Complete Set of Advantages

ESPlanner lets you do even better financial planning than our online product.

The list below summarizes the advantage of ESPlanner ($199) and ESPlannerPLUS ($249) over the the simplified download version, ESPlannerBASIC ($40).

ESPlanner Lets You Make Better . . .

Retirement Decisions

• Determine precise living standard impact of retiring early.
• Specify retirement housing plans.
• Specify the state in which you'll retire.
• Specify each future year's retirement contributions.
• Specify annuity purchase plans.
• Specify pension plan details.
• Specify retirement earnings.
• Specify desired changes in your living standard in retirement.

Education Decisions

• See if more education pays.
• Specify training and education costs on a year-by-year basis.
• Specify future earnings on a year-by-year basis.
• Compare living standard with and without education investment.
• Explore use of a 529 plan.

Career Decisions

• Specify future wages on a year-by-year basis.
• Specify future self-employment earnings on a year-by-year basis.
• Enter details of employers' fringe benefit plans.
• Specify state to which you would relocate.
• Specify housing costs in each job.

Housing Decisions

• Specify up to two changes in your primary home.
• Specify up to two changes in your vacation home.
• Specify future housing appreciation/depreciation.
• Determine the living standard impact of downsizing.
• Determine the living standard gains from co-residence.
• Specify second mortgages.
• Specify interest-only and other non-conventional mortgages.

Retirement Account Decisions

• Determine how additional contributions will affect your living standard.
• Enter each future year's contributions separately.
• Determine whether Roth or 401(k) contributions deliver higher living standard.
• Determine what the employer's contribution is really worth.
• Specify annuitization of retirement accounts.
• Tailor your retirement account withdrawals.

Social Security Decisions

• Specify future covered earnings on a year-by-year basis.
• Enter self-employment earnings separately (affects FICA taxes).
• Specify each past year's covered Social Security earnings.
• Program calculates precise retirement, survivor, and spousal benefits.
• Determine precisely the optimal age to collect.
• Determine precise gains from repaying old benefits and reapply for new ones.
• Specify that your future pension is from non-covered employment.
• Specify when you plan to enroll in Medicare.
• Specify how Social Security benefits and Medicare premiums will change.

Pension Decisions

• Determine precise living standard impact of taking pension early.
• Compare living standard taking a lump sum vs. an annual benefit.
• Specify degree of indexation of pension to inflation.
• Specify survivor pension benefit.
• Compard pension benefits at different jobs.

Tax Planning Decisions

• Specify if special expenditures are excludable from AGI or tax deductible.
• Specify whether special receipts are taxable at ordinary or capital gains rates.
• Specify the share of your regular asset income coming from tax-free municipals.
• Specify share of regular asset income coming from capital gains and dividends.

Real Estate Decisions

• Enter up to five real estate properties.
• Determine if new real estate aquistions will raise your living standard.
• Determine when it's best to sell your properties.
• Determine the best way to finance your real estate acquisitions.

Estate Decisions

• Specify income, special expenses, etc. in the event of death of a spouse/partner.
• Specify funeral expenses and bequests
• Specify degree of protection to provide survivors
• Specify current face and cash value of life insurance holdings.

Lifestyle Decisions

• Determine living standard impact of retiring early.
• Determine living standard gains from marriage.
• Determine living standard impact of having hildren
• Determine living standard impact of divorce.
• Determine most tax efficient way to get divorced.
• Determine living standard cost of charitable giving.

ESPlannerPLUS Lets You Make Better . . .

Investment Decisions

• See how different investment strategies affect the level and variabilty of your living standard over time.
• Specify/set up to 10 portfolios
• Specify when these portfolios will be held.
• Specify retirement account portfolios separately.
• See living standard trajectories based on different paths of returns.
• Determine the right investment strategy given your spend-down rule.

Spend-Down Decisions

• Specify whether you want to spend aggessively, cautiously, or conservatively.
• See how different spending behaviors affect the chances of experiencing a very low future living standard.
• See paths of your living standard based on how your investments may fare.
• Determine the right spend-down behavior given your investment strategy.