Free calculators and planning education for pre-retirees. Model your retirement, find the gaps, and understand the six risks most plans miss entirely.
A calculator can tell you whether you're on track. It can't see a bad market in your first two years of retirement, a Medicare surcharge you triggered five years earlier, or the tax bill inside every withdrawal.
Run the numbers below, then read the six risks the models miss.
Enter a few numbers and see exactly how prepared you are for retirement, with a plain-English breakdown of where the gaps are.
401(k), IRA, taxable combined
All accounts combined
Projected savings growth at each checkpoint, the contribution gap if one exists, and the three specific levers that would improve your score the most.
No spam. One follow-up email with an invitation to review your plan.
A 30-minute call with Henry costs you nothing. We'll walk through your actual numbers and the tax moves that most projections never account for.
Model your retirement income against your spending to see whether your money lasts, and how different scenarios change the picture.
All accounts combined
All expenses, today's dollars
Pension, rental, part-time
Exactly how your portfolio balance changes each year, three scenario comparisons, and the one decision that has the single largest impact on your outcome.
No spam. One follow-up email with an invitation to review your plan.
| Scenario | Return | Portfolio lasts to |
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30 minutes with Henry. We'll stress-test your plan against sequence of returns risk and tax drag, the two things most projections ignore.
Medicare Part B and Part D premiums increase once your income crosses certain thresholds, based on your tax return from two years ago. Most people don't find out until the bill arrives. See where you stand.
Adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest
If yes, the surcharge applies to both of you
How much room you have before the next surcharge tier, and the planning moves that can legally reduce or avoid IRMAA, including one most people find out about too late.
No spam. One follow-up email with an invitation to review your plan.
Estimate based on the most recently published Medicare IRMAA brackets (2026). Thresholds and surcharge amounts are set annually by CMS and adjust for inflation; confirm current-year figures at medicare.gov. Simplified estimate for education only. Not tax or legal advice.
IRMAA is one of the few costs you can often see coming two years out and actually plan around. A 30-minute call costs nothing.
Want the full picture? Read How IRMAA Quietly Increases Retirement Costs.
The two states take nearly opposite approaches to taxing retirees. Enter your income mix and see a side-by-side estimate of your annual state and local tax picture on each side of the line.
Affects Delaware's retirement income exclusion
Combined, if married
Qualifying retirement-age distributions
Work income, interest, dividends
Purchases subject to PA sales tax
Optional. Drives the PA inheritance tax estimate
Income tax, sales tax, and property tax side by side, the one-time Pennsylvania inheritance tax estimate on your estate, and the 20-year cumulative difference between the two states.
No spam. One follow-up email with an invitation to review your plan.
Simplified estimate for education only. Uses PA's flat 3.07% income tax on non-retirement income, 6% sales tax, and a 1.4% effective property tax rate typical of Chester County; Delaware's graduated brackets to 6.6% with the standard deduction of $5,700 single or $11,400 joint, the $12,500 per-person exclusion of eligible retirement income at 60+, no sales tax, and a 0.6% effective property tax rate. Local wage taxes, senior relief programs, deductions, and credits vary by municipality and situation and are not modeled. Not tax advice.
We model both states against your actual accounts, spending, and estate plan, including the timing questions this calculator can't see. The 30-minute call costs nothing.
Want the full context first? Read Pennsylvania or Delaware: Where Should You Retire?
Unlike the federal estate tax, Pennsylvania's inheritance tax generally applies without a large exemption amount, and the rate depends on who inherits. Estimate what your heirs would owe, and see the levers that reduce it.
Taxed at 0%
Generally taxed at 4.5% (0% from parent to a child 21 or younger)
Taxed at 12%
Nieces, nephews, friends, unmarried partners: 15%
Taxed at 0%
The tax by heir type, and the four planning levers that legally reduce or eliminate it, including the one most families discover too late.
No spam. One follow-up email with an invitation to review your plan.
Simplified estimate for education only. Actual tax depends on how assets are titled, available deductions, and elections such as the family business and farm exemptions. Jointly owned property, retirement accounts, and gifts made within one year of death have their own rules. Not tax or legal advice.
Beneficiary titling, gifting timelines, and insurance structure interact. We coordinate all three with your estate attorney, and the 30-minute call costs nothing.
Comparing states? Try the PA vs. DE break-even calculator above, or read Pennsylvania or Delaware: Where Should You Retire?
