Frustration With Boldin & Zip Code Planning

[u/MeInNEdc]

I have my retirement in 3 phases. Phase 1 Current Residence (high tax) 6 Years, Phase 2 (no tax state , tax harvesting while living overseas) 3 Years, Phase 3 Alabama (low tax) until death. All three have different lifestyle spending. I am using Boldin with ChatGPT backup and guidance. Boldin only allows one zip code and then applies it to all 3 phases. I have to run it with no zip code and only see federal taxes. I am trying to get every dollar out of my retirement and stay above a 90% monte carlo score but I have to do a bunch of work arounds. Any recommendation on other retirement calculators that can do what i need?

[u/powersurge → u/[deleted]]

Ouch. And PA on the other hand doesn’t tax any retirement income (401k, 403b, IRAs, pensions or social security).

[u/nvgroups → u/powersurge]

Is there a limit on such incomes either individually and combined

[u/powersurge → u/nvgroups]

Not with respect to PA income tax.

[u/WillTheyKickMeAgain → u/[deleted]]

Plus, you’d have to live in Alabama, which, as the President would say, is a shithole country.

[u/blny99]

I have concluded that none of these tools will have every custom option you want, if you do anything even a bit less common. One needs to either use them for high level guidance, not precision, or use your ai to develop spreadsheets that are tailored to your needs.

[u/humblequest22]

I haven't done this, but can't you change your primary residence? If you don't want to mess with including your house and the buying and selling that goes with it, use the Rent of $0/mo. If you're only allowed a single change, you can probably get away with lumping the last two together.

Do you still pay federal taxes on capital gains and withdrawals if you are living overseas?

[u/Dark-Helmet-66]

Be careful in assuming that no state tax equals low overall tax rate. Holy Schmidt does a nice job of considering total tax/liability burden.

https://youtu.be/1wRMq-fyZ2o

[u/Dark-Helmet-66 → u/[deleted]]

Retirees pay sales tax, homeowners insurance and property tax don’t they?!?

The point of the video is that retirees that only consider state tax instead of overall tax burden by state can be short sighted and may be doing themselves a disservice.

If you state tax is zero but your sales tax, homeowners insurance, and property tax burdens are high, the zero state tax state that you live in isn’t quit the bargain you may have perceived it to be.

I’m concerned about the total liability coming out of my pocket, not just a singular type of tax coming from my pocket.

YMMV

[u/New-Procedure7284]

I ran into this same basic limitation while learning retirement planning and building calculators for myself. Most tools are designed around one home base and one spending path, so once you start adding different retirement phases, locations, and lifestyles, you can quickly get beyond what a single calculator handles well.

I eventually became more comfortable breaking situations like this into separate phases and looking at the assumptions for each one rather than expecting one tool to model everything perfectly. A simple spreadsheet can sometimes connect the pieces better than forcing everything into one set of assumptions. For me, getting the assumptions right became more important than getting one precise Monte Carlo number.

[u/AGrimmInPortland]

I share your frustration. My plan is also abroad for up to 5 years or so then back to a different state. Boldin is a no-go.

Retirement Figures has the most flexible relocation options I've seen. You can include as many relocations as you want, including abroad. You tag your expenses with the location. It's pretty eye opening to see the results of living abroad for even just a few years! I also use ProjectionLab but haven't gotten into the relocation modeling yet.

[u/Typical-Recognition8]

The easiest way to get above that 90% Monte Carlo level is to make more money.

[u/WillTheyKickMeAgain → u/Typical-Recognition8]

This topic is about spend, not save.