A Brief History of VeriPlan
* Under development since 2003
* Core functionality has been complete and robust since 2006
* First released for software licensing by the general public in 2006
* Annual enhancement releases that update tax and investment information since 2007
* Parameters have always been user updatable, so that upgrade purchases and support contracts are not required
* Streamlined product released in 2012 — more functionality with greater ease-of-use
* A major product release in 2016 significantly enhanced residential real estate, rental real estate, other property, and debt functionality
* The 2018 release included federal tax reforms and added new functionality for future gifts and inheritances, including traditional and Roth beneficiary retirement accounts
* Has been the most sophisticated, low price lifetime financial planning software available for home use since 2006
* Used by the software architect, who is also a California Registered Investment Adviser, to develop comprehensive financial and investment plans for local Pasadena, CA area clients and other clients across the U.S. since 2008
* The 2021 release added a VeriPlan Comparison Tool to improve the ease of comparing financial plans with different data and parameters.
* The 2021 release enhanced the ability to plan much more easily for tax-optimal, year-by-year conversions of traditional retirement accounts into Roth retirement accounts. This improved Roth conversion feature projects specific yearly dollar amounts that could be converted within each federal income tax rate bracket. When this new Roth conversion feature is combined with the new the VeriPlan Comparison Tool, a user can quickly develop an optimal, minimum income tax, lifetime Roth conversion plan.
* The 2023 version of the VeriPlan financial planning Excel worksheet software:
1) enhanced retirement functionality regarding employee and employer contributions up to legal maximums into 401(k), 403(b), 457, Thrift Savings, SIMPLE-IRA, and/or SEP-IRA plans. Directs pre-tax and after-tax contributions into traditional retirement accounts and/or Roth retirement accounts. Similarly, controls lifetime personal and spousal IRA contributions into traditional and/or Roth retirement accounts.
2) added a new Medicare worksheet that projects retirement healthcare costs, including Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D. Added the automatic projection of Medicare IRMAA insurance subsidy reductions during higher retirement income years.
3) expanded the analysis of year-by-year Roth conversions informed by: A) projected federal marginal income tax rates, B) Social Security retirement benefit income taxation, C) Medicare IRMAA premium reductions, and D) asset tax location optimization. It also explains the lifetime economic and investment tradeoffs between traditional and Roth retirement account assets.
4) added a new worksheet that allows you to plan a future move from your current state of residence to another state, while automatically switching taxation.
5) enhanced the projection of up to ten different pension, annuity, and/or deferred compensation retirement payouts, while controlling taxation and directing deposits into taxable, traditional retirement, and/or Roth retirement accounts.
6) implemented the SECURE Act 2.0 delay of initial RMD ages to 73 in 2023 and age 75 in 2033 with differentiation of spousal RMDs by age and asset ownership.
7) enhanced the analysis of Social Security income benefits including automatically determining the highest spousal benefit based on the individual’s work record or the spousal benefit, including early claiming reductions. Added Social Security disability benefit functionality for one or both persons who are disabled and are receiving disability benefits at any age.
8) A new Retirement Planning worksheet discusses: A) participation in IRAs and in Employer Defined Contribution Plans, B) health care expenses in retirement, C) how each of the 50 states and DC tax Social Security and traditional retirement withdrawals, D) the longevity challenge in lifetime financial planning, E) safe investment portfolio withdrawals to fund retirement, F) the origin of the 4% retirement withdrawals rule-of-thumb, G) sequence of returns risk in retirement portfolios, and H) portfolio growth potential during retirement.
9) A new Optimizations worksheet discusses: A) lifelong tax savings from investment portfolio asset tax location, B) early retirement health care expenses and ACA tax subsidies before Medicare, C) Social Security retirement claiming age considerations, D) spending traditional retirement assets, while delaying Social Security payments, E) compound growth factors, F) tax-exempt municipal securities and VeriPlan’s return assumptions, and G) VeriPlan’s design and discounted cash flow modeling.
The 2024 version of the VeriPlan DIY home financial planning spreadsheet software:
1) added the ability to plan for over age 70 Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from traditional IRA accounts
2) integrated a new “painless” Monte Carlo investment performance variance facility that allows you to develop projections with long-term historical investment performance parameters that systematically vary below or above the compounded returns of the centerline projection model. The user can select any historical return integer percentile from 1 (worst) to 99 (best) with 50 as the centerline index.
3) allowed for the apportionment of your projected bond returns between US Treasury and AAA bonds.