Your employer withholds a flat rate on RSU vests, not your actual tax rate. For most people above the 22% bracket, that gap turns into a bill at tax time. See yours before it surprises you.
Your top federal bracket, including this vest
Bonuses and prior vests. Affects the $1M withholding cliff.
Enter as a percent, e.g. 3.07 for PA. Enter 0 for DE wages.
Federal, state, and the $1M supplemental cliff broken out line by line, plus the moves that keep this from becoming an April surprise.
No spam. One follow-up email with an invitation to review your plan.
Simplified estimate for education only. Uses your marginal bracket applied to the full vest value; actual liability depends on your full tax return, deductions, and other income. Does not include FICA (Social Security and Medicare) withholding, which applies separately. Not tax or legal advice.
Each one compounds the same gap. We build a withholding and estimated-payment plan across all of them so nothing catches you in April.
Want the full picture? Read RSU Vesting: What to Do the Day Your Shares Vest.
A projection is only as good as its assumptions. Here's what serious retirement planning has to account for that no model captures on its own.
Two retirees with identical average returns can have completely different outcomes depending on when the bad years hit. A 30% drop in year one of retirement is far more damaging than the same drop in year ten. Most projections use average returns and miss this entirely.
Read the full pieceWithdrawing $7,500/month from a traditional IRA costs more than $7,500. Federal and state taxes, IRMAA surcharges on Medicare premiums, and Social Security taxation can add 20-35% to your effective cost of income. For many households, the tax plan effectively determines the retirement outcome.
Roth conversion timingThe classic rule assumes a 30-year retirement with a specific mix of stocks and bonds. Retire at 60 with a 35-year horizon, and the math changes. So does a bond-heavy portfolio in a higher-rate environment. It's a starting point, not a plan.
Retiring before 65 means bridging to Medicare on your own. ACA marketplace premiums for a couple in their early 60s can run $1,500-$2,500 per month at 2026 rates, before subsidies, depending on income. This is consistently the most underestimated line item in early retirement budgets.
IRMAA and Medicare costsClaiming at 62 versus 70 can mean a difference of 76% in your monthly benefit. The break-even calculation is straightforward, but the right answer depends on your health, your spouse's benefit, and your other income sources. Most people claim too early.
The claiming strategy guideHealthcare inflation runs at roughly 2x the general rate. If you're projecting 3% inflation across all spending, you're likely underestimating what your budget looks like at 80. A tiered inflation assumption changes the long-term math significantly.
Our clients retire on both sides of the state line, and the line itself is a planning decision. Pennsylvania generally exempts qualifying retirement income but taxes inheritances from the first dollar. Delaware has no sales, estate, or inheritance tax but taxes some retirement income. For retirees in Chester County, on the Main Line, or across northern Delaware, the numbers deserve a side-by-side look.
Serving West Chester, Kennett Square, the Main Line, Wilmington, Hockessin, and Greenville.
Yes. Every calculator on this page gives you a basic score or result at no cost and with no obligation. You do not need to talk to us to use them.
They produce planning-grade estimates built on simplified assumptions. They are educational tools, not a substitute for a full financial plan. A real plan accounts for taxes, market sequence, and your specific situation in far more detail than any calculator can.
You get the full results for that calculator. We may follow up with planning content we think is useful. No spam, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
No. The tools are free for anyone. If you want help interpreting your results, the first call is free too.
Your first call is 30 minutes, no pressure, no obligation. Just an honest conversation about where you are and where you want to be.
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The Social Security Claiming Age Calculator
Claim at 62 and your check is permanently smaller. Wait until 70 and it grows every year you hold off. See what your choice is actually worth, and the age it takes to break even.
Determines your Full Retirement Age (FRA)
From your "my Social Security" statement at ssa.gov
See the breakeven age and lifetime totals
The age where waiting starts to pay off versus claiming early, cumulative totals under a few longevity assumptions, and the moves worth knowing before you file.
No spam. One follow-up email with an invitation to review your plan.
Estimate based on published SSA early/delayed claiming reduction and credit formulas applied to the benefit you entered. Assumes no future cost-of-living adjustments and no earnings-test withholding for working before Full Retirement Age. Simplified estimate for education only. Not tax, legal, or Social Security filing advice; confirm your actual estimate at ssa.gov.
Married, or still working?
Spousal and survivor benefits, and the earnings test if you claim before Full Retirement Age while still working, both change this math. A 30-minute call costs nothing.
Want the full picture? Read Social Security: The $100K Mistake.