetch when you suspect numbers have moved (new tax year, inflation adjustment); use 🔎 Audit when you suspect rules have moved (new legislation, ACA cliff extension, treaty change, IRMAA tier restructure). They're complementary — numbers and prose drift independently.

Don't have an API key? The Rate research prompt above gives you a paste-ready prompt for any external AI assistant — Claude.ai, ChatGPT, or Gemini all work. You copy the prompt, paste in the response, and the planner imports the numbers. Prose updates without a key are a manual job — read the audit's findings (you'd need a key to run it) or check the source references shipped with the planner.

What persists: Both kinds of updates are stored in this browser's local storage and survive reloads. Numeric updates ride along with your plan when you export / import, so a plan shared with a colleague carries the latest numbers. Prose corrections also travel with the plan JSON — handy when collaborating on the same plan after a major rules change.

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