Social Security Calculator Archives - VeriPlan Personal Financial Planning

DIY financial and retirement planning Excel calculator software

Social Security retirement benefits can significantly increase taxes on Roth conversions

VeriPlan’s Roth conversion analysis features automatically project increased U.S. federal and state income taxes on Social Security retirement benefits Roth conversions done when one is already receiving Social Security retirement benefits can increase the amount of Social Security retirement benefits that are subject to federal income taxation. For details on federal income taxation of Social […]

Deciding when to begin initial Social Security retirement payments

Deciding when to begin initial Social Security retirement payments In general, whether to accept Social Security payments early, at full retirement age, or later is a social security retirement planning decision you will need to make as you approach retirement. This decision can depend upon many factors, including but not limited to your expected cash […]

"One of the stories that VeriPlan tells me is how much of my money could be lost to excessive investment costs. I just switched to some lower cost funds in my 401k. I loved updating VeriPlan with the new cost values just to see the red bar on the Total Assets chart get significantly thinner - quite a shocking difference."M. W. in Tulsa, OK
"I am extremely impressed with the depth of information that VeriPlan asks for and provides. VeriPlan seems much more detailed than one would expect for the very reasonable price. Although I am not a financial professional, I consider myself more financially educated than the most people of my age (62). I find that VeriPlan's depth to be just what we need for our retirement planning. I am glad I purchased it. Thanks."J. W. in Gainsville, FL
"Thank you for the update.  I have been very happy with this software. I will put VeriPlan to work to help optimize our IRA to Roth conversions, while avoiding the IRMAA penalties if we can.  We are in an opportunistic window for the next several years.  I have been appalled by the lack of professional knowledge available with respect to the tax burden that will fall upon us when RMDs take effect.  Most of the information I have found suggests that it isn't a problem.  Luckily, this software will be of great benefit to chart our course."J. S. in Louisville, KY

"I am 10 years out from retirement, and I needed to start thinking more seriously about having enough to retire on. I'm following the suggestions of you and others in opting for more hands-on retirement planning. I am also using lower cost index investing. There are too many wealth management companies out there, all ready to charge an arm and leg for what should be straightforward financial planning work."G. B. in Smith Mountain Lake, VA
"I am thankful for your product and am seeking to integrate it into more of my work over time. I appreciate its honesty and the fact that it ties one's entire financial life together in ways I have not seen with other software."R. J. in Raleigh, NC
"Just came across your software. As a former CPA (no longer practice as much), it is wonderful. "D. M. in Lancing, TN

"I have found VeriPlan to be very useful for my financial planning, and I appreciate your efforts in keeping it up-to-date and easy to use. Thanks"D. H. in Atlanta, GA
"Larry, Hello again! I've continued to work with VeriPlan, and the more I work with it the more I'm amazed at how much it does. It's an incredible decision support tool for my financial planning. Since I have already built a model of my lifetime finances, it is easy to test new ideas as they come to me. Thanks again."M. W. R. in Austin, TX
"I'm getting to know your program more and more. What a great tool. I started a new plan and followed carefully the info provided. The projection results in the graphs and data output are very promising. Now, I intend to compare various scenarios with VeriPlan. Thanks again."T. H. in Longview, TX

"Thank you again for your response. I am an engineer with well above average mathematical skills, yet I've always had some sort of mental difficulty as soon as you put a dollar sign in front of the numbers. But, I'm nearing retirement, and finally receiving some significant financial payoffs from a career of risk and entrepreneurial endeavors. It's time to get my arms around my finances. VeriPlan is just the kind of product I was looking for."S. A. in Seattle, WA
"I am a recently retired engineer, and I created a cash flow Excel spreadsheet for 25 years of retirement. So, I fully appreciate the data and potential variances that must be accounted for. Yet, mine is so very simple compared to VeriPlan. I love VeriPlan's concept of total control over inputs and parameters. Veriplan's objectives are very much like mine, but it has many, many more input and control options, and the price is spot on."L. G. in Southbridge, VA
"Thanks for developing a great product. I have looked at Money Tree, Money Guide Pro, and some other FP software, and I have used Right Capital (a good product also, but still $100 per month). Yours is just as robust for a much more affordable price.  I also extensively use Quicken for my finances, but the planning tool in it is kind of basic, so VeriPlan will complement Quicken very well."E. Z. in San Mateo, CA
"I spent parts of the past several days entering data into the VeriPlan workbook while digesting as much of the methodology as possible. My takeaway is that VeriPlan is an extraordinary tool, especially in its ability to generate projections based on detailed alternate scenarios. During the learning process, I also found it to be a wonderful financial education in its own right."S. N. in Sammamish, WA

