RetIQ iOS — User Manual

1. Quick Start

RetIQ runs a year-by-year retirement projection based on your income, expenses, accounts, taxes, and benefits. Enter your data in the Inputs tab, then check Dashboard for results.

1. Open the app — Dashboard shows default projections.
2. Tap Inputs → Personal — set your age, retirement age, state, and spouse info.
3. Fill in Income, Expenses, and Accounts.
4. Return to Dashboard — your plan health, stats, and charts update automatically.
5. Explore Analysis for Monte Carlo, Scenarios, and Relocation tools.

2. Navigation & Tabs

The app has five main tabs at the bottom of the screen:

The Modules screen (grid icon at the top of the Dashboard) is the storefront — it lists every purchase option with its features, price, and whether you own it. See section 3.

Additional features are accessible from Dashboard:

• Plans — tap the folder icon (top-left on Dashboard) to save, load, import/export plans, change theme, and access example families. The sparkles button beside it opens the example families directly (visible until you own a module or Full).
• Survivor Planning — open the Analysis tab and choose the Survivor segment (requires spouse enabled and the Survivor Planning module).
• Export — tap the share icon (top-right on Dashboard) for PDF report and CSV data export.
• Explain this screen (?) — tap the ? button on Dashboard, Inputs, Projection or Analysis to list the retirement concepts used on that screen. Tap any one to read its definition, the current-year figures RetIQ uses, and its source. Available on every tier.
• Notes on any Inputs screen (v4.6) — every Inputs screen has a Notes box for jotting down why you entered what you did (handy when you revisit the plan months later). Notes are saved with your plan.

Simple vs. Full View

Toggle between Simple and Full at the top of the Inputs tab. Simple view shows only the essential sections (Personal, Income, Expenses, Accounts, Real Estate, Social Security, Pension, and Assumptions). Full view adds four collapsible categories:

• Tax Strategy — Roth & Drawdown, Charitable Giving
• Healthcare — Pre-Medicare, Medicare & IRMAA
• Obligations — Liabilities, Long-Term Care, Legacy
• Special Situations — SSDI

Tap any category header to expand or collapse it. This keeps the Inputs screen manageable while giving access to every feature. Full view is included with Essentials (see section 3); without it, the app stays in Simple view.

3. Pricing & Modules

RetIQ is free to download, with a modular pricing model: start free, then buy only the features you need. Browse everything in the Modules screen (the grid icon at the top of the Dashboard).

Free tier — $0

Essentials — $24.99

The foundation: full input control and the complete dashboard. Unlocks Full view on the Inputs tab (advanced sections and advanced options within the basic sections), the detailed year-by-year Projection table, Strategy Report, Plan Insights, Strategy Check-In, Maximum Spending, Portfolio Flow, What-If Explorer, scenarios, relocation, PDF/CSV export, and the ability to copy an example family into your own editable plan. (Example families themselves are viewable read-only on the free tier.)

Feature modules — $9.99 each

Each module requires Essentials. If you buy a module without Essentials, the storefront offers a bundled “Get Essentials + [Module]” option at the combined price. Module ownership is enforced at the screen it unlocks: the Healthcare & Medicare screens (Pre-Medicare, Medicare & IRMAA, Long-Term Care, SSDI), the Legacy, Real Estate and Charitable Giving screens, and the Self-Employment block in Income stay locked until you own the matching module — Essentials alone does not open them.

Full Unlock — $69.99

Essentials plus all five modules in one purchase, at a bundle discount (about 7% off buying separately).

All purchases are one-time — no subscriptions. If you switch devices, use Restore Purchase in Plans to recover everything you’ve bought. The AI Guide and Learn are free on every tier.

4. Example Families

Four pre-built families demonstrate different retirement scenarios. Open them from the sparkles button in the Dashboard toolbar (shown until you own a module or Full), or from Plans → Example Families.

Example plans are a free, full-feature, read-only preview: every module is unlocked while you browse, so you can run the projections, Monte Carlo, Scenarios, Survivor Planning, the Optimizer, and the Strategy Report on real data before buying anything. A banner stays at the top while an example is open — tap Build Your Own Plan to return to yours. Inputs are read-only on examples, and save/export are disabled; if you already own a module or Full, you can use Copy to a New Plan to turn an example into an editable starting point.

The Clarks — The Cost of Simplicity

A couple nearing retirement in Florida with $1M+ saved. Simple plan on the surface, but hidden RMD and tax surprises await. Demonstrates why “just withdraw 4%” misses important tax dynamics.

The Lees — The Optimization Gap

Dual-income optimizers in Virginia with HSA, early retirement at 62, and a Roth conversion window waiting to be discovered. Use the Roth Optimizer to see the impact.

The Washingtons — The Complexity You Didn’t Know You Had

Pension, mortgage, legacy goal, long-term care, expense phases — a complex real-world scenario that shows RetIQ’s full analytical depth.

The Garcias — The Self-Employed Advantage

A solo consultant in Texas with a six-figure practice, a Solo 401(k) with Mega Backdoor Roth, self-employment tax, and the QBI §199A deduction — everything the business-owner module covers.

5. Personal

Found in Inputs → Personal. Core demographic fields that drive the entire projection.

Spouse fields mirror primary fields: age, retirement age, birth year, and birth month.

In Full view, Birth Month and Month of Retirement are available (each spouse has their own). Setting a retirement month — the month you retire, i.e. the month after your last working day (a June 30 last day means July) — prorates that year: your employer plan is assumed to cover you through the month before, pre-Medicare coverage begins in the selected month, and that year’s living expenses blend your pre- and post-retirement budgets by month. Leave it on “Not specified” for start-of-year retirement.

6. Income

Inputs → Income. Your pre-retirement earned income and savings rate.

Pre-Retirement Income Phases (Full view)

If your income will change before retirement — going part-time, a career switch, or a planned wind-down — income phases let you model it. Each phase defines a start age, end age, income, savings, and growth rates. Ages not covered by any phase use the base income fields with their growth rate.

Recurring Income Streams (Full view)

Model ongoing income beyond employment: rental income, consulting, dividends, part-time work. Each stream has a name, annual amount, start/end age, and annual growth rate, plus a tax treatment — Ordinary, Qualified Dividend, Non-Qualified Dividend, or Tax-Exempt (municipal bond interest, with an issuing-state and state-tax override). Each stream can also take an optional start and end month, which prorates the first and final year to that month.

Federal Employee (FERS / CSRS) (Full view)

Federal civilian employees and retirees can use the Federal Employee card to set up a FERS or CSRS annuity. Enter your system, high-3 average salary, creditable service, retirement type, survivor election, after-tax contributions, and (for FERS) an estimated age-62 Social Security benefit. RetIQ computes the annuity (FERS 1.0%, 1.1% at 62+ with 20+ years, or 1.7% special-category; CSRS 1.5%/1.75%/2.0% capped at 80%), the MRA+10 reduction, the FERS Special Retirement Supplement (paid to just before 62, no COLA, subject to the $1/$2 earnings test against earned income), the survivor election cost against the unreduced annuity, the FERS diet COLA with the no-COLA-until-62 window (CSRS full CPI), and the Simplified-Method taxable percentage (IRC §72(d)). Apply to Plan writes a government-source pension (handled correctly by NY/HI/MA/OR state tax), the SRS income stream, and your annual-leave lump sum — all editable afterward. The card can also flag the §72(t) separation-at-55 (or public-safety-50) exception so TSP draws before 59½ are not penalized. WEP/GPO are repealed (2025). CSRS Offset, disability, and phased retirement are not yet modeled (enter net amounts manually).

