TrueRetire

Dashboard

Projected Nest Egg

$0

Nominal future dollars

Retirement-Year Pre-Tax Local Buying Power $0 Adjusted for inflation and selected location
Location Index 100.0
Monthly $0
Inflation 0%

Plain-English Takeaways

Reading plan

    Saved On This Device

    Private

    TrueRetire stores your plan in this browser only. No account, no ads, and no data upload.

    Real-World Data

    BEA 2024
    Cost Level National average
    CPI Source Manual fallback

    Regional cost levels use BEA Regional Price Parities. City choices are metro areas, which is how the official data is published.

    State Tax Estimate

    2025 rates
    Mapped State National
    Top Income Tax 0.00%
    Retirement-Year Spendable Withdrawal $0
    Today's Spendable Buying Power $0
    How to read this

    The first number is the future-dollar amount you could withdraw. The second number shows what that withdrawal may feel like in today's local prices.

    This applies the simplified state income tax estimate to planned withdrawal income, not to the entire retirement balance.

    Where The Number Comes From

    Age 65
    Projected future dollars $0
    Inflation adjustment ÷ 1.00
    Today's national dollars $0
    Local cost adjustment ÷ 1.00
    Pre-tax local buying power $0
    State tax estimate × 100%
    Retirement-year spendable withdrawal $0
    Today's spendable buying power $0

    Formula: projected dollars divided by inflation and local costs, then the withdrawal rate and tax rate estimate first-year spendable income.

    Purchasing Power Lens

    Today
    Inflation Local costs State tax
    Future $1 Feels Like $1.00
    Inflation Reduction $0
    Local Cost Difference $0
    Withdrawal Tax Estimate $0
    Monthly Income Equivalent $0
    Monthly Goal Difference $0

    This compares the projected future balance to what it may feel like in today's local dollars.

    Value of the Dollar

    1950-2075

    Historical values use CPI data when available. Future values use the selected inflation assumption.

    Spending Goal

    Checking
    Annual Goal $0
    Spendable Withdrawal $0
    Guaranteed Income $0
    Total Income $0
    Coverage 0%
    Gap / Surplus $0

    Uses pre-tax local buying power, the selected withdrawal rate, and the simplified state tax estimate to estimate first-year retirement spending capacity.

    Current Cash Flow

    Checking
    Monthly Gross Pay $0
    Estimated Deductions $0
    Estimated Take-Home $0
    After Expenses $0
    Planned Monthly Savings $0
    After Saving $0

    Enter salary and estimated deductions to see whether today's expenses and planned savings fit your current paycheck.

    Monthly Expense Tracker

    Checking

    Add what life costs today. TrueRetire uses this monthly total as the retirement spending goal on the Income page.

    Monthly Expenses $0/mo
    Projected Income $0/mo
    Monthly Gap / Surplus $0
    Extra Balance Needed $0
    Save More Monthly $0
    Coverage Score 0%
    Basic $0/mo
    Comfortable $0/mo
    Flexible $0/mo
    Abundant $0/mo

    Build monthly expenses in today's dollars, then compare them to projected retirement income in today's local buying power.

    Vocab Sheet

    Plain English

    How To Use TrueRetire

    1. Start with Inputs. Choose your age, retirement age, location, inflation, and planning return.
    2. Add real accounts in Assets. Enter cash, 401(k), IRA, Roth, brokerage, HSA, pension, and optional home equity only if you expect to use it.
    3. Check today's cash flow. Use Expenses to enter salary, estimated paycheck deductions, monthly expenses, and planned savings.
    4. Review income coverage. Income compares Social Security, pension, and portfolio withdrawals against the monthly expense goal.
    5. Read Dashboard first. Projected Nest Egg is the future-dollar number. Local Buying Power is the number that explains what it may feel like in today's dollars.
    6. Use Power to understand why. Inflation, local cost of living, and tax assumptions explain why a large future balance may spend like a smaller amount.
    7. Use Projection for the year-by-year path. It shows how contributions, growth, inflation, and spendable withdrawal change over time.

    What return should people expect?

    A Roth IRA or 401(k) does not have its own average return. The return comes from what the money is invested in inside the account.

    • Cash or stable value: usually lower, often around 2% to 4%.
    • Bond-heavy mix: often around 3% to 5% over long periods.
    • Balanced 401(k) or target-date style mix: often around 5% to 8%.
    • Stock-heavy long-term mix: often modeled around 7% to 10%, but with bigger ups and downs.

    TrueRetire uses Planning Return as an estimate, not a promise. A younger person may use a higher return if they are stock-heavy; someone near retirement may want a lower return if they are more conservative.