"I'm glad that my analysis was correct. With retirement about three years away, I need to start doing some serious financial planning with your software. Thank you for your outstanding software."H. B. in Ft. Worth, TX
"You've got a really cool product here -- it's impressive!"R. T. in Eau Claire, WI
"I purchased VeriPlan for the Roth conversion features. I enjoy VeriPlan and appreciate the thoroughness of the design and excellent commentary. I now work for (financial company name redacted) since retiring from (computer company name redacted) in a Retirement and Workplace Planning role. The accuracy, conciseness, and utility of the information presented by VeriPlan is great."M. S. in White Plains, NY
"I love the program, and I have been able to get answers to my questions about how much to convert to Roth and when to do Roth conversions. VeriPlan is very helpful in understanding the cumulative value of bringing down future RMD distributions and their associated taxes. It also helps me to see whether we might be able to stay below IRRMA and higher tax brackets for longer."A. W. in Williamsburg, VA

"I've been using VeriPlan for a few weeks now, and it is everything I was looking for plus a whole lot more of what I didn't even know I needed. By simply switching VeriPlan to a state that does not have a state income tax, I can see how much I could save on traditional IRA distributions in retirement by moving to a state without income taxes. It is a real education in personal finance, and I think just about everyone would benefit from using this tool. I am going to tell everyone I know about VeriPlan. Thank you very much for creating it. Your web sites are great, too."T. H. in Silicon Valley CA
"I thought I would let you know that VeriPlan was the primary decision support tool in my decision to retire early, which was about 4 years ago now. And it has worked out really well. Since then I got married, and we have traveled to 10 countries -- some on mission trips. I had used the lifetime planners in Microsoft Money and Quicken but they were not robust enough to make a major decision with. In retrospect they are toys compared to VeriPlan. So VeriPlan has been a very big help to me. Also, I recently read your Lowest Cost Mutual Funds book, which was great. It brought a few things to my attention that I need to work on."Email update from T. H. in Silicon Valley
"Finally, I absolutely love the enhancements you have made. They provide exactly the kind of specificity that I have been looking for. You have created a wonderful program!"J. B in East Orange, NJ
"I purchased your program about 2 weeks ago.  In general, I find it is a fantastic planning tool.  I've been doing Roth conversions, but starting full SSA this year for me makes this a real guessing game.  Your program helps a lot with figuring that out. You provide a prodigious amount to documentation and instructions to wade through. The program is, nevertheless, excellent."L. B. in Chadds Ford, PA

"Hey Larry, I'm getting to know your program more and more. What a great tool. I cannot imagine how much effort you've put into it. I started a new plan and followed carefully the info provided with good results in the graphics and data output. Now to start various scenarios to learn the most important use of VeriPlan. Thanks again."H. S. in St. Augustine, FL
"I absolutely love your software! I saw my cash balance growing larger than it needs to out in the future. Then, I found the portfolio rebalancing tool at the bottom of the asset allocation input worksheet. This allowed me to distinguish between cash needed for transactions and cash held for investments. This rebalancing tool will be very useful."R. C. in Flagstaff, AZ
"Anybody who wants a low cost family financial and retirement plan can get a great deal of value out of VeriPlan. Since VeriPlan is self-learning and fully changeable, I also really like not having to pay for updates or a support contract."L. E. in Syracuse, NY

"I've been using VeriPlan for a few weeks now, and it is everything I was looking for plus a whole lot more of what I didn't even know I needed. By simply switching VeriPlan to a state that does not have a state income tax, I can see how much I could save on traditional IRA distributions in retirement by moving to a state without income taxes. It is a real education in personal finance, and I think just about everyone would benefit from using this tool. I am going to tell everyone I know about VeriPlan. Thank you very much for creating it. Your web sites are great, too."T. H. in Silicon Valley CA
"I thought I would let you know that VeriPlan was the primary decision support tool in my decision to retire early, which was about 4 years ago now. And it has worked out really well. Since then I got married, and we have traveled to 10 countries -- some on mission trips. I had used the lifetime planners in Microsoft Money and Quicken but they were not robust enough to make a major decision with. In retrospect they are toys compared to VeriPlan. So VeriPlan has been a very big help to me. Also, I recently read your Lowest Cost Mutual Funds book, which was great. It brought a few things to my attention that I need to work on."Email update from T. H. in Silicon Valley
"Finally, I absolutely love the enhancements you have made. They provide exactly the kind of specificity that I have been looking for. You have created a wonderful program!"J. B in East Orange, NJ
"I purchased your program about 2 weeks ago.  In general, I find it is a fantastic planning tool.  I've been doing Roth conversions, but starting full SSA this year for me makes this a real guessing game.  Your program helps a lot with figuring that out. You provide a prodigious amount to documentation and instructions to wade through. The program is, nevertheless, excellent."L. B. in Chadds Ford, PA