One-Time Cash Events (Full view)

Inheritance, asset sales, bonuses, or other one-time income at a specific age. Types: Inheritance, Asset Sale, Bonus/Severance, Other. Each event can be stamped to an optional month; in the current year an elapsed month is treated as history.

Employer Stock — NUA (net unrealized appreciation): model a lump-sum distribution of employer stock from a 401(k). Enter the stock’s value (FMV) and the plan cost basis. In the distribution year the plan basis is taxed as ordinary income (IRC §402(e)(4)(B)) and the stock is deposited to brokerage with basis = the plan basis — so the appreciation above it, the NUA, is not taxed until you sell, then as a long-term capital gain. The plan loses the FMV. RetIQ treats the NUA as an unrealized gain on the deposited shares, realized on sale through the normal brokerage logic.

7. Expenses

Inputs → Expenses. Your annual spending in retirement.

8. Accounts

Inputs → Accounts. Your investment and savings accounts.

Each account shows only its own fields; the longer explanations of how a mechanism works (bond ladders, Treasury/muni interest, HSA caps, and so on) are tucked behind a small info line you can tap to expand (v4.6), so the screen stays compact.

RetIQ models each account type independently — its own balance, return rate, and tax treatment:

Add accounts with the + button. Set custom return rates per account if desired.

HSA Contributions (Full view)

When an HSA account exists, an HSA Contribution section appears on the Accounts screen: the annual contribution, an HSA coverage type (Self or Family), a contribution stop age, the medical withdrawal fraction, your unreimbursed medical receipts, and a cap tax-free withdrawals at medical costs toggle. The tax-free part of an HSA withdrawal is limited to your qualified-medical capacity — unreimbursed receipts plus the medical costs RetIQ models, accrued year by year. Anything above it is ordinary income (with a 20% additional tax before 65). Contributions end automatically at Medicare enrollment, six months retroactive from Part A, so the model stops them at the right time when you enroll early.

Brokerage Dividend Yield & Municipal Bonds (Full view)

Each brokerage account exposes an optional Dividend Yield. When set, the engine computes annual dividend income, routes it through MAGI as Qualified (taxed at long-term capital gains rates), Ordinary, or Tax-exempt (muni bond interest), and steps up cost basis dollar-for-dollar on reinvestment. Total return is unchanged — it is a tax/accounting split of the existing growth.

Municipal bond interest is excluded from federal income tax (IRC §103) and the net investment income tax, but it still counts toward Social Security benefit taxation, Medicare IRMAA, and ACA subsidies. When a muni type is chosen you set the issuing state (or a national fund / U.S. territory) and an optional state-tax override; your state generally exempts its own bonds and taxes other states’, so exemption is resolved year by year — relocating correctly starts taxing previously-exempt interest. Capital gains on sale remain taxable, and a mixed taxable + muni fund should be entered as two accounts. The same tax-exempt option is available on recurring income streams. Look for the Tax-Exempt Interest column in the Projection table and the MAGI breakdown.

US Savings Bonds (I/EE) (Full view)

A Cash/HYS account can be marked as US savings bonds, with a fixed rate and an inflation rate (default: your plan inflation). The account earns the composite rate — fixed plus inflation — and the interest is exempt from state income tax (31 U.S.C. §3124) while staying federally taxable. An EE bond uses a fixed rate — set inflation to 0. The real I-bond defers federal tax until redemption; RetIQ taxes the interest federally each year instead (a documented simplification), and the redemption restrictions (12-month lockout, three-month interest penalty within five years) are not modeled.

Fixed-Income Ladders (Full view)

A Cash/HYS or pre-tax (IRA) account can hold a held-to-maturity bond ladder. Expand Fixed-income ladder and add a rung per bond — its face value, coupon, maturity year, and instrument (Treasury state-exempt, Agency issuer-dependent, Muni federally exempt with a per-rung issuing state, CD, or Corporate) — or use the 5-yr Treasury / CD quick-fill. RetIQ computes the account’s blended yield from the rungs still before maturity, so it falls as rungs mature. A rung may carry a cost (a bond bought above par amortizes its premium, IRC §171, and the yield is computed on cost); mark a rung zero-coupon / STRIPS to accrue original-issue discount (IRC §1272), or TIPS for a real coupon plus inflation accretion (Treas. Reg. §1.1275-7). OID and TIPS accretion are taxed as they accrue but are not spendable — they appear separately on the Dashboard and as a Phantom column in the Projection. A rung can be sold before maturity or called, realizing a capital gain or loss, and a reinvestment rate makes a rolling ladder keep maturing principal earning. Inside a pre-tax account the coupon compounds tax-deferred.

Account Ownership & Per-Owner RMDs (couples)

When both spouses hold pre-tax accounts, RetIQ tracks RMDs per owner — each spouse’s 401(k) and IRA balances compute their required distributions against that spouse’s own age, not pooled against a single age. This affects when RMDs begin and how much room you have for Roth conversions before they start.

Set each account’s owner right in the account editor: every account has a You / Spouse owner picker (shown when a spouse is enabled). Ownership also travels with your plan file, so a plan authored in the RetIQ web app carries its attribution over on import, and the engine computes RMDs against the correct owner’s age either way. (The spouse contribution-routing and employer-match controls on this tab govern where new savings go and how the match is calculated — they are separate from account ownership.)

Inherited IRA Accounts (Full view)

For inherited IRAs subject to the SECURE Act 10-year rule, add an Inherited IRA or Inherited Roth IRA account and enter the Year Inherited. The engine calculates a 10-year distribution deadline and spreads forced annual distributions evenly over the remaining window. When the deadline is ≤2 years away, the app highlights it in red.

Inherited distributions offset your spending needs before voluntary withdrawals from other accounts. Excess distributions are reinvested into brokerage with full cost basis tracking. Inherited accounts are excluded from the configurable withdrawal order, Roth conversions, Tax-Aware Drawdown, and standard RMDs.

Contribution Routing (Full view)

By default, RetIQ auto-splits your annual savings 60% to Pre-Tax, 25% to Roth (IRA), and 15% to Brokerage, capped at IRS limits. Enable Contribution Routing to specify exactly where your money goes:

• 401(k) Deferral: Annual employee contribution to your 401(k). Choose Traditional (tax-deferred, reduces current taxable income) or Roth (after-tax, grows and withdraws tax-free). Capped at the IRS elective deferral limit plus applicable catch-up.
• IRA Contribution: Annual contribution to a Traditional or Roth IRA. Capped at the IRS IRA limit plus catch-up for age 50+.
• After-Tax Brokerage: Computed automatically as the remainder of your total annual savings minus 401(k) and IRA contributions.

The Household Savings Summary shows your total savings, the routed 401(k) + IRA split, the after-tax brokerage remainder, and the employer match added on top. If 401(k) + IRA exceeds the total, a warning appears and the engine will clamp contributions to available savings. Routing amounts are constant — they do not change with income phases or savings growth rate. Employer match is always calculated against your 401(k) deferral amount (regardless of Traditional or Roth) and deposited to Traditional Pre-Tax.

