Retirement Decision Dashboard

Growth assumption AFTER retirement, when you would hold a more conservative mix than the 8.5% above. 3% is very conservative (mostly bonds and cash), 5 to 6% is a typical balanced 50/50 mix. Every projection table in the dashboard uses this rate.

Leave at $0 if you are not putting anything aside. This is money saved for retirement from whatever vehicle you have: IRA, 401k, or plain savings. If you get a job with a 401k, put anything extra there first, because most employers match it and a match is free money an IRA cannot give you. Only in years you actually earn something does this get counted.

Federal plus California, combined, on money pulled out of the IRA before you retire. 20% is a reasonable starting figure at a low income. This does NOT include the 10% early-withdrawal penalty, which the dashboard adds by itself for any withdrawal before 8 January 2028, the day you turn 59 and a half.

Update these any time your SS.gov estimate changes. Your estimate is based on past income -- as that changes, update each age. SS cannot be claimed before 62. CA does not tax SS.

Everything except the home payment: food, gas, utilities, HOA dues, personal. Grows at the inflation rate below. The home payment lives in its own boxes so each piece behaves correctly.

P&I (incl. escrow cushion) drops to $0 when the mortgage pays off, or when the HECM opens if earlier. Property tax and condo insurance continue forever. Edit property tax directly if an assessment or bond changes it.

Applies only between your retirement age and 65, then Medicare takes over. The real number depends heavily on Covered California subsidies at your retirement income, which could push it well below this. $500 is a placeholder. Get a real quote and update. Inflates at the Medicare rate.

Medicare starts at 65 and covers Part B, Part D, a Medigap policy, and dental/vision (Part A is $0 with 40 work quarters). Enter your all-in monthly total in TODAY'S dollars and update it whenever premiums change. The 6.5% rate comes from the 2026 Medicare Trustees Report's own projection: Part B premium $202.90 (2026) to ~$360 (2035) and deductible $283 to ~$503, both ~6.6%/yr; the rest of the bundle blends slightly lower. The dashboard automatically scales this bundle (and the pre-65 health figure) up by the excess over general inflation for the years between now and retirement, so the projected doubling lands in the right years without you having to pre-inflate the number yourself.

The monthly gift from your uncle was removed from this dashboard on purpose. It is money tied to a person, not an income stream you can plan decades around, and there is no honest way to guess the year it stops. Every number here is calculated as if it is already zero. Anything he gives while he is here is a cushion on top of this plan, never part of it.

2026 Trustees Report (June 2026): the OASI trust fund depletes in Q4 2032 and benefits drop to 78% of scheduled, a 22% cut, if Congress takes no action. When toggled on, the cut applies from calendar year 2033 forward. If you claim at 62 to 64 you receive the full benefit until then, because the cut hits checks already in payment too.

When on, the HECM pays off your remaining mortgage at the start age below: your P&I stops then, and the line of credit is reduced by the balance paid off. Toggle to compare against never opening one.

With auto-compute on, "available before payoff" is estimated as the principal limit (33.5% of home value at 62, rising about 0.8 points per year of age, anchored to the June 2026 Mutual of Omaha quote) minus computed fees (2% of value mortgage insurance + $6,000 origination + $4,042 other and counseling). Uncheck the box to type a figure from a live quote instead. The net spendable line after mortgage payoff shows above. LOC grows on the unused portion at the HECM rate.

Adds earned income to your monthly picture for the years you work after claiming. If claiming before FRA and earning over the limit, shows the actual net after withholding.