"I am 10 years out from retirement, and I needed to start thinking more seriously about having enough to retire on. I'm following the suggestions of you and others in opting for more hands-on retirement planning. I am also using lower cost index investing. There are too many wealth management companies out there, all ready to charge an arm and leg for what should be straightforward financial planning work."G. B. in Smith Mountain Lake, VA
"I am thankful for your product and am seeking to integrate it into more of my work over time. I appreciate its honesty and the fact that it ties one's entire financial life together in ways I have not seen with other software."R. J. in Raleigh, NC
"Just came across your software. As a former CPA (no longer practice as much), it is wonderful. "D. M. in Lancing, TN

"I have enjoyed exploring the Veriplan software since my purchase about a month ago. Given the potential intricacies of each user's personal facts and circumstances, your tab-by-tab instructions are extremely clear."D. F. in Armonk, NY
"Hi Larry, Thank you so much for your quick response, I am really enjoying using your product to take charge of my financial future. I'm definitely moving my investments to lower fee funds as a result of reading your ebooks. Thank you, thank you! K. S. VeriPlan Fan"K. S. in Tahoe City
"Thank you for VeriPlan. You do amazing work with a spreadsheet. I'm excited to try out the new functionality."J. H. in Great Falls, VA

"Larry, Thanks for the response. I watched the videos you’ve made so far on YouTube. Very good. In fact one of them addressed a situation that applies to me. I first learned about the zero federal taxes on long term capital gains when under the 25% marginal income tax rate from working with Veriplan a number of years ago. I’m no longer working but not yet receiving RMD’s or social security so my ordinary income is relatively low. So I’ve been taking full advantage of zero federal capital gains taxes by selling off my high expense ratio mutual funds which have a lot of capital gains built in since I’ve held them a long time and then I reinvest them in index mutual funds which don’t generate as much capital gains distributions. So the education that you and Veriplan provide has saved me thousands in taxes, not to mention the expenses on high cost mutual funds. Thanks again."M. D. in El Paso, TX
"Veriplan is absolutely the best. I think I OCD a bit on differing scenarios, timing on selling property and assets, return on investment, taxation, timing on taking Social Security, taking Survivor Benefits or not on our pensions, etc. Bottom line is we are retired and in excellent position financially. Thanks."T. D. in Omaha, NE
"I find the program to be very detailed and robust. I can't imagine the hours you must have put in.  I started to put a lot of data into it and added some more in the past week.  I want a detailed picture of our situation vis a vis Roth conversions now that we are retired.  I am getting very involved in my retirement tax planning, and VeriPlan is the tool that I need."R. L. in Wales, WI
"I have been reading many of your articles on investing and retirement planning. I will be spending the next few weeks reading your articles and the VeriPlan user manual.  I wish I had this information 20 years ago.  I started forwarding many of your articles to my son as he gets started with his career and starts investing."N. G. in Colorado Springs, CO

"VeriPlan is very intuitive, easy to navigate and extensively documented. The spreadsheets I've used in the past lacked many of VeriPlan's features and were not nearly as useful as VeriPlan."P. F. in Canton, OH
"VeriPlan has exactly what I was looking for. I have been thinking of developing my own spreadsheet (much simpler than VeriPlan) to help me understand what to do, but you saved me a lot of time in not having to do so."R. G. in Lincoln, NE
"Thank you. I did as you said, and it works beautifully. Such a cool program. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!"E. W. in Erie, PA
"Previously I used some consumer retirement planners like New Retirement. What they offer is a projection of your financial situation that is wildly generalized. A generalized projection is probably better than having no projection at all and could very well be used for rough, long-term planning. However, for fine grained planning, such a system is wholly inadequate. VeriPlan is vastly superior in comprehensiveness and flexibility."T. D. in Edison, NJ