Gradual-Release Annuity (Full view)

RetIQ models retirement plans whose money comes out over several years instead of all at once — most prominently TIAA Traditional, the classic “9 years and 1 day” contract (10 annual installments over a 9-year span, first payment immediate). Add a Gradual-Release Annuity account and enter:

• Guaranteed rate — the carrier-set rate your contract pays (the guaranteed base plus dividend, not a market return).
• Number of installments — how many annual payments the contract makes (default 10).
• First release age — when the first installment is paid (immediate).
• Immediate liquid % — an optional tranche paid out immediately (default 0; the “2.5%” sometimes cited for TIAA is a surrender charge on the lump-sum option, not extra liquidity).
• Destination — where each annual release goes: Roll to IRA/pre-tax (tax-free §402(c) rollover), Convert to Roth (taxable), Spend (taxable income), or Move to brokerage (taxable distribution — the tax lands in that year’s converged bill).

The locked balance is not treated as a lump-sum rollover: it is excluded from withdrawals and Roth conversions until released, its share of required minimum distributions is satisfied from the contract itself, and it is exempt from Monte Carlo volatility (a guaranteed contract is your fixed-rate leg). Rollover destinations are limited to schedules under 10 years per IRC §402(c)(4)(A), and the app warns if you enter a schedule that wouldn’t qualify. The same model covers stable-value funds, multi-year guaranteed annuities, and other contracts with staged access. Look for the Annuity Bal and Annuity Release columns in the Projection table.

8b. Real Estate (v4.8, Legacy & Estate module)

Inputs → Assets → Real Estate. One screen holds the home you own and any rental properties. Both are non-portfolio assets: they appreciate and count in your estate and net-to-heirs (with the §1014 step-up), but they stay out of portfolio net worth, so solvency and Monte Carlo are unaffected. Property tax is a recurring expense. Requires the Legacy & Estate module.

Primary Residence

• Value, cost basis, appreciation rate, property-tax rate. Appreciation defaults to your inflation rate.
• I’ll sell this home — sale age and selling costs. The §121 primary-home exclusion is applied ($500K married / $250K single); when the projected gain exceeds it, the screen flags the excess (this card does not tax it — model that part as a Property Sale event). The projected sale price is shown at your sale age.
• I’ll buy a home — buy age, price in today’s dollars, and the new home’s own property-tax rate. In a year where you sell and buy, the engine sells first, then buys; a purchase while still owning with no sale age auto-sells at the buy age.
• Additional home transitions — sell and buy again later. Each row is a sale or a purchase with its own age, and they apply in age order.

The Projection table has a Home column with the true value each year, and the Legacy screen shows the estate summary with a Manage Real Estate link back here.

Rental Properties

+ Add Rental Property opens an editor with:

• Value, cost basis, land value (land is not depreciable), acquired age, placed-in-service month, and any accumulated depreciation.
• Rent with its own growth rate and a vacancy allowance; operating expenses with a growth rate; mortgage balance, rate and payment; property-tax rate.
• Sale — optional sale age and selling costs.

Net rent is ordinary income, reduced by operating expenses, mortgage interest, property tax, and 27.5-year mid-month depreciation. A net loss is passive: the §469(i) allowance applies when you are treated as actively participating, and the rest carries forward until a sale releases it under §469(g). A sale reports §1250 recapture (25%) plus capital gain, and the equity (value less mortgage) counts in the estate with the step-up. A first-year rental summary shows each line so you can trace the numbers.

9. Social Security

Inputs → Social Security. When and how much you’ll receive.

Benefit Estimation

Three modes. Not yet collecting (income-based): enter your average annual income and RetIQ estimates your PIA using SSA bend points (2026). Not yet collecting (SSA statement): enter the monthly benefit at FRA from your ssa.gov statement; RetIQ applies the early/late adjustment based on your claim age. Already collecting: enter your current monthly benefit; RetIQ uses it directly and applies COLA forward from your current age. For all three modes, enter the gross amount before any Medicare Part B premium is deducted — that’s the figure used for Social Security tax calculations and what the engine needs.

Benefit Preview

Shows your estimated annual and monthly benefit at your chosen claim age, your Full Retirement Age (FRA), and the percentage adjustment. Claiming before FRA permanently reduces your benefit (up to 30% at age 62). Delaying past FRA earns 8% per year in delayed credits through age 70.

Month Social Security Starts (Full view)

Social Security begins the month you reach your claim age, not on January 1. Set this month (each spouse has their own) and RetIQ prorates the first year — claiming at 67 with an April birthday pays nine months that year. Entering a fractional claim age (66.5) prorates automatically. Leave it on “Not sure” and the first year is modeled whole. The proration composes with the current-year as-of month, so a mid-year start in the current year pays only the months still ahead.

Divorced-Spouse Benefit (Full view)

On a single plan (spouse not included), if you were married for at least ten years and are unmarried now, enable Divorced-spouse benefit and enter your ex-spouse’s PIA, the years you were married, and how long you’ve been divorced. You can claim up to 50% of their PIA at your full retirement age — reduced by the same formula as a spousal benefit if you claim earlier, with no delayed credits past FRA — paid as a floor above your own benefit. If you’ve been divorced less than two years, your ex must already have filed for their own benefit (set Has your ex filed? accordingly); after two years, the ex need not have filed. The benefit does not reduce your ex’s benefit and needs no consent, and the SS Claiming Optimizer accounts for the floor. Family-maximum and child-in-care benefits, and the surviving-divorced-spouse case, are not modeled.

Earnings Test Warning

If you plan to claim SS before FRA while still earning income, an amber warning appears. Social Security temporarily withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above the annual limit ($24,480 in 2026). Withheld benefits are credited back at FRA. RetIQ models this withholding in your projection.

SSDI Integration

When SSDI is active, a blue notice appears explaining that SSDI auto-converts to regular SS at FRA and the claim age setting is overridden.

Survivor SS Claim Age (Full view)

When a spouse is enabled, a separate survivor SS claim age field appears (minimum age 60). This controls when the surviving spouse begins collecting survivor benefits if a partner passes away.

COLA (Full view)

Cost-of-living adjustment — how much Social Security increases each year. Historical average about 2–3%. Applied after claiming to both you and spouse.

SS Trust Fund Reduction (Full view)

Model a potential benefit cut if the Social Security trust fund is depleted. The trustees project exhaustion around 2033–2035, which may trigger an automatic ~20% benefit cut. Configure the reduction percentage (typical estimate: 20–23%) and the start year.

Claiming Age Comparison Table (Full view)

Shows a table for ages 62 through 70 with monthly benefit, annual benefit, percentage of FRA, and breakeven age vs. claiming at 62. Your current claim age is highlighted green. A separate table appears for your spouse when enabled.

Claiming Strategy (v3.14)

When a spouse is enabled, tap Find Best Claiming Strategy to sweep every combination of primary and spouse claim ages from 62 to 70 — all 81 paths — and rank them by lifetime household Social Security, with ending net worth shown alongside. Review the top results and tap Apply on a path to adopt those claim ages in your plan (both people’s ages, including the survivor claim-age default). A manual combination is often close, but the optimizer frequently finds a few extra years of income you would not have tried by hand.

If you or your spouse receives SSDI, the disabled person’s benefit converts automatically to a retirement benefit at full retirement age — there is no claim age to choose — so the optimizer fixes that person’s age and compares only the spouse who actually has a choice. When neither person can choose, it explains why instead of showing a list.

10. Pension

Inputs → Pension. Defined benefit pension income. Tap “+ Add Pension” to add multiple pensions per person — useful for military + civilian pairs or multiple former employers. Each entry has its own start age, COLA, survivor option, and taxable percentage; the engine sums all enabled entries each year.

Spouse pension is configured separately.

