Using retirement "planner" software in retirement

[tmm99]

Before I retired, I ran Firecalc, FIDO, VG planner, etc at least every year. I am retired now and I still run all the retirement planners periodically (to make sure I am still not overspending when the market/net worth goes down.)

Do you do the same thing (keep on running retirement planners in retirement)? Is there a reason not to do this?

 

[RobbieB]

I never run them, I'm retired -

I don't care what I'm spending, I never had a budget and I never will.

 

[Senator]

I would say there is definitely a benefit, you can make adjustments if needed.

 

[Whisper66]

Yes I rerun our retirement analysis yearly. The benefit I see is to test if changes in things (our asset levels or assumptions on further returns or inflation) effect our feelings that we have "enough". If not, we plan to lower expenses.


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[bradaz2488]

Since I ER'ed (May'13) I still run MS Lifetime Planner, FIRECalc, Fidelity Planner and Flex Retire Planner several times a year to ensure I did not miss anything and to run different "what if" scenarios to test my ER plan. I have only been retired 3 years so I'm still a newbie to ER. I also have no pension & SS-FRA is still 15 years away which puts more stress on me to ensue I have a solid plan and stay on-track. I imagine I will run these tool less has time passes and confidence increases in my plan. I'm pretty conservative and I tend to plan for the worse and hope for the best, but I always try to poke holes I my plan to see how it holds up. I guess that an artifact from my previous life as an engineer ....

 

[Frankie1926]

I continue to use the fidelity planner and tweak expenses regularly. It helps me feel better about my decisions especially during troubled times.


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[ducky911]

I have ES planner, have not updated it for a couple years but really like the flexibility it has.
Also I really like Maximize Social Security.............just might save you 1000++ times the cost of the program.......it shows the difference from what you thought was best and what really is best....all updated to the latest laws

 

[W2R]

Before I retired, I ran Firecalc, FIDO, VG planner, etc at least every year. I am retired now and I still run all the retirement planners periodically (to make sure I am still not overspending when the market/net worth goes down.)

Do you do the same thing (keep on running retirement planners in retirement)? Is there a reason not to do this?

I run them, and especially after buying my dream house in cash I have been running FIRECalc every week or so for reassurance that I am still OK financially. I am.

Besides, divorced spousal SS between ages 66-70 while my own SS grows was a windfall for me that I did not know about before I retired.

Now that I am in my 7th year of retirement, I run it for a shorter retirement than before.

 

[UtahSkier]

I use quicken and monitoring retirement is just about automatic. Portfolio and budgets are easily and routinely updated.

If my plan is to spend $100K annually, I do 2 things; Make sure the portfolio can support that amount of spending (lifetime planner) and to figure out how to spend that amount (budgeting).

 

[Walt34]

I haven't been running any calculators. Our income is mostly a COLA'd pension and SS so the die is cast on those, and investment income isn't a significant percentage of income. That said, every year since retirement (except 2008) our NW is higher than the year before so I guess we're doing something right.

 

[Options]

I continue to use the fidelity planner and tweak expenses regularly. It helps me feel better about my decisions especially during troubled times.


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+1

 

[imoldernu]

The die is cast... not much point in running a calculator if there's nothing I can do if it comes up short.
Use my own system... Worked for me since 1989.

 

[Lsbcal]

I run VPW once a year or so.

 

[pb4uski]

Quicken is my base planner. I run Firecalc once a year and also did it recently to make sure we could afford to buy our winter condo.

I'll probably run planners annually and increase our spending (splurges, gifts and charity) if prudent to do so.

 

[tmm99]

Thank you very much for all your posts! I imagine I will run the planners less as time passes, but for now, I am glad to know I am in good company

 

[GravitySucks]

I like to play with FireCalc every now and then to model some What Ifs.
I run whatever FIDO RIP is called now whenever anything changes. Including the change made in RIP like the recent lowering in expected health care inflation.
I also like to run RIP whenever I get nervous or worried. Moves the actual expenses closer to modeled after awhile.

 

[Independent]

Sure, I re-run my financial planner once a year. My actual income and expenses aren't what I'd originally expected, so I need to think about rational changes.

I don't use as many different tools as I did when I was deciding to retire.

 

[Cobra9777]

I use an Excel model for basic financial planning. It tracks and projects spending, investments, taxes, and the withdrawal plan. I also use it for periodic what-if's and decision-making, especially WRT taxes. Mostly, I use it for ongoing stuff like tracking monthly spend and quarterly tax estimates.

Periodically, I update assumptions and run the long-range projections. I then check it against FIRECalc, RIP, and/or i-ORP. I only do this once or twice per year now, usually in conjunction with some big change (like eliminating file/suspend), or prior to the annual visit with our Fidelity Private Client Group rep. In the years just prior to ER and for about a year after, I ran these models monthly and sometimes weekly. Just anxiety about the big paycheck ending and the fear that I missed something.

For many early retirees, I think it's still important to run these analyses at least once per year, primarily to ensure that the burn rate is still sustainable under current market conditions. I think if you are further along in retirement with SS, and maybe a COLA'd pension and LTC insurance, then there's probably little benefit.

For us, we're still spending about 30-35% below the level recommended by FIRECalc/i-ORP, and we cover a large percentage of spending with pensions and rental income. So the money-related anxiety has gone down considerably last couple years. As long as our spend is under control and the market behaves itself, I don't sweat the details as much as when the paycheck initially stopped.

OTOH, if I was 48 with kids in college and totally dependent on portfolio withdrawals, with high health insurance costs and a big mortgage, I'd probably be checking FIRECalc a lot more frequently.