Why RetireSeek
Your whole retirement.One Checkup.
Money, home, health, family. All connected, all in one place.
Waiting on Social Security changes how long your savings last. Selling the house changes your taxes and where you'll live. Your Checkup shows how it all fits together.
Aging at home, and the alternatives
Most people want to stay home. Your Checkup looks at the home you actually have, the support nearby and what the alternatives would cost, so the choice is yours to make with clear eyes rather than in a crisis.
- What stands in the way at home, such as stairs or upkeep, and what can be adapted
- Realistic paths: adapt, downsize nearby, move closer to family, or a retirement community
- Local costs of in-home help, assisted living and nursing care
- What Medicare does and doesn't pay, and where Medicaid and insurance fit in
The years before retirement, or the ones after
The five years before you stop working are when the timing decisions bunch up. Your Checkup sets them out year by year, then turns everything into a personal action plan for the next month, the next year and beyond.
- A five-year countdown: budget, taxes, Social Security, health coverage and the handoff from paychecks
- Medicare enrollment windows and the penalties for missing them
- Covering the years before Medicare if you retire early
- A personal action plan timed to where you are
The legacy you leave
Your own needs come first, and an inheritance goal is a hope, not a rule. Your Checkup shows how much you could leave at different spending levels and what it takes to make sure it reaches the people you intend.
- Your legacy goal tested against your forecast
- Wills, trusts, powers of attorney and beneficiary forms that override a will
- Estate-tax thresholds for your state
- Guardians and trusts for children who depend on you
A plan that works for whoever lives longer
Most calculators assume a couple lives and dies together. Your Checkup tests both cases side by side, because the person who lives longer has to live on what's left.
- Each of you dying first, with income, spending and savings for the survivor
- Which Social Security check continues, and survivor benefits
- The survivor's higher tax rates after filing as single
- How much life insurance would keep the money lasting
Your home, as a home and as money
A paid-off house is valuable, but you can't buy groceries with it. Your Checkup keeps home equity separate from money you can spend, and shows what selling, borrowing or renting would really free up.
- Equity versus spendable savings
- A rough tax estimate on selling your home or a rental, including the home-sale exclusion
- Tax basis after a spouse dies, and strategies such as moving into a rental before selling
- Property-tax relief programs in your state
Real families, not textbook ones
Family situations change the rules for inheritance, survivor benefits and who can act for you. Your Checkup asks, and explains what applies to your family.
- Stepchildren and blended families
- A child with a disability: special needs trusts and ABLE accounts
- Grandchildren of a child who has died
- Unmarried partners, civil unions and same-sex couples
A briefing for your lawyer and accountant
RetireSeek supports your professionals' judgment and never replaces it. Your Checkup ends with a brief written for them, so the time you pay for goes to advice rather than gathering facts.
- Property values, tax basis, accounts, debts and insurance in one place
- Family details that matter for your estate plan
- Specific questions for your estate attorney and tax professional
- Records to bring to the meeting
Independent, and a flat $49
Many free retirement tools exist to find customers for someone who sells financial products. A Checkup costs $49, once. Your first Checkup includes 30 days of RetireSeek Coach, and nothing renews unless you choose it.
- $49 for a personal Checkup, with no automatic renewal
- A new Checkup about once a year, like an annual physical
- Optional Coach for follow-up questions
Ready to bring it all together?
One Checkup. Your whole retirement.
A personal Checkup is $49, one time. Your first purchase includes 30 days of RetireSeek Coach, with no automatic renewal.
When to start Social Security
Starting earlier gives you checks sooner. Waiting gives you a bigger check for life. Which matters more depends on your situation, so your Checkup compares the ages with your own figures instead of a rule of thumb. It never tells you which age to pick.
Try the free Social Security calculator →
From a sample Checkup for a fictional household: Starting at 70 instead of 62 pays $1,566 more a month for life, and the extra checks catch up with the head start at about age 80. If the earlier checks earned the plan's 6% return, waiting wouldn't catch up until about 85.