Pension Decision — Lump Sum vs. Annuity (Full view)

Compare a one-time pension buyout against the guaranteed annuity stream without changing your plan. Enter the lump-sum offer, annual annuity payment, annuity COLA, annuity start age, plan end age, expected return on the lump sum, your marginal tax rate, and the taxable percentages for each option. RetIQ compares the after-tax present values of both, shows the break-even age, and highlights which choice comes out ahead.

Applying a choice writes it into your plan — Take the Annuity creates a pension entry with the stream and survivor terms you set, while Take the Lump Sum records the buyout as an ordinary-income cash event in the year you choose. Both are fully editable or removable afterward.

11. Disability / SSDI (Full view)

Inputs → SSDI. Social Security Disability Insurance.

If you or your spouse receive SSDI, RetIQ models the benefit amount, automatic conversion to retirement SS at Full Retirement Age, and the 24-month Medicare eligibility rule. SSDI recipients become eligible for Medicare 24 months after their disability onset, regardless of age.

12. Healthcare (Full view)

Inputs → Healthcare. Pre-Medicare coverage, out-of-pocket costs, and Expense Phases. (Long-Term Care is modeled separately under Obligations — see section 17.)

Pre-Medicare Healthcare

If you retire before 65, you need healthcare coverage until Medicare. RetIQ shows your gap length and models costs by coverage source.

SSDI recipients may qualify for Medicare 24 months after disability onset (before age 65). The gap adjusts automatically.

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion: If you or your spouse earns income abroad and excludes it from federal tax under IRC §911, enter that amount in the ACA section. It is added back to MAGI for the subsidy calculation (IRC §36B(d)(2)(B)) — so foreign-earned income is not silently ignored when computing your premium.

Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Costs

Beyond premiums, you can model the medical costs you pay directly. Two independent toggles in this section:

• Model Pre-Medicare Out-of-Pocket Costs — out-of-pocket spending during early retirement, before Medicare begins: deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and uncovered prescriptions, on top of your pre-Medicare premiums above. It applies only while retired and before anyone reaches Medicare; at enrollment, Post-Medicare out-of-pocket takes over. By default it grows at your Pre-Medicare Healthcare Inflation rate, or you can set a custom OOP inflation.
• Model Post-Medicare Out-of-Pocket Costs — out-of-pocket spending Medicare doesn’t cover: Medigap or Medicare Advantage and Part D plan premiums, dental, vision, hearing, copays, and uncovered prescriptions. Begins at Medicare enrollment; base Part B and IRMAA are modeled separately. It has its own OOP inflation setting.

Out-of-pocket amounts flow into your projected spending, and into your itemized medical deduction where it applies.

Expense Phases

Model changing spending patterns: Active (100% to age 75), Later (85% ages 75–85), Late (95% age 85+). All percentages and ages adjustable. Summary line shows active configuration.

13. Medicare & IRMAA (Full view)

Inputs → Healthcare → Medicare & IRMAA. Most figures are computed from your projection; a few inputs sharpen IRMAA for your first Medicare years.

Medicare Cost Inflation

The annual growth rate applied to Medicare Part B premiums and IRMAA surcharges. The default of 5% reflects historical CMS Trustees Report projections (a 5–7% range). This is separate from the Pre-Medicare Healthcare Inflation used before age 65.

Medicare Choices (v4.0)

New in v4.0: control how the model handles enrollment and premiums.

• Part D base premium — the standard Part D premium before any IRMAA surcharge.
• Enrollment age (per person) — start Medicare earlier (SSDI) or later; this affects when premiums begin and when HSA contributions stop (six months retroactive from Part A).
• Creditable employer coverage — lets you delay Part B without a late-enrollment penalty.
• Hold-harmless — caps the standard Part B increase at your Social Security COLA (42 U.S.C. §1395r(f)).
• SSA-44 relief — after a work stoppage or the death of a spouse, use current-year income instead of the two-year lookback.

How IRMAA Works

Medicare Part B and Part D premiums include Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA) based on your MAGI from 2 years prior. Higher income from RMDs, Roth conversions, capital gains, or SS can push you into higher brackets.

Increases MAGI: Pre-tax withdrawals, RMDs, Roth conversions, capital gains, SS, pension, earned income, dividends, tax-exempt (muni) bond interest.

Does NOT increase MAGI: Roth withdrawals, HSA medical withdrawals, return of basis, life insurance benefits.

2026 IRMAA Bracket Table

Displays all 6 tiers for your filing status (MFJ or Single) with MAGI thresholds, Part B/D costs, and total. Your current bracket highlighted.

Lifetime Stats

Lifetime Part B + IRMAA premiums; an out-of-pocket-inclusive Lifetime Medicare Total when OOP costs are modeled; lifetime IRMAA surcharges; years with surcharges; peak IRMAA year; Net Social Security after Medicare; and the distance to your nearest IRMAA tier (the "cliff" headroom at the year you are closest).

Per-Person Premium Detail (v4.0)

A per-enrollee breakdown of Part B base, Part B IRMAA, and Part D IRMAA for the first Medicare year, so a couple can see each person’s premiums.

Medicare Cost Chart

Stacked bar chart: base Medicare (pink) and IRMAA surcharge (orange) by age. (v4.0 fixed a chart bug so base and IRMAA stack correctly.)

Year-by-Year Breakdown

Expandable table: MAGI, IRMAA tier, Medicare cost, and surcharge for every Medicare year.

Coverage Path (v4.0)

On the Post-Medicare Out-of-Pocket card, one-click starting points: Medicare Advantage (about $2K per person) or Original + Medigap (about $5K per person). These are market estimates, not statutory figures.

IRMAA Reduction Strategies

When surcharges are detected, actionable tips appear:

• Time Roth conversions carefully — large conversions spike MAGI 2 years later.
• Use Smart Fill for TAD — IRMAA-aware and stops before crossing thresholds.
• Withdraw from Roth — doesn’t count toward MAGI.
• Use QCDs — reduces taxable income without increasing MAGI.
• Spread income across years — avoid bunching conversions or asset sales.
• File SSA-44 after life-changing events for current-year IRMAA determination.

14. Roth Conversions (Full view)

Inputs → Roth Conversions. Convert pre-tax money to Roth to reduce future RMDs and lifetime taxes.

Strategies

Set a conversion window (start and end age). Conversions only happen during the window.

Income Limit Caps & IRMAA Tier Ceiling (v3.14)

With Smart Fill or Cliff-Aware Fill, the caps that hold your conversions back are your choice. Toggle each one on or off: stay under the ACA 400% FPL subsidy cliff (protects the Marketplace premium credit; applies in pre-Medicare years on a Marketplace plan), stay under the Medicare IRMAA surcharge tiers, and on Cliff-Aware Fill, stay under the NIIT threshold. Uncheck a cap and the conversion fills the bracket even if it crosses that threshold.

When the IRMAA cap is on, pick an IRMAA Tier Ceiling — like filling a tax bracket, but to an IRMAA tier. Auto keeps the classic behavior of only filling the tier your other income already reaches; No surcharge stays under the first surcharge tier; Through tier 1–4 fills up through that tier’s ceiling while accepting its Medicare surcharge; Top tier removes the IRMAA ceiling entirely. The dollar ceilings shown follow your filing status (joint or single), and the engine applies each year’s indexed Medicare thresholds with the two-year lookback — so a tier you pick today is honored on the actual IRMAA schedule when those premiums are paid.

IRA Basis (Form 8606)

If your traditional IRA contains after-tax (nondeductible) contributions, enter your cumulative basis here. The engine applies the IRS pro-rata rule — only the pre-tax portion of each conversion is taxed. Your basis depletes proportionally as you convert over multiple years. If zero or unsure, leave at $0.