"Thank you for the VeriPlan retirement planner software. I am using it on my own behalf and with my clients. Have a great New Year, and thank you again for all your work on an already great product."L. M., Senior Investment Advisor in Idaho
"I finally had the opportunity to dig into your most recent upgrade. It is amazing how far the product has come since I first interacted with the 2010 edition and the 2016 update shows the large amount of work done to make a major improvement in the product. The property and debt improvement is substantial. The fact it allows for buying and selling analysis of properties prospectively opens the door for using it with a number of primarily real estate oriented clients and I’m looking forward to that. I am also quite pleased to see the inflation rate adjustment with debt repayments. Thank you."Email update from L. M., Senior Investment Advisor in Idaho
"Larry, this software is phenomenal.  Wish I would have had it years ago.  I can’t think of anything else the tool needs.  Right now I feel like a kid in a candy store.  I’m just reevaluating many of my decisions with a more comprehensive tool than my self-made Excel spreadsheet."T. H. in Newberry, FL
"The VeriPlan program and materials are extremely well thought out (not to mention voluminous). I think I now have a decent handle on the program, inputs and outputs. Your attention to detail is really impressive, and the analysis is excellent."W. B. in Carmel, CA

"Hey Larry, I'm getting to know your program more and more. What a great tool. I cannot imagine how much effort you've put into it. I started a new plan and followed carefully the info provided with good results in the graphics and data output. Now to start various scenarios to learn the most important use of VeriPlan. Thanks again."H. S. in St. Augustine, FL
"I absolutely love your software! I saw my cash balance growing larger than it needs to out in the future. Then, I found the portfolio rebalancing tool at the bottom of the asset allocation input worksheet. This allowed me to distinguish between cash needed for transactions and cash held for investments. This rebalancing tool will be very useful."R. C. in Flagstaff, AZ
"Anybody who wants a low cost family financial and retirement plan can get a great deal of value out of VeriPlan. Since VeriPlan is self-learning and fully changeable, I also really like not having to pay for updates or a support contract."L. E. in Syracuse, NY

"VeriPlan is a big help. I'm in my mid 50's and have been a diligent saver and passable investor for many years. I am going through a work transition from salaried corporate employee to independent consultant, and my aging parents are needing financial help. Financial planning is particularly important to me and my family now. Thanks for making your product available. I've recommended it to a number of folks and will continue to do so."J.H. in Portland, OR
"VeriPlan has been a very flexible home financial planning tool. It took me a few hours on a weekend to understand what VeriPlan could do and to enter our financial data. Our family financial affairs were scattered all over, and we lacked a comprehensive picture of what the future might hold for us. I wanted a clear understanding of our projected lifetime and retirement income, expenses, taxes, debts, real estate, financial assets, college investments, retirement investments, and everything else all together."S. L. in Altadena, CA
"You have done a great job of including the necessary instructions in VeriPlan, located close to where the modeling is happening.  The thing I like about the VeriPlan User Guide is that it adds substantial additional commentary that I personally find very valuable.  I was hunting for a capable and reasonably priced financial planning package, and VeriPlan is an awesome tool.  The more I play around with it, the more valuable I find it.  Your free user guide was what made me decide to get VeriPlan."C. A. in North Royalton, OH

"I am 10 years out from retirement, and I needed to start thinking more seriously about having enough to retire on. I'm following the suggestions of you and others in opting for more hands-on retirement planning. I am also using lower cost index investing. There are too many wealth management companies out there, all ready to charge an arm and leg for what should be straightforward financial planning work."G. B. in Smith Mountain Lake, VA
"I am thankful for your product and am seeking to integrate it into more of my work over time. I appreciate its honesty and the fact that it ties one's entire financial life together in ways I have not seen with other software."R. J. in Raleigh, NC
"Just came across your software. As a former CPA (no longer practice as much), it is wonderful. "D. M. in Lancing, TN

"I have found VeriPlan to be very useful for my financial planning, and I appreciate your efforts in keeping it up-to-date and easy to use. Thanks"D. H. in Atlanta, GA
"Larry, Hello again! I've continued to work with VeriPlan, and the more I work with it the more I'm amazed at how much it does. It's an incredible decision support tool for my financial planning. Since I have already built a model of my lifetime finances, it is easy to test new ideas as they come to me. Thanks again."M. W. R. in Austin, TX
"I'm getting to know your program more and more. What a great tool. I started a new plan and followed carefully the info provided. The projection results in the graphs and data output are very promising. Now, I intend to compare various scenarios with VeriPlan. Thanks again."T. H. in Longview, TX

