Frequently Asked Questions

No. We publish free calculators, plain-English guides and an email newsletter. We are not a registered investment adviser and nothing here is personalized investment advice. Most of our readers work with a CPA, planner or attorney; the site is meant to help you understand your numbers, check the math and know which questions to ask them.

That is not the idea. The calculators and guides help you see the trade-offs in decisions like Social Security timing, withdrawal order and Roth conversions, so you can go into meetings prepared and weigh the advice you get. Some readers handle everything themselves, and the tools work for them too, but for decisions that are hard to reverse it is worth reviewing your figures with a professional.

It is a free email letter from Rob May and Vik Chadha, the founders, for people near or in retirement: new guides and calculators, the year's numbers when they change (IRS limits, Medicare premiums, the Social Security adjustment), and worked examples. A paid edition may follow later. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying to any email.

The calculators, guides, newsletter and most of the Excel templates are free today. A paid edition of the newsletter may follow later. We don't sell investments or insurance and don't take commissions, so nothing on the site depends on the choices you make.

The calculators work out results in your browser; the figures you type aren't saved to an account. We only receive what you choose to send, such as your email address when you download a template.

The Excel templates are free. Downloading one subscribes you to the free newsletter, so you hear when the figures in it change, such as a new year's tax brackets or contribution limits. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying to any email, and we do not sell or rent your address.

Yes. The calculators and guides work on desktops, tablets and phones, and most pages print cleanly if you want a paper copy to take to a meeting.