Conversion Tax Source

Controls where the taxes on your Roth conversion come from. This matters — paying from cash or brokerage keeps the full converted amount in your Roth (best outcome). Withholding from the IRA itself means less money lands in Roth. Note: when there’s no cash to draw on, “Cash / Brokerage” means selling your brokerage, which realizes capital gains and can make withholding from the IRA cheaper — so compare the options in the Impact Analysis.

Roth Impact Analysis

Compares your projection with and without conversions. Shows total converted, lifetime tax delta, IRMAA impact, breakeven age, Break-Even Tax Rate (BETR), and four comparison charts (pre-tax balances, Roth balances, cumulative advantage, annual conversions).

Break-Even Tax Rate (BETR) — based on Vanguard’s research framework. Shows the average future effective tax rate the no-conversion pretax pool would need at withdrawal for conversion to break even. Important: this is not a comparison to your current marginal rate — it’s the implicit effective rate already baked into your projection. When BETR is low, deductions are covering most future withdrawals, making conversion’s upfront cost hard to recover.

5-Year Rule Tracker — each Roth conversion starts a separate 5-year clock. Withdrawals before the clock expires (and before age 59½) may incur a 10% penalty. The tracker shows maturity dates for each conversion year. Hidden when all conversions happen after age 59½ (no penalty concern).

Marginal Rate Curve

Tap “Analyze Marginal Rates” (below the Impact Analysis) to see a chart of the true effective marginal tax rate at each conversion level. The chart sweeps conversion amounts from $0 up to your pre-tax balance in $5K steps, computing federal + state tax, Medicare IRMAA, and — in pre-Medicare Marketplace years — the ACA net premium at each level, so the 400% FPL subsidy cliff shows up as a spike.

Spikes in the curve reveal the “tax torpedo” — where several effects compound: SS taxation stacking, capital gains bracket shifts, the OBBB phaseout, IRMAA tiers, NIIT, and the ACA cliff. The chart keeps the 0–100% band readable: spikes above the band are clipped with red markers, the x-axis starts at $0, and federal bracket rates (12%, 22%, 24%, 32%) are shown as gray dashed reference lines. Your current conversion is a dashed blue line. Drag across the chart to read the exact (unclipped) marginal rate at any amount, with the federal, state, IRMAA, and ACA pieces itemized underneath.

Roth Optimizer

Tests ~200 strategy combinations across conversion windows up to 40 years and ranks them by your chosen goal: maximize net worth, minimize taxes, minimize tax + IRMAA, maximize SS income, or maximize tax-free legacy. Each result shows end net worth, lifetime tax, IRMAA impact, breakeven age, and a composite score.

Return rates (v4.8): when your pre-tax, Roth, and brokerage accounts carry different expected returns, a note above the button says so and names which way the comparison leans. The ranking itself uses one blended rate so allocation differences do not skew the result; applying a strategy runs your real per-account rates.

15. Charitable Giving (Full view)

Inputs → Charitable Giving. Model charitable giving throughout retirement. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from pre-tax accounts after age 70½ count toward RMD requirements without increasing taxable income. Non-QCD giving is treated as an additional expense.

Simple Mode

Set a flat annual giving amount with an optional inflation toggle. Max QCD: $111K/yr (2026, inflation-adjusted). Amounts beyond QCD eligibility are non-deductible expenses.

Flexible Schedule

Toggle “Use Flexible Schedule” to define multiple giving phases. Each phase has a start age, end age, and either a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of annual income. If both are set, % of income takes priority. Phases can overlap and amounts are summed.

16. Legacy (Full view)

Inputs → Obligations → Legacy. Set a target amount to leave to heirs and configure heir tax assumptions.

Progress Tracking

When a legacy goal is enabled, a progress bar shows how your projected end net worth compares to your target, with surplus or shortfall displayed.

Legacy Composition

A stacked bar and per-account breakdown shows what your heirs actually receive, with tax treatment for each account type:

Estimated After-Tax Legacy

Applies the heir tax bracket (adjustable, 10–37%) to pre-tax and HSA balances. Roth and taxable pass at full value. Shows the effective inheritance after heir taxes.

Roth Conversion Impact on Legacy

When Roth conversions are enabled, compares after-tax legacy with and without conversions. Shows whether conversions help or hurt the inheritance at the selected heir bracket.

Inherited IRA — 10-Year Distribution Model

Models the SECURE Act 10-year distribution for your projected pre-tax balance. Shows year-by-year distributions, tax at the selected heir bracket, and net cash to heirs. Includes a Roth alternative callout showing how much more heirs would keep if the balance were Roth.

Estate-Tax Exemption (v4.6)

Shows the projected federal estate-tax exemption: $15M per person in 2026, indexed to your plan’s end year and drawn as a curve, with the caveat that it assumes current law continues (a future Congress could reduce it). Because the exemption grows with inflation, a far-off estate isn’t overstated. State estate/inheritance thresholds are held at 2026 levels. Federal estate tax (40% above the exclusion) and the net your heirs actually keep appear in the Legacy composition. Estate and inheritance taxes now follow your state of domicile at the end of the plan (the move-aware state), so a relocation is reflected in what your heirs owe.

Home / Real Estate (moved to Inputs in v4.8)

The estate summary here shows the home’s value, rental equity (value less mortgage), and how both feed the composition below, with a Manage Real Estate link. The editors moved to Inputs → Assets → Real Estate in v4.8, where the primary residence and rental properties are modeled together.

Annual Gifting (v4.7)

A per-year gift to family, with an amount, age range, and inflation option. Gifts are funded from the portfolio as a non-deductible outflow, so the gifted assets and their future growth leave the estate. The card shows the 2026 annual exclusion ($19,000 per recipient; $38,000 for a married couple splitting gifts) and the estate tax the gifting removes.

Early-Passing Scenario (v4.7)

Shown when Roth conversions are enabled. Re-runs the plan truncated at a chosen death age (both spouses are treated as dying in that plan year) and compares it with and without the configured conversions. It sets the conversion tax paid against the heir income tax on the remaining pre-tax balance, shows the change in net-to-heirs, and reports a sign-banded break-even death age — so you can see whether converting pays off if you die early.

Life Insurance

Model term or permanent life insurance policies. Each policy has a name, insured person (you or spouse), type (term or permanent), death benefit, annual premium, and expiry age (term only). Premiums are added to annual expenses. Death benefits deposit tax-free (IRC §101) into the survivor’s brokerage account when the insured dies.

17. Obligations — Liabilities & Long-Term Care (Full view)

The Obligations group holds three forward-looking input screens: Liabilities, Long-Term Care, and Legacy. (Legacy is covered in section 16.)

Liabilities

Inputs → Obligations → Liabilities. Model debts that reduce your available cash flow. Each debt is shown as a section with summary stats.

• Name: Label (e.g., “Mortgage”, “Car Loan”, “Alimony”).
• Type: Mortgage, Loan, Alimony, or Other.
• Monthly Payment: Your regular payment amount.
• Remaining Balance: Current principal balance. When entered, the engine tracks principal paydown year by year and automatically stops payments when the balance reaches zero. Leave empty for fixed-payment obligations like alimony.
• Interest Rate: Annual interest rate. Shown when a balance is entered. Used with the remaining balance to compute the interest/principal split each year.
• Start Age: When payments begin.
• End Age: When payments stop (fixed-payment mode only — hidden for amortized debts since payoff is computed automatically).