"Larry, Thanks for the response. I watched the videos you’ve made so far on YouTube. Very good. In fact one of them addressed a situation that applies to me. I first learned about the zero federal taxes on long term capital gains when under the 25% marginal income tax rate from working with Veriplan a number of years ago. I’m no longer working but not yet receiving RMD’s or social security so my ordinary income is relatively low. So I’ve been taking full advantage of zero federal capital gains taxes by selling off my high expense ratio mutual funds which have a lot of capital gains built in since I’ve held them a long time and then I reinvest them in index mutual funds which don’t generate as much capital gains distributions. So the education that you and Veriplan provide has saved me thousands in taxes, not to mention the expenses on high cost mutual funds. Thanks again."M. D. in El Paso, TX
"Veriplan is absolutely the best. I think I OCD a bit on differing scenarios, timing on selling property and assets, return on investment, taxation, timing on taking Social Security, taking Survivor Benefits or not on our pensions, etc. Bottom line is we are retired and in excellent position financially. Thanks."T. D. in Omaha, NE
"I find the program to be very detailed and robust. I can't imagine the hours you must have put in.  I started to put a lot of data into it and added some more in the past week.  I want a detailed picture of our situation vis a vis Roth conversions now that we are retired.  I am getting very involved in my retirement tax planning, and VeriPlan is the tool that I need."R. L. in Wales, WI
"I have been reading many of your articles on investing and retirement planning. I will be spending the next few weeks reading your articles and the VeriPlan user manual.  I wish I had this information 20 years ago.  I started forwarding many of your articles to my son as he gets started with his career and starts investing."N. G. in Colorado Springs, CO

"I'm glad that my analysis was correct. With retirement about three years away, I need to start doing some serious financial planning with your software. Thank you for your outstanding software."H. B. in Ft. Worth, TX
"You've got a really cool product here -- it's impressive!"R. T. in Eau Claire, WI
"I purchased VeriPlan for the Roth conversion features. I enjoy VeriPlan and appreciate the thoroughness of the design and excellent commentary. I now work for (financial company name redacted) since retiring from (computer company name redacted) in a Retirement and Workplace Planning role. The accuracy, conciseness, and utility of the information presented by VeriPlan is great."M. S. in White Plains, NY
"I love the program, and I have been able to get answers to my questions about how much to convert to Roth and when to do Roth conversions. VeriPlan is very helpful in understanding the cumulative value of bringing down future RMD distributions and their associated taxes. It also helps me to see whether we might be able to stay below IRRMA and higher tax brackets for longer."A. W. in Williamsburg, VA

"Thank you for the VeriPlan retirement planner software. I am using it on my own behalf and with my clients. Have a great New Year, and thank you again for all your work on an already great product."L. M., Senior Investment Advisor in Idaho
"I finally had the opportunity to dig into your most recent upgrade. It is amazing how far the product has come since I first interacted with the 2010 edition and the 2016 update shows the large amount of work done to make a major improvement in the product. The property and debt improvement is substantial. The fact it allows for buying and selling analysis of properties prospectively opens the door for using it with a number of primarily real estate oriented clients and I’m looking forward to that. I am also quite pleased to see the inflation rate adjustment with debt repayments. Thank you."Email update from L. M., Senior Investment Advisor in Idaho
"Larry, this software is phenomenal.  Wish I would have had it years ago.  I can’t think of anything else the tool needs.  Right now I feel like a kid in a candy store.  I’m just reevaluating many of my decisions with a more comprehensive tool than my self-made Excel spreadsheet."T. H. in Newberry, FL
"The VeriPlan program and materials are extremely well thought out (not to mention voluminous). I think I now have a decent handle on the program, inputs and outputs. Your attention to detail is really impressive, and the analysis is excellent."W. B. in Carmel, CA

"Hey Larry, I'm getting to know your program more and more. What a great tool. I cannot imagine how much effort you've put into it. I started a new plan and followed carefully the info provided with good results in the graphics and data output. Now to start various scenarios to learn the most important use of VeriPlan. Thanks again."H. S. in St. Augustine, FL
"I absolutely love your software! I saw my cash balance growing larger than it needs to out in the future. Then, I found the portfolio rebalancing tool at the bottom of the asset allocation input worksheet. This allowed me to distinguish between cash needed for transactions and cash held for investments. This rebalancing tool will be very useful."R. C. in Flagstaff, AZ
"Anybody who wants a low cost family financial and retirement plan can get a great deal of value out of VeriPlan. Since VeriPlan is self-learning and fully changeable, I also really like not having to pay for updates or a support contract."L. E. in Syracuse, NY