The Complete Retirement Planner Blog

The term “retirement planning” can be a little misleading at face value - it’s really not as much about planning for what happens during retirement, as it is about planning for what happens before retirement. In theory, if you started saving when you started working (even small amounts, increasing as you are able), you could likely stop saving for retirement at age 45, let those savings grow for another 20 years, and still have a sufficient retirement fund. That type of financial understanding and focus is rare in your 20's (even 30's?), but there also seems to be a long-standing...

The 2026 version of The Complete Retirement Planner (TCRP 2026) is now available! As always, this update includes the latest tax codes, 401k/IRA and HSA contribution limits, and Medicare premiums. Several new features have also been added to further enhance TCRP's reputation as being one of the most comprehensive retirement planning tools available - and still at the same unbeatable price for the past 5 years! But don't let the low price fool you - TCRP is not lacking in any way, we do it because we CAN, and because it makes a significant difference for households across the country....

Most people don't particularly like being told what to do, so Required Minimum Distributions (RMD's) can easily be resented (at least a little) because they are perceived as "forcing" you to sell investments from 401k/IRA savings, thereby disturbing your invested amounts and creating unwanted tax liability on the distribution. Perhaps a little planning and a different perspective might help. It is true that starting at age 73 (age 75 if born in 1960 or later) you are required to take distributions from a Traditional 401k/IRA. However, there are three factors to keep in mind that may make RMD's more palatable: •...

The state of retirement planning in the U.S., per the 2025 Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study, the 2025 Schwab Modern Wealth Survey, and the 2025 Fidelity State of Retirement Planning Survey: • The Good - 91% of households with a financial plan are confident about reaching their retirement goals.• The Bad - Only ~30% of households will make the effort to create a financial plan. 62% of those without a plan are uncertain about reaching their retirement goals. • The Ugly - Of the 70% of households without a financial plan, 60% think creating a plan is too complicated or they...

The magic question when saving for retirement revolves around how much you will really need to save to have those savings last for at least 25 years (assuming that you retire at age 65). Of course, creating a comprehensive financial plan will help to answer this question with the most detail and reliabililty, but many people initially look for a quick guide to at least get the conversation started. On any given day there are countless articles focused on suggesting generic benchmarks for anyone and everyone to use as retirement savings goals, with 99% of that "information" simply being regurgitated...