Overview

Your retirement plan at a glance

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

The best plans achieve four goals in priority order:

Money That Lasts — Never run out of money
Live Well — Maximize your lifestyle, minimize regret
Leave a Legacy — Pass wealth to heirs (after 1 & 2)
Tax Efficiency — Keep more of what's yours

We track what matters:

Success — Will your money last?
Annual Spending — How much can you safely spend?
Legacy to Heirs — What will they receive (after taxes)?
Lifetime Taxes — How much goes to taxes?

Total Portfolio

Projected total balance by age

Median

Reading the Metrics

Success Rate: Percentage of simulations in which the portfolio lasted through the full retirement horizon without running out of money.
Median Final Balance (P50): The middle outcome — half of all simulations ended above this value, half below.
Outcome Range (P10 – P90): The band between the worst 10% and best 10% of simulations. A wide range signals high sensitivity to market volatility.

Raw Projections

Full Strategy Optimizer

Find optimal retirement strategies across all parameters

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Individual Optimizers vs. Full Strategy Optimization

The app offers individual optimizers for specific settings like withdrawal strategy, Social Security claiming age, and retirement age. Each finds what's optimal for that one setting in isolation—while fixing others to specific values.

However, retirement decisions interact with each other. For example, the best withdrawal strategy might differ depending on when you claim Social Security, or when you retire affects which Roth conversion strategy works best.

Full Strategy Optimization evaluates thousands of combinations simultaneously to find strategies where all settings work together optimally, not just individually. This ensures you're finding the best overall retirement plan, not just optimizing pieces in isolation.

Think of it like planning a vacation: the best flight, hotel, and restaurant chosen separately may not be conveniently co-located for the best sightseeing experience. The best trip coordinates all elements together.

Click "Run Full Optimization" to explore optimal strategies across all parameters.

Optimal Strategies

Sorted by amount to heirs, then by lowest tax

Strategy Details

Should I run the Full Optimizer periodically?

Yes — at a minimum, once a year.

We recommend updating your account balances and re-running the Full Optimizer at least annually.

The reason is simple: the optimizer selects the single best strategy for your remaining retirement horizon based on today's information. However, markets change, account balances evolve, tax laws shift, and new trade-offs emerge over time.

For example, today the best withdrawal order might be:

Taxable → IRA → Roth

But that doesn't mean it will remain optimal every year. It's possible the most efficient path could look like:

Years 1–7: Taxable → IRA → Roth
Year 8 and beyond: IRA → Taxable → Roth

Small changes in returns, balances, or tax brackets can shift which account should be tapped first. Trying to lock in the perfect multi-decade sequence now would require predicting all of those changes in advance — which risks overfitting to assumptions that won't hold.

Instead, Prisma finds the best strategy looking forward — given current facts — and encourages periodic re-optimization.

Think of it like navigation:
You set the best route based on current traffic and conditions. As you travel, you periodically recalculate to ensure you're still on the fastest path.

Retirement planning works the same way.

You don't need to solve your entire retirement path today. You just need the best next step.

Annual re-optimization keeps your strategy aligned with reality — and keeps your plan truly optimal over time.

Profile

Personal details and timeline

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Filing Status

Single Individual filer

MFJ Married Filing Jointly

State of Residence

Tax Location

State

State affects income tax on withdrawals, Social Security, and retirement income. Leave blank to exclude state taxes.

Your Timeline

Month/Year of Birth (MM/YYYY)

Retire Age

Life Expectancy

Medicare Enrollment Age

Spouse Timeline

Month/Year of Birth (MM/YYYY)

Retire Age

Life Expectancy

Medicare Enrollment Age

query_stats

Finding your safe retirement age

Not sure when you can retire? Once you've entered your financials, use Run Analysis next to Retire Age to compare ages and find the earliest year your plan stays on track.

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Should you move to a lower-tax state?

Select any state here and instantly see the impact on Lifetime Taxes and Amount to Heirs in the summary above. No-income-tax states are listed at the top for quick comparison.

