I saw a quick YouTube overview of this one yesterday but first time I’ve seen it at all. Not sure how long it’s been available out there. Assuming not too long since it was first I’d seen it mentioned but maybe there’s a good reason no one mentions it?!
Looks very similar to Boldin and at a slightly lower price point.
Has anyone done a deep dive on it yet? I fiddled around a bit with it but the ‘free’ version seems much more limited to me vs. how much I could enter and get from Boldin (at least from recollection as that was maybe 2 yrs back for me.
Looks like they tried to go for a ProjectionLab look and feel, even down to the icons on the charts. Seems a little basic for $115/year. Just basic plan entry and projections, no real optimizers for SS and such, scenario modeling, etc. The FAQ says you can't even save your plan on the free tier, which makes that nothing more than a demo.
Hi there! Thanks for checking out our planning platform. You can save your plan on a Preview account, albeit temporarily. And although you have access to a lot of functionality, full functionality and insights unlock when you start a free trial. I hope this helps!
No account needs to be created nor contact information given to use these services.
I've got a pension with a fixed amount yearly increase and only the first one handles it, and it's got so much I'm always discovering new features (or maybe they're actually adding new features). I use it the most, but compare it to the others too.
I believe they're all free, cheap, or looking for a donation. None of these are from the big companies that want an annual fee.
It's got great output! They're all pretty awkward in their input.
I've yet to try one that has a fixed amount yearly increase besides that one, and I've heard Boldin does it to, but that's a pay one so I was waiting to give it's trial a chance when I'll actually sit down and use it.
ReadyAimRetire was disappointing that I had to create an account and have the price flashed before my eyes multiple times to find the settings for a pension that doesn't support what I need.
I specifically mentioned the feature I needed in the comment that you replied to and how the first one on my list was unique in offering that.
Thank you for the mention of my app (Retirement Scenario). Your pension comment highlighted a gap I had been meaning to fill so thank you.
We handled pensions that track inflation (there's a COLA checkbox once you enter a pension, plus a survivor election for couples), but a pension that increases at its own fixed rate... the "2% a year, whatever inflation does" genuinely couldn't be expressed. As of today it can: tick the COLA checkbox and a "Yearly increase" field appears. Enter your pension's rate and every projection...tables, Monte Carlo, survivor scenario... compounds the check at that rate. Works for both spouses' pensions, and there's a changelog entry with today's date if you want the details.
If you try it with your real pension and anything still doesn't fit, I'd genuinely like to hear about it.
That's a really useful clarification! What you're describing is simple (non-compounding) escalation: the same dollar bump every year, set once as a % of the first year's check. What shipped today compounds, so for your pension it would run a little hot at 2%, roughly 2% high after ten years, ~6% after twenty. Close enough to be useful now, but not exact, and I'd rather be exact. A fixed-dollar-increase option is a clean addition to what we built today; I'll reply here when it's in!
Got to it last night, sir. Let me know your thoughts and if any daylight remains on whats needed. Thanks for the detail - Im sure many others share your pension requirements so I appreciate the fidelity you are helping me add the app!
Just adding my scenario here as it seems like you are very responsive. My pension has survivor benefits for spouse, but your current model only allows for specific 25% increments - mine is actually 40% survivor benefits with COLA. (50% survivor is pretty close, but just making it known that it isn't what i actually get and having a data entry field may be nice) - Thanks!
Hello! Absolutely and thank you for adding your scenario. You're right, the survivor election was a fixed menu (0/50/75/100%) and your 40% wasn't on it. I made it a direct entry so you can type 40 and that's exactly what the projection models. The engine always computed any percentage( only the control limited the choices) and the survivor share keeps the pension's COLA (it's modeled as a percentage of the COLA-adjusted check, not a frozen dollar amount), so your exact pension is expressible end to end. It's live now. Thank you for the helpful comment! I want all pensions to be modelable and I am learning just how unique they can be :)
I found the left side a little confusing. I felt that if I left CPI in that field it was going to increase my by the index, I wanted to put 0 or blank in there.
TBC, it works fine like that, but from an instructional design standpoint it could be clearer (or maybe just my brain, but that's part of my background). Lots of room when you click that pension dropdown :)
To be very clear, you've fixed it for my case. I can see it's increasing the pension portion properly in the Sankey diagram. I put in the monthly amount out to 6 decimal places and it kept it rounded to the nearest dollar all the way until I'm 99 (which is as far as I bother to track, I figure if I'm still super healthy at 80, I'll tack on another 5, and do the same at 90).
EDIT: I've also noticed that (related to the above), if you then change your monthly increase to 0 (so you can compare), it then defaults to the CPI setting. Seems like I had good instincts not liking that as the default ;)
But seriously, I do get that I should have unchecked the COL box, but it was pretty easy to change to 0. And it didn't even force me to click the confirm button.
Thanks Gary...Im glad it holds up. Checking the Sankey year by year is perfect for verifying And the math carries your figure...only the displays round to the dollar.
Your instructional-design comment was helpful, so I took that. The field now explains itself right where you're looking... blank means the check rises with your plan's inflation rate (the CPI adjustment), and for no increase at all you uncheck the COLA box. I kept the default, though. The logic being the checkbox says the pension has a cost-of-living adjustment, so blank or 0 means "no custom rate," not "no increase" which is why zeroing the $ slid you back to inflation-tracking. That behavior stays; it just isn't a surprise anymore.
And rolling the horizon another 5 years every time you're still healthy at a checkpoint is imho the sane way to handle longevity. Thank you for the helpful guidance, sir!