Each debt shows the computed payoff age (or “Not paid off” if the balance outlasts the plan), total payments, and an interest vs. principal breakdown. The Projection tab includes Debt Interest and Debt Principal Paid as selectable chart categories.

Long-Term Care

Inputs → Obligations → Long-Term Care. 70% of people over 65 need long-term care. Configure annual cost, start age, duration, and inflation. When a spouse is enabled, you can model a separate care plan for them (the toggle is at the bottom of the screen).

LTC Insurance: Enter coverage amount, inflation protection (None/2%/3%/5% compound), and purchase age. RetIQ compounds coverage and compares against inflated care costs year by year. Summary shows cost at start, insurance at start, annual gap, total cost, and net after insurance.

18. Assumptions

Inputs → Assumptions. Global parameters that affect the entire projection.

RMD Handling (Full view)

When Required Minimum Distributions begin (age 73 or 75 by birth year per SECURE 2.0 §107), the IRS forces money out of pre-tax accounts. Use RMDs to fund expenses first spends that cash before drawing any other account (the realistic pattern); otherwise RMDs follow your withdrawal order. Leftover RMD cash is reinvested to Brokerage (full cost basis) or Cash/HYS. The first RMD may be delayed to April 1 of the next year (IRC §401(a)(9)(C)(i)) — that year distributes nothing and the next year takes two RMDs, while the pre-tax balance stays invested one year longer.

SEPP / §72(t) (Full view)

A series of substantially equal periodic payments (SEPP) is the IRS exception that lets you draw from a pre-tax account before age 59½ without the 10% early-distribution tax (IRC §72(t)(2)(A)(iv)). Enable it and choose a method: RMD (balance ÷ life-expectancy factor, recalculated each year), fixed amortization (a level payment from the balance, life expectancy, and an interest rate you enter), or fixed annuitization (approximated with the amortization formula) — or enter a manual annual amount. The series runs from your start age to the later of five years or age 59½, is drawn from your pre-tax pool, and funds spending first (any excess reinvests like an RMD excess). A SEPP column in the Projection table shows the amount each year.

Tax-Aware Drawdown (Full view)

Voluntary pre-tax withdrawals that fill low tax brackets between retirement and RMD start age. Proceeds go to your brokerage account (not Roth) where heirs get a stepped-up cost basis. Can run alongside Roth conversions — Roth fills the bracket first, then TAD fills the remaining room.

Set a start and end age for the drawdown window. The engine reports the drawdown amount and its marginal tax cost separately from your regular tax bill.

19. Dashboard

The home screen. The Dashboard is organized into collapsible sections — At a Glance, This Year, Focus Areas, and Trends — plus Portfolio Flow, the What-If Explorer, and Strategy Report. Tap a section header to expand or collapse it.

Today’s Dollars Toggle

A Future $ / Today’s $ segmented picker at the top of the Dashboard switches all dollar values between nominal (inflated) and real (purchasing-power-adjusted) terms. When Today’s $ is selected, stat cards, lifetime totals, and all four charts are deflated by your inflation rate, showing what future amounts are worth in today’s money. The Projection tab has the same toggle.

At a Glance

Your Plan Health verdict and headline metrics. Plan Health is graded across hundreds of Monte Carlo market scenarios, not a single average path: Looks Strong means your money survives the full plan in roughly 90%+ of scenarios (and at 90% confidence lasts to your plan end); Thin Margins means it only squeaks through; Needs Attention means a real chance of running out. The card shows a brief “Analyzing…” state while the scenario run completes. The metrics include Current Net Worth, Peak Net Worth, End Net Worth, Retire Age, Money Lasts To, Lifetime Taxes, RMD Start Age, and IRMAA Surcharges (when applicable).

Maximum Spending (Essentials)

In the Focus Areas section of the Dashboard, a Maximum Spending card shows the highest annual spending your current plan can sustain without running out of money. The solver works with every expense mode. It shows two ceilings: the highest spending that still works in 90% of market scenarios (Monte Carlo, 120 simulations per candidate), alongside the figure at your single assumed return. With a legacy goal set, the ceiling is the most you can spend and still leave the target. If spending is already above the risk-aware ceiling, the card flags it.

Learn about your numbers (Light/Guided)

With Guidance set to Light or Guided (see section 26), the Dashboard shows a Learn about your numbers row of concept chips (for example IRMAA, RMDs, taxable Social Security, or how long your money lasts) and a Why? link beside each Focus Area finding. Tapping either opens the matching concept card.

Focus Areas

Rule-based insights ranked by financial impact. Includes: Roth conversion opportunities, IRMAA surcharges, healthcare gaps, high withdrawal rates, large RMDs, legacy opportunities, expense phase recommendations, cash drag detection (excess cash earning below market rate), backdoor Roth alerts (when a traditional IRA balance blocks efficient backdoor contributions due to the pro-rata rule), and inherited IRA distribution timelines (SECURE Act deadline, estimated tax cost, and years remaining).

This Year

Shows your current-year income, expenses, taxes, and net worth. When retirement is 1–5 years away, a Working / Retirement segmented toggle appears above the card. Tap Retirement to preview what your first retirement year looks like — income sources shift from employment to SS and withdrawals, taxes change, and savings stop. Tap Working to return to the current year view. When already retired or more than 5 years from retirement, the toggle is hidden and the card shows the current year only. The card breaks the year down per person and by source — wages, dividends, tax-exempt and cash interest, SS/SSDI, pension, other income, and one-time cash events, plus employer match, HSA, and account transfers (Tax-Aware Drawdown and Roth conversions) — against living expenses, healthcare, out-of-pocket costs, charity, debt, and life-insurance premiums, plus Medicare and IRMAA, with total rows and a net cash-flow bar that shows how much of the year’s spending is drawn from your portfolio.

Trends

Four charts: Net Worth by Account, Income & Expenses, Taxes & RMDs, and Retirement Cash Flows.

Portfolio Flow (Essentials)

An interactive ring diagram of a single projection year. Twelve numbered domains — income, Social Security, accounts, withdrawals, RMDs, Roth conversions, taxes, expenses, ACA/healthcare, Medicare, cash flow, and survivor/legacy — sit around a ring with the connecting flows drawn in proportion to the dollars. Tap any node or its legend row to see that domain’s breakdown, inflows, and outflows; drag the Year slider to move through the plan. Node totals match the Projection tab to the dollar. Collapsed by default.

What-If Explorer

See section 25.

Strategy Report (Essentials)

The recommended strategy appears at the top with one-tap Apply, and the remaining alternatives are listed best first — only strategies that improve your chosen goal are shown, so worse-than-current results never clutter the list. Your goal persists across Apply and re-analysis. It tests multiple strategies (SS timing, Roth conversions, Tax-Aware Drawdown, retirement age, combined strategies, and asset allocation including Deploy Cash to Brokerage) against five goals — Max Net Worth (labeled Max NW (Legacy) when a legacy goal is set, and it respects that goal), Min Taxes + IRMAA, Max SS Income, Max Tax-Free Roth (v4.6), and (when legacy is enabled) Max Tax-Free Legacy — showing the delta for each. Applying a strategy re-runs the report for the same goal so you can stack improvements; Reset to Original undoes them. If nothing beats your current plan, the report says it’s already well-optimized for that goal.

20. Projection

Year-by-year data table from current age through plan end. Columns include income sources, withdrawals, federal and state tax, RMDs, SEPP, Roth conversions, Tax-Aware Drawdown, IRMAA, healthcare, out-of-pocket healthcare, liabilities, debt interest, debt principal, HSA, inherited IRA balances, inherited distributions, all account balances, the Home value (when a residence is modeled, v4.7), and — for gradual-release annuities — Annuity Bal and Annuity Release. The rate columns (e.g. Federal Bracket % and Effective Fed Tax %) render as percentages with one decimal, and the total row skips them rather than summing.

