The Optimal Retirement Planner Calculator

[dex]

The Optimal Retirement Planner Calculator
Has this been reviewed on this board?
http://www.i-orp.com/TaxCutForm.html

Any comments?

I use an excel spread sheet to track my expenses and estimate my income and net worth.
If correct this calculator just confirms my estimates.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I used it. Liked it. Very nice to help determine which assets to tap first. Put the results in an envelope to open later on. Much later on. See how it works out.

 

[dory36]

Yep - great tool. Some discussion at http://early-retirement.org/cgi-bin...ther_refs_board;action=display;num=1037957895 starting about 18 months ago.

 

[unclemick]

Yep

Have ORP in my favorities along with FIREcalc - putz with them both and like'em.

 

[Waterdancer]

Money magazine reviewed the new calculator on the Fidelity web page, retirement income planner.
I really liked it as it allows for a lot of information and asset allocations.
Has anyone else used it? I'd be interested in your opinion.

 

[nwsteve]

I have been a long time Fidelity customer and their latest addition is a great improvement.
A couple of cautions. Be sure to look at the detail cash flows table--it gives in my opinion a more complete sense of what is going on inside the modeling exercise.
Also, watch the tax treatment of any key "life events" especially sale of home. Just about everything gets treated as a taxable event. If you want to capture the net proceeds from a home sale as a tax free event you need to plug it as an inheritance--about the only item the model does not seem to tax.
Be sure to play with the investment portfolio mix assumptions and inflation. Right now the default assumption for inflation is less than 2%--I have bumped back to 3% has more representative of the long term trend.
A great tool but don't forget it is a tool and not an absolute prediction.
Nwsteve

 

[math999man]

One feature that I do not like about these types of calculators - inputting my financial information on a web page - who knows what happens to that. I am not suggesting that it is emailed all over, but it could be placed on your harddrive in a form where other sites can look at it.

It also provides the providers of the web page information about the people reading the page that may be considered private. For example, by all of us running to see if we can RE and inputting all our financial information, all this data can be collected for the webmasters to conclude "we could charge XXX for this service, most of our users are worth $ 250,000 or more." - get the idea. If people / businesses know you are able to afford a service, they will try to charge you.

I think that by people placing all this info on these calculators will bite us big time some day.

For example - seniors get discounts for movies, dinners, etc.. and a LOT of seniors need this help. BUT - another side of the equation is that a LOT of seniors are riding on this subsidy even if they can afford full prices. I tell my mother, when I get to be 65 – the merchants will ADD a senior fee to my purchase. All this will be because our financial info is slowly being collected.

 

[Cut-Throat]

One feature that I do not like about these types of calculators - inputting my financial information on a web page - who knows what happens to that.  I am  not suggesting that it is emailed all over, but it could be placed on your harddrive in a form where other sites can look at it.  

It also provides the providers of the web page information about the people reading the page that may be considered private.  For example, by all of us running to see if we can RE and inputting all our financial information, all this data can be collected for the webmasters to conclude "we could charge XXX for this service, most of  our users are worth $ 250,000  or more."  - get the idea.  If people / businesses know  you are able to afford a service, they will try to charge you.

I think that by  people placing all this info on these calculators will bite us big time some day.

For example - seniors get discounts for movies, dinners, etc..  and a LOT of seniors need this help.  BUT - another side of the equation is that a LOT of seniors are riding on this subsidy even if they can afford full prices.   I tell my mother, when I get to be 65 – the merchants will ADD a senior fee to my purchase.  All this will be because our financial info is slowly being collected.

Even if you're paranoid, it does not mean that someone is not out to get you

 

[John Galt]

Hey Math999man! And people think the inside of my head is scary

John Galt

 

[Nords]

Vanguard wants your money, er, data.

Doris Havens claimed in her deposition that Vanguard collects survey & retirement-calculator data. Then they put a special team on the full-court press to consolidate the assets. http://www.fundalarm.com/arc0204.htm (If you've never read Roy Weitz's Highlights & Commentary then you're in for a treat.)

OTOH I consolidated our IRAs from Tweedy, Browne's custody to Fidelity. It's still the same TBGVX shares but we don't pay Tweedy's annual nuisance, I mean custodial, fee, and it greatly simplifies the Roth conversion.

Which I guess I'd better get cracking on...

 

[haha]

Re: Vanguard wants your money, er, data.

OTOH I consolidated our IRAs from Tweedy, Browne's custody to Fidelity.  It's still the same TBGVX shares but we don't pay Tweedy's annual nuisance, I mean custodial, fee, and it greatly simplifies the Roth conversion.

Nords, I have those shares also, and have considered putting them in my Fidelity account. Does Fidelity charge a fee (or commission) if you sell them?

Mikey

 

[Nords]

Roth conversions & sales

Well, I was burned by this promise at Tweedy, Browne so I was pretty insistent with Fidelity. Fidelity swears up & down that they won't charge annual IRA maintenance fees, they won't charge to swap the shares from the conventional IRA to the Roth IRA, and they won't charge to sell the shares.

So far I've only tested them on the first and that's only been this year. I'll test the second in a few weeks, and hopefully I'll never have to test the third.

And I wouldn't be surprised if they changed their policy when Abby decides that she wants to knock Buffett & Gates off Forbes' list.

Fidelity will charge $75/transaction for buying MORE shares in non-NTF funds. But we aren't buying.

Make sure the share transfer is initiated by Fidelity, not by you, or Tweedy might cash you out instead of transferring the shares "in kind". Tweedy was also a real jerk about "gold medallion signature guarantees" etc but Fidelity actually did what I asked without making up rules on the fly and without errors.