Accounts

Investment account balances and expected returns

Net Worth

$0

Current account balances

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Your Accounts

Taxable

Balance ($)

Expected Return (%)

Cost Basis ($)

Yearly Dividend (%)

Qualified % of Dividend

Cost basis is your original investment. Gains = Balance - Basis. Dividend yield generates taxable income each year. Qualified dividends are taxed at long-term capital gains rates; ordinary dividends at income rates.

Tax Deferred (IRA, 401k)

Balance ($)

Expected Return (%)

Tax Exempt (Roth IRA, Roth 401k)

Balance ($)

Expected Return (%)

Spouse Accounts

Spouse Tax Deferred (IRA, 401k)

Balance ($)

Expected Return (%)

Spouse Tax Exempt (Roth IRA, Roth 401k)

Balance ($)

Expected Return (%)

Account Balances

Projected balance by age

Taxable IRA Roth Sp. IRA Sp. Roth

Income

Employment, Social Security, and other income sources

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Employment Income

Your Employment

Annual Income ($)

Gross pre-tax income, applied before retirement age.

Spouse Employment

Annual Income ($)

Gross pre-tax income, applied before retirement age.

Social Security

Your Benefits

Est. Monthly ($) at FRA

Actual Start Age

Spouse Benefits

Est. Monthly ($) at FRA

Actual Start Age

COLA Adjustment

SS COLA (%)

Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (annual increase).

Other Income

Your Pension / Annuity / Passive

Annual ($)

Start Age

End Age (optional)

Spouse Pension / Annuity / Passive

Annual ($)

Start Age

End Age (optional)

Fixed annual income from pensions, annuities, or passive sources. Leave End Age blank for lifetime income. Taxed as ordinary income.

Windfall

One-time lump sum income payments. Specify the year (your age) and whether it's taxable. Windfall amounts are added to your Taxable account.

Income

Annual income by source

SS Emp Other Sp. SS Sp. Emp Sp. Other Windfall Dividends

Expenses

Annual household spending

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Household Spending

Annual Spend ($)

Your total annual household expenses in today's dollars. This amount will be adjusted for inflation each year. Or break it down by category below — the monthly total will update this automatically.

Monthly Estimates (Optional)

Enter monthly amounts by category. The total auto-fills Annual Spend above.

Home / Rent

Utilities

Food & Groceries

Car / Auto

Departmental

Insurance (home, auto)

Healthcare & Medical

Entertainment

Debt Payments

Property Taxes

Travel & Vacation

Gifts & Donations

Miscellaneous

Monthly Total: $0 / mo → $0 / yr ↻ Recalculate

Living Expenses and Taxes

Annual breakdown by category

Living Expenses Federal Tax State Tax Conversion Tax

Withdrawals

Withdrawal strategy and settings

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Withdrawal Order

Order

Strategy

Taxable → IRA → Roth: Amounts for spending and income taxes drawn from Taxable first, then IRA, then Roth as last resort.
Roth Conversion taxes from Taxable first then IRA (Taxable → IRA).

Tax Consequences by Account Type

Where you hold your money determines how much of it you — and your family — actually keep.

Account Type

You (in retirement)

Your Heirs

Taxable

Mixed

Capital gains rates — typically 0%, 15%, or 20%

Much lower than ordinary income rates. You only pay tax on the profit, not the full amount. Long-term gains (held >1 year) get the best rates.

Heirs receive a "step-up in basis"

If you bought stock at 50 and it's worth 200 when you die, your heirs inherit it at the 200 basis. They owe no tax on that 150 gain.

IRA / 401k

Least Favorable

Every dollar taxed as ordinary income

Same rates as wages — up to 37% federally. Required withdrawals (RMDs) begin at age 75 whether you need the money or not, which can push you into a higher bracket.

Heirs pay ordinary income tax on every dollar

No step-up in basis. Heirs must empty the account within 10 years, often during their peak earning years — a big tax hit at the worst time.

Roth

Best

Withdrawals are completely tax-free

You paid taxes upfront; all growth is yours to keep. No RMDs during your lifetime, so the money can compound untouched as long as you wish.