The current year runs from this month, not January. The first projection year spans the current calendar month through December, because the months already elapsed are reflected in the balances you entered — so opening your plan mid-year no longer counts January-to-today a second time. Every later year remains a full calendar year.

The chart at the top has a Show on chart (up to 4) row of series buttons — tap to add or remove a column from the chart. A text legend under the chart notes the dashed retirement-age line, and a Show data table on/off switch sits between the chart and the table. In landscape the whole screen scrolls so the table stays reachable.

Dollar Toggle

A segmented picker at the top switches between Future $ (nominal, inflated dollars) and Today’s $ (purchasing power in current-year terms). When Today’s $ is selected, all currency values in both the table and chart are deflated by your inflation rate, showing what future amounts are worth in today’s money.

21. Monte Carlo Simulation (free)

Found in the Analysis tab → Risk segment (the Risk segment runs the Monte Carlo simulation). Monte Carlo is available to everyone on the free tier.

Runs 500, 1,000, or 2,000 randomized market return scenarios (your choice) to estimate the probability your money lasts. Three models:

Results show success rate, funded-to age, median and percentile end net worth, and a fan chart showing the range of outcomes. All account types — not just cash — are path-tested; the simulation varies market returns across the whole portfolio.

22. Scenarios (Essentials)

Found in Analysis tab → Scenarios segment. Included with Essentials.

Scenario Comparisons

Preset comparisons grouped by category: retirement age variations, SS claim age, higher expenses, high inflation, stagflation, and combined stress tests. Select a scenario from the dropdown to see a comparison card with end net worth, difference, bust age, and a chart overlay (base vs. scenario). A Today’s $ / Future $ toggle at the top applies to the comparison values and chart, matching the Dashboard and Projection.

Bear Market Stress Test

Model a market crash against your investment accounts. Configure equity percentage, crash severity (20/30/50%), onset year (years into retirement), and recovery period. Cash, pension, and Social Security are unaffected. Shows peak-to-trough drop and recovery trajectory.

23. Relocation Analysis (Essentials)

Found in Analysis tab → Relocate segment. Included with Essentials.

Runs your projection for every state (all 50 + DC + no-tax baseline). Compares lifetime state tax, total tax, IRMAA, and end net worth against your current state. Sort by total tax savings, state tax savings, or end net worth to find the most tax-efficient states for your situation. A Today’s-dollars view shows the comparison in current-year purchasing power.

Planning an actual move: the Planned Move section sets your destination state, the age you move, and an optional move month. In the move year the destination state’s tax applies only once that month has passed — a November move doesn’t get the destination’s treatment for the whole year; leave it on “Any” to apply the move from the start of the move year. The move then flows into the Projection, Dashboard, and Strategy Report.

Additional moves (v4.8): add later relocations — for example a temporary move and a move back. They apply in age order after the first move, state income tax follows each one, and the state estate/inheritance tax follows your state of domicile at the end of the plan.

Geography only (v4.8): the screen no longer asks for a home sale. Model the house on Inputs → Assets → Real Estate (primary residence) or as a Property Sale event (non-primary), so the same sale can’t be counted twice. A plan saved with a home sale on this screen keeps the proceeds — the app converts it to a Property Sale event when the plan loads. The home and the move stay linked: the screen shows your home’s sale and purchase ages and offers a one-click match to the move age.

24. Survivor Planning (Survivor module)

Found in the Analysis tab → Survivor segment (requires spouse enabled and the Survivor Planning module).

Survivor Resilience

The headline reassurance check. RetIQ runs the projection with either spouse dying in every year from now to plan end and reports how far the survivor stays funded, with a verdict — Strong, Thin Margins, or At Risk — plus the worst death year and the cost of a death vs. both living. The verdict also appears on the Dashboard. When a legacy goal is set, a legacy-goal badge shows whether the survivor plan still meets it, and the Strategy Report marks alternatives that do.

Longevity Check

Identifies pressure points in your plan: tax bracket jumps, IRMAA surcharge periods, high withdrawal rates, and large RMD years.

Three Futures

Compares three scenarios side by side: both partners live to plan end, spouse passes first, or you pass first. Shows final net worth, bust age, lifetime taxes, SS, and IRMAA for each future.

Impact Analysis

Detailed comparison of base plan vs. survivor scenario with charts for net worth, Social Security, and taxes over time.

Strategies

Tests alternative strategies specifically for the survivor scenario. Includes Robust/Fragile analysis — shows which strategies help in both the base case and the survivor case (Robust), vs. those that help only in one (Fragile).

Adopt Plan

Switch your projection to show what life looks like as a survivor from today forward. All downstream tools (Dashboard, Projection, Monte Carlo) automatically reflect the single-person scenario. Use Restore to go back.

25. What-If Explorer (Essentials)

A collapsible section on the Dashboard, now surfaced as its own section.

Interactive sliders for retirement age, SS claim age, annual spending, investment return, inflation, and plan end age. A Roth conversion bracket picker (Current / 12% / 22% / 24%) is also available. Drag any slider and the chart updates in real time, overlaying your saved plan (solid line) against the what-if (dashed line).

Use the metric picker to choose up to three outcomes to compare at once — Net Worth, Total Tax, RMDs, Income, Expenses, Withdrawals, or Roth balance — so you can see how a single change ripples across several dimensions together. Below the chart, a per-metric summary shows each one’s end-of-plan value (saved → what-if, with the difference) plus a “money lasts to” comparison.

The Explorer does not modify your actual plan — it’s a sandbox. Tap “Reset to Current Plan” to snap every slider back to your real parameters.

How to read it

Each time you move a slider, the Explorer re-runs your entire projection with that one change while holding every other setting from your plan as-is. So what a slider does depends on the rest of your plan — and a couple of sliders interact with settings elsewhere, which is the most common reason a slider can seem to “do nothing.”

• Annual Spending and Inflation depend on your expense mode. In Fixed Amount and Guardrails modes, these sliders move the result as you’d expect. In % of Portfolio and VPW modes, retirement spending is computed from your portfolio balance each year rather than from a dollar figure — so the Annual Spending slider doesn’t change your retirement spending (it only affects pre-retirement years, if your plan has any), and the Inflation slider’s effect is small. To explore spending in those two modes, use the Investment Return slider, which changes the balance your spending is drawn from. You can check or change your expense mode under Inputs → Expenses.
• Retirement Age and SS Claim Age are independent here. Moving retirement later does not automatically delay your Social Security — adjust the SS Claim Age slider separately if that’s your intent. The Retirement Age slider extends your working years using the income and savings from your Income tab, so its effect depends on whether your plan has employment income in the years you extend into.

26. RetIQ Guide & Learn (free)

The Guide tab has two sections, chosen with the segmented control at the top: Ask (the AI assistant) and Learn (RetIQ’s built-in retirement education). Both are free on every tier.

Ask — the AI assistant

Ask knows your plan, your numbers, and every RetIQ feature. It answers questions in plain English and points you to the right place in the app. It is not a financial advisor — it helps you navigate and understand RetIQ’s tools.

