Critical Acclaim for MaxiFi

I found Kotlikoff and his software on SS very helpful, and I think I've gotten our 403b's and TIRA/RIRA's in reasonably good order, but they don't total enough to make it clear that we can live and spend as we have been doing when we are no longer earning income. So the the idea of somehow getting a picture of how to support a level of spending seems like it might be a good idea, after a life of not paying attention to finances. And I'm nowhere near being able to work out a spreadsheet on my own that takes all the moving parts into account reasonably.

ESPlanner's [now known as MaxiFI Planner] life-cycle smoothing determines the highest possible living standard you can maintain for the rest of your life.

Delaying your Social Security is one of the best ways to expand your retirement income. Your monthly check from the government will often be three-quarters larger if you claim at 70 instead of at 62, said Laurence Kotlikoff, an economics professor at Boston University and the author of " Get What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security ."

But there is room for a solution, Kotlikoff said. “But it has to be done carefully so Social Security doesn't lose money,” he said.

One of the most sophisticated financial planning tools is based not only on mathematical factors but on economic-based decision making.

MaxiFi will also make suggestions to help improve your money plan. These changes are intended to lower your tax bill, optimize your income and help correct your current spending habits.

Though ultimately, the real distinction for financial advisors is not MaxiFi's cost-effective price point, but its potential to frame the entire financial planning conversation differently—around the long-term impact of a client's decisions on their long-term sustainable standard of living, instead of “just” their assets.

Optimization means getting the most consumption for a given amount of variability, but not eliminating variability.

According to Larry Kotlikoff, four things explain my high returns. Double indexing of benefits in the early 1970s (thank you, Richard Nixon). I delayed claiming benefits until age 70, which I could afford to do but isn't an option for many people. I will probably live longer than average, due to both genetic factors and maintaining good health (thank you, Shane!).

MaxiFi Planner is a simple and elegant solution for financial advisors seeking to advise clients or for unadvised investors looking to optimize their own plan.

The difference between MaxiFi Planner compared to other financial planning software is that it plans out your future retirement - it shows you what you can spend and how much you will be able to withdraw from your accounts. ... Figuring out how to maintain your current living standard for the rest of your life is a feature unique to MaxiFi. It prioritizes maintaining your standard of living and creates a plan for you based on that. A comfortable, happy retirement is the ultimate goal for millions of workers, and MaxiFi Planner can help you plan with your highest sustainable standard of living in mind.

Planning for retirement? Look no further than your tablet or smartphone.A growing array of apps and websites make it easier to complete many of the most basic-and most important-tasks, from saving money and creating legal documents to figuring out a second career and where to live.

The best financial planning software allows you to track, analyze, project and play out what-if scenarios to chart a course of action to achieve your goals...

The best and most comprehensive retirement planning software . . . is Laurence Kotlikoff's MaxiFi.com

In a Roth conversion, you move money from a tax-deferred pretax account like a traditional IRA to the tax-free after-tax account. Each dollar you convert is taxed as ordinary income on the day it moves. In essence, you're electing to prepay taxes that wouldn't ordinarily be due for years.

Professor Kotlikoff's Economic Security Plannings Inc.'s tools include MaxiFi, which works to analyze your spending, saving and insurance to make sure they match your lifestyle and level of wealth. It also looks at other ways to increase the money you take in through Social Security, annuities or retirement savings.

If you have complex situations such as previous marriages, children's benefits, disability benefits, etc., maybe the paid calculators will give you something different.

Tools do exist for doing it right, but a good adviser can be invaluable.

Sure, there's plenty of financial software out there that can help you establish a budget, save money for your kids' education and even live out your dream retirement. But can these apps help you calculate your highest sustainable living standard? MaxiFi Planner takes on the role of a financial planner to help you live your best life. It takes into account your entire financial picture and calculates what your retirement will look like with several scenarios

Life-cycle economics can provide guidelines for far more than retirement finance questions.

Should I sell stocks or wait for the market to recover? Should I tap into my retirement funds now? What should I do about Social Security?

The software is easy to use and provides amazingly detailed financial recommendations which are supported by advanced Monte Carlo analysis. MaxiFi Planner is an outstanding resource for regular investors as well as for professional investors with a large financial planning practice.

How Social Security made it easier to see what you could get, depending on when you start claiming

"It's a complicated product to get your brain around. If you couldn't come up any other option to stay in the home, then use a reverse mortgage."

The Social Security Administration is misleading and mistreating Americans by “running scams” and “tricking them” into making claiming choices that cheat them out of benefits to which they're entitled, argues Laurence Kotlikoff, Boston University economics professor, in an interview with ThinkAdvisor.

We dug into readers' questions on Roth IRA conversions and other maneuvers to reduce your taxes in retirement.

The analysis found that the retiree could boost his lifetime retirement income by $25,000 by tapping the tax-deferred account earlier.

Roth conversions make sense for retirees who have enough after-tax money to pay the taxes on the funds being converted. Otherwise, retirees have to pull even more money from their tax-deferred account to cover taxes.