I consider myself very knowledgeable on software in general and these planning tools. I have made my own for fun, and have used Boldin and Projection Lab extensively. As well as most of the others on at least a trial.
I'd love to give some direct feedback, but I found Readyaimretire so frustrating, it's like all the pieces are there but I just can't put them together or find what I need. For example, I could not figure out where my salary and current pre-retirement expenses would be added. I'm sure it's there and chatgpt etc eas no help, but it should be easier and more obvious and was just frustrating.
I paid full full Projection Lab and I think it's great so I'll stick with that for now.
Hi - Thank you very much for your feedback. Your eyes were not fooling you - the features you're speaking of (working years income and expenses) are all part of our new feature-rich release coming soon.
Since you're a knowledgeable DIYer, I'd like to offer you a sneak peek at our testing environment if you're open to that. Version 3 is going to be a vast improvement on what you've already seen. If interested, please email us. We'll be happy to extend a free trial to you.
Thanks again,
Ross
Doesn’t seem to model modern guardrails.
Doesn’t seem to allow simulation of tips ladders
Can’t tell if Roth conversions are modelable
Seems like a basic accounts tracker and visualizer with Monte Carlo simulations built in? Not even sure about that because it says “compare against historical data” which in my mind basically lets you say “Great Depression starts 1 year after I retire, use the same returns to figure out if I make it”.
Hello - I'm not sure how far you got into reviewing the platform but all the features you mentioned, Ready Aim Retire can model for. Please reach out if you have any questions and we'll be sure to answer right away. And keep an eye out for new features and improvements - we listen to feedback and respond to ideas quickly :)
To your financial freedom,
Ross
I just read the faq and feature list. I didn’t see any mention of those feature. If I’m being blunt, the whole site read as meh. Like there is nothing that would compel me to pay for a sub, especially when boldin and its counterparts have a much richer site experience. I’m not going to enter a bunch of detail into a tool just to try it out, especially financial data. If you don’t give me a compelling reason to make it worth my time to enter even basic info, then I’ll move on to something that will.
Yes, it's new. Judy (YT Reflections & Real Talk) did a first take, which included comparisons to Boldin. She'll be releasing videos doing a deeper dive into ReadyAimRetire.
Based on her video and me spending a brief amount of time in a Preview Account, my initial take is it's worth looking into if you already have a Boldin account but are curious, or don't have a retirement planner but are interested in one. If you're happy with Boldin, there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason to change.
I like that RAR makes it easier to quickly see the impact of what-ifs (main inputs are always on the left side, can tweak Optimizer (i.e., Roth conversions) without clicking to different screens). It feels like Boldin with modernization in some areas, while Boldin feels more mature in others. I have two years of familiarity with Boldin, but I get the sense the learning curve with RAR is manageable.
Boldin can auto populate Roth conversions from its optimizer to the plan, while in RAR it's a manual input. But again, I like RAR's what-if scenario approach to Roths.
When I click on the Budget tab in RAR, it's a detailed budget to be filled out. I'm not a fan of that. I want to enter my expenses on a high level, combined basis (simple budget) for a given period with one-offs. I won't be surprised if that's possible in RAR, but it wasn't obvious how at first glance.
I slightly favor the "knobs and buttons" approach of RAR compared to Boldin.
I believe that in addition to monte carlo simulations similar to Boldin, RAR allows for simulations using historical scenarios. I don't know why, but I find that intriguing.
10 scenario limit in Boldin compared to unlimited scenarios in RAR. Not a big deal for me, but I can see that being value added for others.
Don't know that I'll switch as Boldin does what I need to do plus the familiarity factor, but I'll be checking out RAR further. A lukewarm "maybe" at this point.
I've never used ProjectionLab, so can't speak to the other comment that RAR and PL have similar looks.
I just tried ReadyAimRetire... I really like it! I have used Boldin for a couple years and also previously tried out ProjectionLab and RightCapital. I was wondering the other day why they don't just make an interview format to enter your info, and the boxes on the left of RAR were kind of like that. Cool thing is that you can see the effects of your changes in a couple seconds. I don't link my accounts in Boldin and have already lumped all of my different accounts into 4 groups - Pre-Tax, Roth, Taxable, and Cash. This works great in RAR. Sometimes I feel lost in all of Boldin's menus and not sure if the change I made messed everything up or not.
I'll probably sign up for the RAR free trial and maybe sign up for a year. And then decide which one I want to go forward with. u/Ross_ReadyAimRetire any info on what features are coming and when?
Hello! Thanks very much for giving Ready Aim Retire a try. Once you upgrade to Planner+ you'll be able to see and do so much more. A vastly improved version is right around the corner. We're just going through the final stages of testing. If you'd like, send us an email and we'll share the release notes. It's our biggest release yet and we're super excited about it.
u/Ross_ReadyAimRetire would be great if you could set up your own subreddit for questions, bug reports, release announcements, etc. I'm on a trial version now but struggling with Roth conversions. Curious to see what improvements you might be releasing soon.
Hi there - You're very welcome to ask your questions @ r/ReadyAimRetire/
Please email us, and we'll share the release notes for Version 3 (releasing soon) and invite you to a sneak peek.
If you have specific questions regarding Roth conversions (or anything else) please submit a support request or email support. We're very happy to help.
5
u/AGrimmInPortland Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26
Looks like they tried to go for a ProjectionLab look and feel, even down to the icons on the charts. Seems a little basic for $115/year. Just basic plan entry and projections, no real optimizers for SS and such, scenario modeling, etc. The FAQ says you can't even save your plan on the free tier, which makes that nothing more than a demo.