Three-Tier Answer System

1. Built-in templates (instant): pre-written answers covering common topics such as Roth conversions, IRMAA, Social Security timing, survivor planning, healthcare, and spending. Each template cites your actual plan numbers and gives step-by-step navigation. Works offline with no AI model.
2. Cloud AI (your key): For questions not covered by templates, connect your own API key from any of 8 supported providers. The AI receives your plan summary and a complete feature reference so it can answer accurately about your specific situation.
3. On-device AI (fallback): If no cloud AI is configured, the on-device Apple Intelligence model handles remaining questions. Requires iPhone 16+ or Apple Intelligence enabled in Settings.

Smart Suggestions

The Guide’s welcome screen analyzes your plan and shows personalized suggestions based on patterns it detects: high pre-tax balance with no Roth strategy, significant IRMAA surcharges, single-life pension with a spouse, plan shortfall, Roth without TAD, or early retirement without healthcare. Tapping a suggestion shows an instant template answer — no AI call.

Setting Up Cloud AI (BYOK)

1. Go to the Guide tab
2. Tap the gear icon in the toolbar
3. Toggle Enable Cloud AI
4. Select your provider from the list
5. Tap Add Key and paste your API key
6. Tap Test Connection to verify

You can save keys for multiple providers and switch between them. The active provider is shown in the Guide toolbar.

Supported Providers

Cost is typically a few cents per conversation, billed directly by your provider.

Security & Privacy

• Key storage: Your API key is stored in the iOS Keychain on your device only. RetIQ never sees or stores your key.
• Data in transit: When you ask a question, a summary of your plan (ages, balances, strategies, projection results) and the question are sent directly to your selected provider. No intermediary servers.
• Provider policies: Data sent to AI providers is subject to their respective privacy policies. Most providers do not use API-submitted data for training.
• Without cloud AI: When Cloud AI is disabled (the default), all processing stays on-device. Built-in templates work without any network calls.

Learn

The second section of the Guide tab is Learn — RetIQ’s built-in retirement education. It is free on every tier, runs entirely on your device, and stays out of your way until you want it.

• Concepts — a searchable dictionary of 79 retirement concepts (IRMAA, provisional income, the tax torpedo, the widow’s penalty, QCDs, the 10-year rule, and more). Each card gives a plain-English definition, the body of the explanation, the current-year figures RetIQ uses (“Figures for 2026”), a live line from your own plan (“In your plan: …”), the legal or published source, and related concepts.
• Retirement IQ Check — twelve questions across six areas, about three minutes, with an explanation after every answer and a link to the concept. “Not sure” is always a valid answer. The result maps what you know by area, suggests a Guidance level and a tour, and is stored only on your device. Retaking draws different questions.
• Guided Tours — step-by-step walkthroughs of the example families, each step linked to the concept behind it. Your own plan is never touched.

Guidance

At the top of Learn, one setting controls how much unprompted help appears. It never hides a warning and never changes your numbers.

• Off — no tips. The ⓘ icons, the “?” button and the Learn section are still there when you reach for them.
• Light — adds a “Learn about your numbers” row on the Dashboard and “Why?” links beside plan findings. Nothing pops up.
• Guided — also introduces a concept the first time it matters in your plan, with a one-time, dismissible note (on the Dashboard and Projection).

Explain this screen (?)

The ? button on the Dashboard, Inputs, Projection and Analysis toolbars lists the concepts used on that screen, each linking to its full card.

27. Export (Essentials)

Tap the share icon (top-right on Dashboard) to access export options:

• PDF Report — Two-page summary: plan overview, key metrics, account balances, Roth/TAD summaries, Monte Carlo results (if run), Strategy Report best opportunity (if run), and a year-by-year projection table.
• CSV Data — Full projection table with all non-zero columns. Opens in any spreadsheet app.

Plan data can also be exported as JSON from the Plans sheet (the Export to a File button). This opens the iOS share sheet, where you choose where the file goes — Save to Files, iCloud Drive, Mail, or any app that accepts documents — so you pick the location, not the app. You can optionally protect the export with a password — the file is encrypted on your device with AES-256-GCM and a PBKDF2-derived key (the same standard password managers use). Protected files open on iOS, and also on the web app (and vice versa). There is no recovery: if you forget the password, the file cannot be opened — by you, by us, by anyone.

28. Plans & Settings

Tap the folder icon (top-left on Dashboard) to open the Plans sheet. The sheet groups everything you can do with your plan:

• Save & Transfer — the three actions for keeping and moving a plan:
  • Save to My Plans — keeps a named copy inside the app on this device (listed under My Plans below). This is not a file you can open elsewhere — it lives inside RetIQ.
  • Export to a File — writes a .json or .html copy and opens the share sheet so you choose where to save it (Files, iCloud Drive, and so on). This is how you back up a plan or move it to another device.
  • Import from File — loads a .json or .html plan you exported before (password-protected files prompt for the password).
• My Plans — plans you’ve saved with Save to My Plans; tap one to load it, swipe to delete it.
• New Plan — a separate, clearly-marked action at the end of the plan sections that clears everything and starts a fresh, empty plan. Save or export first if you want to keep the current one.
• Auto-save — your current plan saves automatically when you switch apps or go to background.
• Example Families — load pre-built scenarios to explore.
• Theme — choose Dawn (default), Dark, Light, Sepia, Dusk, or System.
• Restore Purchase — appears for users who have bought something. Restores your purchases (Full Unlock, Essentials, or any modules) on this Apple ID.

29. Themes

RetIQ includes several visual themes, selectable in Plans:

30. Privacy & Data

RetIQ is privacy-first. All your financial data stays on your device. There are no accounts, no cloud storage, no analytics, and no tracking. The app works entirely offline after installation.

The RetIQ Guide’s built-in templates and on-device AI process everything locally — nothing leaves your phone. If you optionally enable Cloud AI (BYOK), a summary of your plan data is sent to your chosen provider when you ask a question. Your API key is stored in the iOS Keychain and is never transmitted to RetIQ. See the Guide section for full security details.

For full details, see our Privacy Policy and Security Transparency page.

31. FAQ

Why does my projection look different from other tools?

RetIQ models actual federal and state tax brackets, IRMAA surcharges, RMD requirements, and account-specific withdrawal sequencing. Many tools use simplified or flat tax assumptions. RetIQ’s extensive automated validation suite ensures calculations match IRS, SSA, and CMS rules.

Can I use RetIQ on multiple devices?

Your data is stored on your device only. To transfer data, export your plan as JSON from one device and import on another. Your purchases (Full Unlock, Essentials, or any modules) can be restored on any device signed into the same Apple ID.

What’s the difference between the iOS app and the web app?

Both use the same projection engine with identical tax and benefit calculations — a given plan produces the same numbers on either platform. The iOS app adds on-device AI guidance, BYOK cloud AI with 8 providers, native charts, the What-If Explorer, and a focused interface with progressive disclosure. A few features remain web-only: the Guided Workflows and the Validation Report page. Your plan file moves cleanly between the two, so you can author on web and review on iOS, or the reverse.

Why don’t the What-If Explorer’s Annual Spending or Inflation sliders change my result?

This comes down to your expense mode (Inputs → Expenses). In % of Portfolio and VPW modes, retirement spending is calculated from your portfolio balance each year, not from a dollar figure — so those two sliders have little or no effect on retirement spending. Switch to Fixed Amount mode to see them move the projection, or use the Investment Return slider, which changes the balance your spending is drawn from. See section 25 for the full explanation.

Is this financial advice?

No. RetIQ is an informational planning tool. It does not provide personalized financial, tax, or investment advice. Consult a qualified financial advisor for decisions about your specific situation.

How do I contact support?

Email [email protected].