Heirs inherit every dollar tax-free

They must withdraw within 10 years, but pay zero tax. A Roth is the most valuable asset to leave family — especially adult children already in high brackets.

Annual Withdrawals

Distribution by account type

Taxable IRA Roth Sp. IRA Sp. Roth

Taxes

Tax planning and payment strategies

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Tax Breakdown

Federal and state taxes by component

Fed Income Fed Cap Gains Fed Conversion State Income State Cap Gains State Conversion

Cash Flow

Income and expense flow analysis

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Year:

swap_horiz

No data yet

Fill in your profile and financials to see your retirement cash flows visualized here.

Roth Conversion

Roth conversion strategy and planning

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Roth Conversion

Strategy

Spouse Roth Conversion

Strategy

Roth Conversions

Annual conversion amounts

Conversion Tax Paid

map

Coming Soon

Your personalized retirement roadmap with milestones and action items will appear here.

Plan Settings

Inflation rates and simulation settings

Success

--

Ignores market variability

Annual Spend

--

Today's dollars

Amount to Heirs

--

After IRA income tax

Lifetime Tax

--

Federal + state total

Inflation

Annual Rate

Spending (%)

Annual spending increase rate.

Medicare / IRMAA

IRMAA Surcharges

Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts increase Medicare Part B and D premiums based on income from 2 years prior. Brackets are adjusted annually for inflation; surcharges grow at the healthcare rate.

Include IRMAA in projections

Healthcare inflation (%)

Surplus Distribution from RMD

RMD Reinvestment

When required distributions exceed spending needs, reinvest the after-tax surplus into the Taxable account.

Invest the surplus

% of the surplus

Legacy Transfer

Amount to Heirs is the net estate value after the income tax heirs must pay on inherited IRA balances under the SECURE 2.0 10-year distribution rule. Roth and Taxable accounts pass to heirs tax-free (qualified Roth distributions; Taxable gets a step-up in basis). Only traditional IRA balances are subject to ordinary income tax at the heir's marginal rate.

Heir Settings

Heir's marginal tax rate (%)

Monte Carlo

Simulation Settings

Volatility (%)

Volatility Drag

Return Rate Adjustment

Apply volatility drag to return rates

Reduce annual growth rate by (%)

Overview

Let's build your plan

What Makes a Successful Retirement Plan?

Monte Carlo Simulation

Scenario Comparison

Total Portfolio

What is it?

Sequence of Returns Risk

Reading the Metrics

Median vs. Deterministic

RMD Schedule

IRMAA Bracket Position

Tax Bracket Position

Social Security Timing Analysis info

Couple Social Security Strategy

Strategy Heat Map

Roth Conversion Strategy

Survivor Scenario Analysis

Strategy Comparison

Spending Guardrails

Break-Even Analysis

Raw Projections

Full Strategy Optimizer

Optimal Strategies

Strategy Details

Should I run the Full Optimizer periodically?

What is Full Strategy Optimization?

Profile

Filing Status

State of Residence

Tax Location

Your Timeline

Spouse Timeline

Finding your safe retirement age

Should you move to a lower-tax state?

Accounts

Your Accounts

Taxable

Tax Deferred (IRA, 401k)

Tax Exempt (Roth IRA, Roth 401k)

Spouse Accounts

Spouse Tax Deferred (IRA, 401k)

Spouse Tax Exempt (Roth IRA, Roth 401k)

Account Balances

Income

Employment Income

Your Employment

Spouse Employment

Social Security

Your Benefits

Spouse Benefits

COLA Adjustment

Other Income

Your Pension / Annuity / Passive

Spouse Pension / Annuity / Passive

Windfall

Income

Expenses

Household Spending

Monthly Estimates (Optional)

Living Expenses and Taxes

Withdrawals

Withdrawal Order

Order

Tax Consequences by Account Type

Annual Withdrawals

Taxes

Tax Breakdown

Cash Flow

No data yet

Roth Conversion

Roth Conversion

Strategy

Spouse Roth Conversion

Strategy

Roth Conversions

Retirement Roadmap

Coming Soon

Plan Settings

Inflation

Social Security Timing Analysis