Frequently asked questions.

No. Retirfi works immediately without any account. Your plan saves automatically to your browser's local storage. If you want to access your plan from another device or browser, you can enter your email to receive a backup link.

Yes. Your data lives entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to our servers unless you voluntarily save a cloud backup. We don't have access to your financial information. Google AdSense uses cookies for advertising, but those are not connected to your plan data.

Clearing your browser's local storage or cache will delete your saved plan. We recommend using the "Save Plan" feature to back up your email so we can restore it when cloud sync launches. For now, you can also export a screenshot of your key numbers.

Running 200 simulations typically completes in under one second. At 1,000 simulations with a 40+ year projection, it may take 2–3 seconds. All computation happens in your browser, nothing is sent to a server.

It's the percentage of simulated futures in which your portfolio doesn't run to zero before your plan-to age (default: 90). A 90% probability of success means that in 900 out of 1,000 simulated market scenarios, your money lasts. It does not mean a 10% chance of catastrophic failure, many of those "failed" scenarios leave you with significant assets well into retirement before declining.

Financial planners commonly target 80–90%. Higher isn't always better. A 99% success rate often means you're being too conservative and will likely leave significant wealth unspent. Most people can accept more risk in exchange for spending more during retirement. 80-85% is a reasonable starting target for most people.

The 4% rule (from the Trinity Study) suggests withdrawing 4% of your initial portfolio each year, adjusted for inflation, has historically sustained a 30-year retirement with high probability. Retirfi doesn't force the 4% rule, instead you set your desired monthly income and the calculator shows your actual probability of sustaining it. You can also set your withdrawal rate directly in the goals section.

Because market returns compound asymmetrically. A few very good scenarios can dramatically raise the average (mean) while most scenarios cluster lower. The median (50th percentile) is the outcome where exactly half of scenarios did better and half did worse. For planning purposes, the median is usually more useful than the average.

Nominal dollars are the raw numbers, i.e., what your statement will say. Real (inflation-adjusted) dollars show what that money will actually buy in today's purchasing power. At 2.5% inflation, $1 million in 30 years buys what roughly $480,000 buys today. The real vs. nominal toggle in the projections view helps you think about this clearly.

Retirfi estimates your benefit using SSA's actual PIA formula applied to your estimated earnings history. It's a reasonable approximation, but your actual benefit depends on your complete 35-year earnings record. For the most accurate number, check your Social Security statement at ssa.gov/myaccount, then you can use that figure directly in your plan.

Required Minimum Distributions are IRS-mandated annual withdrawals from traditional (pre-tax) retirement accounts — 401(k), Traditional IRA, etc. Under SECURE 2.0, RMDs begin at age 73 if you were born 1951–1959, or age 75 if born 1960 or later. They're calculated as your account balance divided by an IRS life expectancy factor. Retirfi models these automatically and includes them in the tax calculation for each simulation year.

The break-even age for claiming at 70 vs. 62 is typically around 80–82. If you expect to live past that, delaying generally produces more lifetime income. But this interacts with your portfolio withdrawal strategy. Delaying Social Security means drawing down your portfolio more in early retirement. Retirfi models all of this together, so you can compare scenarios directly.