    Projected Nest Egg

    The estimated amount of money you may have at retirement in future dollars, before adjusting for inflation, location, or taxes.

    Nominal Future Dollars

    Dollars measured in the future without asking what those dollars will actually buy. This is usually the biggest-looking number.

    Inflation

    The rise in prices over time. Inflation makes future dollars worth less than today’s dollars.

    Today’s Dollars

    A future amount adjusted back into today’s purchasing power, so it is easier to understand what the money may feel like.

    Local Buying Power

    The estimated buying power in the retirement year, translated into today’s dollars and adjusted for the selected state or metro area’s cost level.

    BEA Cost Index

    A government price-level index where the U.S. average is 100. A location at 110 is about 10% more expensive than the national average.

    Pre-Tax Buying Power

    The local buying-power estimate before applying the simplified state income tax assumption.

    Tax-Deferred Account

    Retirement money, such as a traditional 401(k) or traditional IRA, where taxes are usually paid later when money is withdrawn.

    Roth / Tax-Free Account

    Money that may be withdrawn tax-free in retirement if account rules are met. Roth IRAs and HSAs can change the spendable result because not every withdrawal is taxed the same way.

    Taxable Brokerage

    An investment account outside retirement plans. This model applies a lighter tax estimate because only part of future withdrawals may represent taxable gains.

    Home Equity

    The part of a home you own after subtracting the mortgage. It is not automatically spendable unless you sell, downsize, borrow, or otherwise turn it into retirement money.

    Guaranteed Income

    Expected yearly income in retirement that is not a portfolio withdrawal, such as Social Security or a pension.

    Spendable Withdrawal

    The estimated amount available to spend from investments in the first retirement year after applying the withdrawal rate and simplified state tax estimate.

    Spendable 1st-Year Withdrawal

    The estimated first-year withdrawal after applying the selected withdrawal rate and simplified state income tax rate. The app shows this two ways: future-year dollars and today's local buying-power equivalent.

    Today's Spendable Buying Power

    The spendable first-year withdrawal translated into today's local dollars, so it can be compared to a current monthly spending goal. This helps answer, "What will that money actually feel like?"

    Withdrawal Rate

    The percentage of retirement savings you plan to spend in the first year of retirement. A common starting example is 4%.

    Spending Coverage

    How much of your annual retirement spending goal is covered by the estimated first-year withdrawal.

    Gap / Surplus

    The difference between your estimated first-year withdrawal and your annual spending goal. Negative means shortfall; positive means surplus.

    Monthly Expenses

    The monthly cost of the lifestyle a person wants to fund, built from categories like housing, utilities, food, healthcare, debt, travel, subscriptions, and cushion.

    Current Cash Flow

    A paycheck view that compares estimated take-home pay against monthly expenses and planned savings. It helps show whether the savings goal is affordable today.

    Estimated Deductions

    A simplified percent for taxes, Social Security, Medicare, benefits, and other paycheck deductions. It is not a full tax return calculation.

    Comfort Budget

    The monthly expense total used as the retirement spending goal. It helps answer whether the future plan would feel comfortable in today's dollars.

    Comfort Score

    The percent of your monthly expenses covered by projected retirement income in today's local buying power.

    Lifestyle Tiers

    Budget levels that show basic, comfortable, flexible, and abundant monthly lifestyles based on your monthly expenses.

    Extra Balance Needed

    The estimated additional retirement-year balance needed to close the expense gap under the current assumptions.

    Save More Monthly

    A rough estimate of how much extra monthly saving may close the expense gap by retirement.

    Social Security Payroll Tax

    The 6.2% worker tax that funds Social Security, applied only up to the annual wage base. Employers usually pay a matching 6.2%.

    Social Security Wage Base

    The maximum annual wage amount subject to Social Security payroll tax. Earnings above the wage base are not charged the 6.2% Social Security tax.

    Medicare Payroll Tax

    A separate payroll tax for Medicare. It generally applies to all wages and does not use the Social Security wage base cap.

    Estimated Monthly Benefit

    The Social Security retirement payment a person expects to receive each month. In a real product, this should come from the user’s SSA estimate.

    Plan Assumptions

    Saved

    Accounts & Assets

    Included in plan
    Included Assets $0
    Cash Buffer $0
    Monthly Saved $0
    Not Counted Yet $0

    The projection grows each account separately. Tax-deferred accounts are reduced by the simplified state tax estimate on withdrawals; Roth, HSA, and cash are treated as already-taxed for this teaching model.

    Growth Projection

    Age 65

    Inflation by Year

    BLS CPI-U

    Yearly Balances

    0 rows
    Age Year Contribution Balance Pre-Tax Power Spendable 1st Yr $ Spendable Power